Lac Bonce in Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  In Quebec, Lac Bonce falls inside Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean. The surface lies 466 metres up. Normandin is the closest place, 75 km off. The big place round here is Saguenay, 190 km distant. Within a short drive: Lac Trainel 0.3 km away, Lac Quirouet roughly 0.4 km, Lac Guelard 0.8 km away, Lac Ciran roughly 0.8 km and Lac Gaudent 0.9 km away. Rules here are straightforward: one set of provincial rules.

• Where to Fish on Lac Bonce

  Depth is not on record here, so the bank has to tell you. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Across Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean, recorded fish include northern pike, Atlantic salmon, lake whitefish and fallfish. At least one recorded species is protected in parts of its range; read the local rules before targeting anything. Read Lac Bonce before you fish it and the day goes better.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Average temperature peaks around 16°C in July and bottoms out near -18°C in January. Cold dominates the year and the fishing works around it. The lid usually goes in early May, which opens the strongest weeks of the year. Break-up near early May, freeze-up near mid November: that is the shape of an average year. May into June fishes hardest, and September gives a second good stretch before the lid returns. Lac Bonce fishes to that pattern most years.

• Tackle & Baits

  Public sources are silent on who controls the bank. Mapping records no facilities at all near this water. For the pike, wire up and throw larger lures along the weed edges. Bank access can be seasonal on ground like this. Some ground is open by custom rather than by right, so tread carefully. Failing this one, try Lac Trainel, 0.3 km away. Ask locally about Lac Bonce if anything is unclear.