Lac Bonlier, Quebec: Fishing Spots and Seasons

• Overview

  The Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean entry here is Lac Bonlier, in Quebec. What surrounds it is taiga. The water measures roughly 3 hectares, so nothing here is far from anything else. It is a small entry by Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean standards. You are 72 km from Leblanc. Saguenay sits 222 km out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. This one is safely inside the county line.

• Where to Fish on Lac Bonlier

  There is no published depth for this one, so start shallow and work out. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Records held for Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean cover northern pike, Atlantic salmon, lake whitefish and fallfish. Protected fish appear in the records for this area, so treat the list as information, not an invitation. The shape of Lac Bonlier rewards a slow walk along one bank.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The seasonal spread runs -18°C to 16°C. Open water is the exception rather than the rule here. The lid usually goes in early May, which opens the strongest weeks of the year. Averages suggest open water from about early May through to roughly mid November. The weeks after the thaw and the ones before the freeze are the strongest. Lac Bonlier runs to that rhythm year in and year out.

• Tackle & Baits

  The paperwork position is blank for this one. Nothing is mapped in the way of a ramp or car park within a short radius. A wire trace and a big bright lure handle the pike; deep water asks for a heavier spoon. Rules differ from one water to the next round here. Some water is controlled locally without a sign saying so. Failing this one, try Lac Candas, 0.4 km away. Rules at Lac Bonlier are worth checking on the day.