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

• Overview

  Out in Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean, Quebec, sits Lac Bours. The surroundings are spruce and muskeg. The water covers some 11 hectares, so pick a bank rather than trying to cover it all. The full circuit measures close to 1.4 km on foot. 72 km away sits Chibougamau, the nearest town. After that come Chapais at 86 km and Normandin at 113 km. The nearest boundary is well away, so one set of rules covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Lac Bours

  No depth figure appears in our records, so the bank has to tell you. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Species logged across Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean 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. At Lac Bours the water rewards a slow, careful approach.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The seasonal spread runs -19°C to 16°C. Ice holds for a long stretch, so the open weeks matter more here than further south. Ice is part of the season here, ending near early May. Break-up near early May, freeze-up near mid November: that is the shape of an average year. June through September is the settled part of the year, with the shoulders busier for fish. Anyone fishing Lac Bours regularly works to that calendar.

• Tackle & Baits

  Public sources are silent on who controls the bank. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. No slipway, car park or made path shows up nearby in mapping, so treat access as rough. For the pike, wire up and throw larger lures along the weed edges. Sort the permit out before you load the car. Some water is controlled locally without a sign saying so. Failing this one, try Lac Tavenet, 1.2 km away. Treat access at Lac Bours as something to verify.