Lac Bouzel Fishing Guide, Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean, Quebec

• Overview

  Lac Bouzel lies in Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean, in Quebec. The setting is taiga. Small at around 5 hectares: two anglers spread out cover most of it. Compared with other Quebec water on our list, it sits high. Start from Leblanc, 78 km down the road. Then Normandin, 83 km, and Albanel, 89 km. Other water nearby: Lac Altair lies 1.3 km on, Lac des Roselins sits 1.4 km out, Lac Mercier lies 1.9 km on, Lac Domprel sits 2 km out and Lac Lancelot lies 2.2 km on. No border sits close enough to matter.

• Where to Fish on Lac Bouzel

  No depth figure has reached our records, which makes a plummet useful. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Records held for Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean cover northern pike, Atlantic salmon, lake whitefish and fallfish. Some of the species recorded here are protected or tightly regulated, so check what may be targeted before you fish. Lac Bouzel gives up its fish to patience rather than distance.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The warm month here averages 16°C; the cold one sits at -18°C. Winter owns most of the year at this latitude. Hard cover is dependable here; it goes around early May. Averages suggest open water from about early May through to roughly early November. May into June fishes hardest, and September gives a second good stretch before the lid returns. On Lac Bouzel that shapes the whole year.

• Tackle & Baits

  No access rule appears in what we hold. There is no mapped parking or launch close by, which usually means walking in. For the pike, wire up and throw larger lures along the weed edges. Check locally before you travel, because a wasted drive is a long one. Some ground is open by custom rather than by right, so tread carefully. Lac Altair, 1.3 km away, makes the obvious fallback. Where Lac Bouzel is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.