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

• Overview

  Look for Lac Cholet in the Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean part of Quebec. It sits at 591 metres above sea level. At roughly 2 hectares, the whole thing is within casting reach of a single walk. Most waters listed here for Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean are larger. Normandin lies 65 km from the water. Saguenay is the closest city, 179 km away. No border sits close enough to matter.

• Where to Fish on Lac Cholet

  Without a survey to go on, judge depth from how the bank falls away. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Records held for Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean cover 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. Lac Cholet responds to conditions more than to tactics.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages move between -18°C in January and 16°C in July. Everything is compressed into the middle of the year. Break-up comes around early May, and the run that follows is short and strong. Ice clears near early May and comes back about mid November in a typical year. Fishing peaks soon after break-up and again before the cold returns. Time your trip to Lac Cholet by conditions rather than dates.

• Tackle & Baits

  No public source sets out the position on this bank. There is no mapped parking or launch nearby, which keeps numbers down. A wire trace and a big bright lure handle the pike; deep water asks for a heavier spoon. Rules for this water may differ from the county norm. Barbless rules turn up on managed water more often than not. Should this one be busy, Lac des Vergerettes is 2.1 km off. Check the position on Lac Cholet before loading the car.