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

• Overview

  Lac Clair is one of the Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean waters in Quebec. The ground round it is northern bush. The water covers some 28 hectares, so pick a bank rather than trying to cover it all. Bank access stretches around 3.0 km in total. It lies lower than most water we list in Quebec. 14 km away sits Normandin, the nearest town. Beyond it, Albanel at 16 km and Dolbeau-Mistassini at 32 km. It sits well inside its county, with no border complications.

• Where to Fish on Lac Clair

  No figure exists for depth, so let the water show you. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. 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 Clair responds to conditions more than to tactics.

• Seasonal Patterns

  In an average year July sits at 17°C and January at -19°C. Water stays cold even at the height of the year. The freeze runs deep into the year, with break-up near early May. Going by climate averages, expect open water from about early May until roughly mid November. From the thaw to midsummer the fishing improves week by week. That is the shape of the year on Lac Clair.

• Tackle & Baits

  The paperwork position is blank for this one. No dam controls it, and the level follows the season. 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. Some banks are open only from a marked point. Some stretches are reserved and marked as such on the ground. Failing this one, try Lac Rond, 0.8 km away. Nothing here settles the position at Lac Clair for certain.