Fishing at Lac Cudot, Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean, Quebec

• Overview

  Set in Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean, Lac Cudot is a Quebec water. It sits in taiga country. The water measures roughly 3 hectares, so nothing here is far from anything else. Most waters listed here for Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean are larger. Some 86 km away sits Chibougamau, the nearest settlement. Saguenay sits 217 km out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. The county line is nowhere near, so one local authority covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Lac Cudot

  No figure exists for depth, so let the water show you. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Across Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean, recorded fish include 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. Treat Lac Cudot as a water to read rather than to cover.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Between January at about -19°C and July at about 16°C, the water has a wide range to work through. Open water is the exception rather than the rule here. After early May the shallows warm and the fish move up. On the long-run averages the water opens up around early May and starts locking again about mid November. Early summer and early autumn carry the open-water season. Keep it in mind when planning a trip to Lac Cudot.

• Tackle & Baits

  No access rule appears in what we hold. A picnic spot sits 1.5 km from the bank. A wire trace and a big bright lure handle the pike; deep water asks for a heavier spoon. Where a permit is needed, the nearest town usually sells it. Where tickets apply, they are sold in the nearest town rather than on the bank. Lac Etagnac sits 1.4 km off and takes the overflow. Signs at Lac Cudot carry more weight than any list.