Lac de la Belle Fishing near Saint-Fulgence, Quebec

• Overview

  Lac de la Belle is a Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean water, in Quebec. It sits in taiga country. At about 63 hectares, a day is enough to walk the shoreline properly. There is roughly 7.3 km of bank, more than one visit can cover properly. On our Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean list it sits near the top for size. Saint-Fulgence lies 41 km from the water. After that come Saint-Honoré at 42 km and Chicoutimi at 51 km. There is no boundary nearby to worry about.

• Where to Fish on Lac de la Belle

  No depth figure appears in our records, so the bank has to tell you. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. Across Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean, recorded fish include northern pike, Atlantic salmon and lake whitefish. Some of the species recorded here are protected or tightly regulated, so check what may be targeted before you fish. Lac de la Belle gives up its fish to patience rather than distance.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Seasonal averages run from -19°C in January up to 15°C in July. The fishing year opens late and shuts early. After mid May the shallows warm and the fish move up. Average temperatures cross freezing around mid May in spring and again near early November in autumn. Late spring and early autumn carry the year between them. The season on Lac de la Belle follows the weather closely.

• Tackle & Baits

  The paperwork position is blank for this one. No dam controls it, and the level follows the season. No car park, ramp or path is recorded within easy reach of the shore. Pike mean a wire trace, no exceptions; big spoons and jerkbaits do the searching. Where access is informal, keep it that way by behaving. Where tickets apply, they are sold in the nearest town rather than on the bank. Lac de l'Autour, 1.3 km away, makes the obvious fallback. Ask locally about Lac de la Belle if anything is unclear.