Lac de la Roche Fishing in Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean, Quebec

• Overview

  Within Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean, Quebec, you have Lac de la Roche. The country round it is spruce and muskeg from end to end. It is high ground by Quebec standards. Chute-aux-Outardes lies 172 km from the water. Further out sit Hauterive (173 km) and Betsiamites (176 km). Close by you also have: Lac Docteur out at 0.5 km, Lac de la Cascade 0.6 km away, Lac Yajo out at 0.9 km, Lac Lise 1.2 km away and Lac Orignal out at 1.5 km. The county line is nowhere near, so one local authority covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Lac de la Roche

  Depth remains unrecorded, so treat the first session as a survey. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. 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. At Lac de la Roche the first feature you find is worth twenty minutes.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Temperature averages peak at 15°C in July and bottom out at -20°C in January. The season is measured in weeks rather than months. The lid arrives early and lasts until roughly mid May. In an average year the thaw lands around mid May and the freeze near early November. Look to early summer and the first cool weeks of autumn. Time your trip to Lac de la Roche by conditions rather than dates.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether you may fish here is not something records settle. No made access appears within a short radius, so plan to park on a verge and walk. For the pike, wire up and throw larger lures along the weed edges. Rules differ from one water to the next round here. A polite question at the farm gate opens more banks than anything else. Lac Docteur, 0.5 km away, makes the obvious fallback. Rules at Lac de la Roche are worth checking on the day.