Lac de la Sortie in Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  The Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean end of Quebec holds Lac de la Sortie. The water sits 411 metres up. Small at around 3 hectares: two anglers spread out cover most of it. Most waters listed here for Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean are larger. Saint-Honoré is the closest town at 121 km. Saguenay is the closest city, 133 km away. Other water within reach: Lac de l'Entree at 1.3 km, Lac Georgy out at 1.6 km, Lac Nicolas at 4.3 km, Lac Ali out at 5.2 km and Lac Marius at 6 km. There is no boundary nearby to worry about.

• Where to Fish on Lac de la Sortie

  There is no published depth for this one, so start shallow and work out. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. 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. On Lac de la Sortie a short move beats a long cast.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages here run 16°C at the top of summer and -18°C at the bottom of winter. The window is narrow, and fish feed hard while it lasts. Count the season from break-up, usually mid May. Climate figures give an open season running mid May to mid November. The strongest runs come at either end of the open season. On Lac de la Sortie the same rules apply, with local timing.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing in our records says who may fish here. Mapping shows an empty shoreline: no ramp, no jetty, no marked entry. Pike mean a wire trace, no exceptions; big spoons and jerkbaits do the searching. Parking space is the usual limit rather than the bank itself. Check whether bait restrictions apply before you buy any. If the gate is shut, Lac de l'Entree at 1.3 km is the nearest alternative. Check the position at Lac de la Sortie before loading the car.