Lac de l'Hirondelle in Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  This water sits in Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean, Quebec. It sits at 665 metres above sea level. It is pond-in-a-field scale, with the far bank a short lob away. It is one of the smaller waters we list in Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean. Saint-Honoré at 52 km is the nearest place to stop. Beyond it, Saint-Fulgence at 55 km and Saint-Ambroise at 62 km. Rules here are straightforward: one set of provincial rules.

• Where to Fish on Lac de l'Hirondelle

  Without a survey to go on, judge depth from how the bank falls away. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. Open biodiversity records for Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean list 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. Fish Lac de l'Hirondelle where the bottom changes rather than where it looks deep.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Average temperature peaks around 15°C in July and bottoms out near -19°C in January. Cold dominates the year and the fishing works around it. Once it clears, about mid May, the fishing comes on quickly. In an average year the thaw lands around mid May and the freeze near early November. The middle of summer slows a little, with dawn and dusk carrying it. On Lac de l'Hirondelle the same rules apply, with local timing.

• Tackle & Baits

  We hold no note on access for this one. Nothing is mapped in the way of a ramp or car park within a short radius. A wire trace and a big bright lure handle the pike; deep water asks for a heavier spoon. Season dates differ by species, so read the table. Signs go up and come down, so check on the day. Should this one be busy, Lac Agrippe is 0.2 km off. None of that is settled for Lac de l'Hirondelle in what we hold.