Fishing Lac de l'Ouest in Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean, Quebec

• Overview

  Lac de l'Ouest lies in Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean, in Quebec. Elevation runs to 212 metres. The water covers around 2.38 sq km, which puts most of it out of reach from the bank. Some 14 km of bank gives room to move when the wind turns. Few waters listed in Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean are bigger. Some 28 km away sits Pont Rouge, the nearest settlement. The big place round here is Saguenay, 101 km distant. Rules here are straightforward: one set of provincial rules.

• Where to Fish on Lac de l'Ouest

  Nothing in our records gives a depth for this one. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. Records held for Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean cover northern pike, Atlantic salmon, lake whitefish and fallfish. Some of the species recorded here are protected or tightly regulated, so check what may be targeted before you fish. Anyone new to Lac de l'Ouest should walk it once before setting up.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Temperature averages peak at 17°C in July and bottom out at -19°C in January. Everything is compressed into the middle of the year. The freeze runs deep into the year, with break-up near early May. Averages suggest open water from about early May through to roughly mid November. The strong weeks are the first after break-up and the last before the freeze. It holds true on Lac de l'Ouest more years than not.

• Tackle & Baits

  Public sources are silent on who controls the bank. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. Mapping records no facilities at all near this water. Pike mean a wire trace, no exceptions; big spoons and jerkbaits do the searching. Where the road in crosses private land, ask first. Check whether bait restrictions apply before you buy any. For a change of water, Lac Bruno is 5.8 km distant. Check the current arrangement for Lac de l'Ouest.