Lac des Messieurs in Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Set in Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean, Quebec, this is Lac des Messieurs. The bank gives way to boreal forest. At roughly 6 hectares, the whole thing is within casting reach of a single walk. It is high ground by Quebec standards. Nearest town is Saint-Honoré, 58 km off. Saint-Fulgence lies 63 km off, Saint-Ambroise another 66 km. The nearest boundary is well away, so one set of rules covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Lac des Messieurs

  There is no recorded depth, so work from what you can see. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. Across Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean, recorded fish include 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. At Lac des Messieurs the first feature you find is worth twenty minutes.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The seasonal spread runs -19°C to 15°C. Ice holds for a long stretch, so the open weeks matter more here than further south. Once it clears, about mid May, the fishing comes on quickly. Break-up sits around mid May on average, with the water closing again about early November. May into June fishes hardest, and September gives a second good stretch before the lid returns. Keep it in mind when planning a trip to Lac des Messieurs.

• Tackle & Baits

  Our records carry no access rule either way. Nothing in the way of made access shows up nearby: no ramp, no car park, no path. Pike mean a wire trace, no exceptions; big spoons and jerkbaits do the searching. Gates get locked out of season on water like this. Close seasons apply to some species and not others. Lac Cairns sits 0.4 km off and takes the overflow. The position on Lac des Messieurs is worth confirming on the day.