Lac des Pilasses, Quebec: Fishing Spots and Seasons

• Overview

  Out in Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean, Quebec, sits Lac des Pilasses. It lies 428 metres above sea level. Around 14 hectares of surface means several distinct areas to work. The bank runs about 2.6 km all the way round, so one visit can cover most of it. Start from Normandin, 78 km down the road. Albanel is 82 km and Saint-Félicien 94 km. The nearest boundary is a fair way off.

• Where to Fish on Lac des Pilasses

  Depth is not on record here, which means reading the ground instead. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. 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. Lac des Pilasses responds to conditions more than to tactics.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The warm month here averages 16°C; the cold one sits at -18°C. Everything is compressed into the middle of the year. Once it clears, about early May, the fishing comes on quickly. The open-water window runs from around early May to about mid November in an average year. May into June fishes hardest, and September gives a second good stretch before the lid returns. Plan any trip to Lac des Pilasses around it.

• Tackle & Baits

  Public sources are silent on who controls the bank. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. There is no mapped parking or launch nearby, which keeps numbers down. A wire trace and a big bright lure handle the pike; deep water asks for a heavier spoon. Where the road in crosses private land, ask first. A polite question at the farm gate opens more banks than anything else. Lac Ozoir, 0.9 km away, makes the obvious fallback. The position on Lac des Pilasses is worth confirming on the day.