Lac des Pins Gris Fishing Guide, Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean, Quebec

• Overview

  Look for Lac des Pins Gris in Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean, Quebec. The country here is boreal forest. The water covers around 1.08 sq km, which puts most of it out of reach from the bank. The outline measures near 7.3 km, so local knowledge counts. Few waters listed in Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean are bigger. Pont Rouge at 38 km is the nearest place to stop. It is 103 km to Saguenay, the nearest city. Rules here are straightforward: one set of provincial rules.

• Where to Fish on Lac des Pins Gris

  There is no recorded depth, so work from what you can see. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Species logged across Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean include northern pike, Atlantic salmon, lake whitefish and fallfish. At least one recorded species is protected in parts of its range; read the local rules before targeting anything. Work Lac des Pins Gris in sections rather than trying to cover it.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Typical July readings run about 17°C; by January the average is down near -19°C. The freeze holds for the better part 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. Early summer and early autumn carry the open-water season. It holds true on Lac des Pins Gris more years than not.

• Tackle & Baits

  Access is not recorded for this water. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. No made access is recorded, so a short walk in is the likely arrangement. A wire trace and a big bright lure handle the pike; deep water asks for a heavier spoon. Check locally before you travel, because a wasted drive is a long one. Some stretches are reserved and marked as such on the ground. Lac des Corbeaux, 1.1 km away, makes the obvious fallback. Check the position at Lac des Pins Gris before loading the car.