Fishing at Lac des Ricinelles, Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean, Quebec

• Overview

  Lac des Ricinelles is one of the Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean listings for Quebec. The country round it is boreal forest from end to end. At about 20 hectares, a day is enough to walk the shoreline properly. The bank runs about 2.2 km all the way round, so one visit can cover most of it. You are 96 km from Normandin. For a city, Saguenay is 213 km off. One jurisdiction covers this water end to end.

• Where to Fish on Lac des Ricinelles

  No depth figure has reached our records, which makes a plummet useful. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. This is a lake, so the margins and the first drop matter most. Survey and observation records for Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean 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. On Lac des Ricinelles the first feature you find is usually worth a session.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Temperature averages peak at 16°C in July and bottom out at -18°C in January. This is a two-season water: locked, then wide open. After early May the shallows warm and the fish move up. The water is typically free of ice between early May and mid November. September and October fish steadily right up to the freeze. Lac des Ricinelles runs to that rhythm year in and year out.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether the bank is open is not something our records settle. 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. For the pike, wire up and throw larger lures along the weed edges. Where the road in crosses private land, ask first. Close seasons apply to some species and not others. For a change of water, Lac Gomont is 0.8 km distant. For Lac des Ricinelles in particular, ask before you travel.