Fishing at Lac du Bec-Scie, Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean, Quebec

• Overview

  Out in Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean, Quebec, sits Lac du Bec-Scie. The bank is 426 metres above sea level. Roughly 81 hectares: a morning covers one end, an afternoon the other. At about 8.1 km of edge, most people work one arm at a time. Size puts it in the front rank of our Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean list. The closest town, Métabetchouan, is 29 km away. The big place round here is Saguenay, 86 km distant. The nearest boundary is a fair way off.

• Where to Fish on Lac du Bec-Scie

  No chart reached our records; the first cast is your sounding. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean records list northern pike, Atlantic salmon, lake whitefish and fallfish among the fish reported. Some of the species recorded here are protected or tightly regulated, so check what may be targeted before you fish. On Lac du Bec-Scie the quiet end is the one worth the extra effort.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The range across the year is -17°C to 17°C. The season is measured in weeks rather than months. Ice fishing carries the winter, and the water opens about early May. Average temperatures cross freezing around early May in spring and again near mid November in autumn. September and October fish steadily right up to the freeze. The season on Lac du Bec-Scie rarely departs from it.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether you may fish here is not something records settle. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. Access is unmapped, which usually means a farm track and a walk. For the pike, wire up and throw larger lures along the weed edges. Rules for this water may differ from the county norm. Access can change hands, so last year's answer may not hold. Failing this one, try Lac la Peche, 1.3 km away. Signs at Lac du Bec-Scie carry more weight than any list.