Lac du Caribou in Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Lac du Caribou falls in Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean, part of Quebec. The bank is 622 metres above sea level. It runs to roughly 26 hectares — big enough to hold fish away from the bank, small enough to learn. Around 4.0 km of margin, front to back. Compared with other Quebec water on our list, it sits high. Sacré-Coeur lies 71 km from the water. Saint-Fulgence lies 73 km off, Les Escoumins another 74 km. No county line comes close, which keeps the paperwork simple.

• Where to Fish on Lac du Caribou

  Depth is unknown to us, and the shoreline is the better guide. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Fish documented in Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean include northern pike, Atlantic salmon and lake whitefish. Some of the species recorded here are protected or tightly regulated, so check what may be targeted before you fish. Treat Lac du Caribou as a water to read rather than to cover.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The seasonal spread runs -18°C to 15°C. The ice season is long here and the open one short. Ice fishing carries the winter, and the water opens about mid May. In an average year the thaw lands around mid May and the freeze near early November. Look to early summer and the first cool weeks of autumn. Lac du Caribou fishes to that pattern most years.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether you may fish here is not something records settle. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. Access is unmapped, which usually means a farm track and a walk. Pike mean a wire trace, no exceptions; big spoons and jerkbaits do the searching. Bank access can be seasonal on ground like this. Keep proof of licence with you rather than in the car. The nearest alternative is Petit lac du Caribou, 0.8 km out. Check the position at Lac du Caribou before loading the car.