Fishing at Lac du Chat, Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean, Quebec

• Overview

  Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean in Quebec is where Lac du Chat sits. Height above sea level is 500 metres. Small at around 4 hectares: two anglers spread out cover most of it. Start from Normandin, 45 km down the road. It is 153 km to Saguenay, the nearest city. The nearest edge is a long way off, so local rules apply throughout.

• Where to Fish on Lac du Chat

  Depth went unrecorded, which puts the reading back on you. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. County-wide records name northern pike, Atlantic salmon, lake whitefish and fallfish. Several of these carry legal protection or closed seasons; the rulebook comes before the rod. Take Lac du Chat a stretch at a time.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Between January at about -18°C and July at about 16°C, the water has a wide range to work through. Open water is the exception rather than the rule here. Winter locks it down, and early May brings it back. On the long-run averages the water opens up around early May and starts locking again about mid November. Look to early summer and the first cool weeks of autumn. It holds true on Lac du Chat more years than not.

• Tackle & Baits

  We have no record of the rules that apply on this bank. Mapping shows no built access close by; expect to walk in from wherever you can leave the car. Pike mean a wire trace, no exceptions; big spoons and jerkbaits do the searching. Rules for this water may differ from the county norm. A polite question at the farm gate opens more banks than anything else. Lac Cloutier, 2.1 km away, makes the obvious fallback. Check the current arrangement for Lac du Chat.