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

• Overview

  This water sits in Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean, Quebec. It sits in northern bush. At about 79 hectares, a day is enough to walk the shoreline properly. The shoreline runs about 5.7 km, so it pays to pick a stretch and stay with it. Few waters listed in Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean are bigger. Supplies mean a trip to Normandin, 44 km off. Further out sit Albanel (44 km) and Dolbeau-Mistassini (58 km). The nearest edge is a long way off, so local rules apply throughout.

• Where to Fish on Lac du Loup

  Nothing we hold settles how deep this runs. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean records list northern pike, Atlantic salmon, lake whitefish and fallfish among the fish reported. Protected fish appear in the records for this area, so treat the list as information, not an invitation. Take Lac du Loup a stretch at a time.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The warm month here averages 17°C; the cold one sits at -19°C. The fishing year opens late and shuts early. Look for the thaw near early May; the fishing lifts straight after. Ice usually gives way near early May, and forms again about mid November. Early summer and early autumn carry the open-water season. Time your trip to Lac du Loup by conditions rather than dates.

• Tackle & Baits

  There is no clear statement anywhere on who can fish it. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. No slipway, car park or made path shows up nearby in mapping, so treat access as rough. Pike mean a wire trace, no exceptions; big spoons and jerkbaits do the searching. Where access is informal, keep it that way by behaving. Check whether bait restrictions apply before you buy any. Should this one be busy, Grand lac Donat is 1.9 km off. Treat access at Lac du Loup as something to verify.