Lac du Male, Quebec: Fishing Spots and Seasons

• Overview

  Look for Lac du Male in Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean, Quebec. The surface lies 482 metres up. The water covers some 21 hectares, so pick a bank rather than trying to cover it all. A shoreline of some 3.6 km keeps the choices simple. Some 50 km away sits Normandin, the nearest settlement. Beyond it, Saint-Félicien at 53 km and Albanel at 58 km. It sits well inside the county, so one set of rules covers it.

• Where to Fish on Lac du Male

  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. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. County-wide records name northern pike, Atlantic salmon, lake whitefish and fallfish. Protected fish appear in the records for this area, so treat the list as information, not an invitation. Lac du Male fishes better once you know its edges.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Expect July near 16°C and January near -18°C on the long-run figures. A short, intense season is the rule this far north. Count on hard cover from midwinter, and open water from early May. Averages place the thaw at early May and the freeze at mid November. The weeks after the thaw and the ones before the freeze are the strongest. Keep it in mind when planning a trip to Lac du Male.

• Tackle & Baits

  We hold no note on access for this one. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. The map shows no ramp or car park nearby, so this is a walk-in water. Pike mean a wire trace, no exceptions; big spoons and jerkbaits do the searching. Parking space is the usual limit rather than the bank itself. Where parking is tight, arriving early solves most problems. For a change of water, Lac Lafrance is 1 km distant. Treat access at Lac du Male as something to verify.