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

• Overview

  Within Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean, Quebec, you have Lac du Moulin. This is taiga country. At 2 hectares it is the sort of place you fish for an evening rather than a day. On size it sits at the modest end of our Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean list. For supplies, Saint-Honoré is 65 km out. Labrecque lies 69 km off, Saint-Ambroise another 70 km. The nearest edge is a long way off, so local rules apply throughout.

• Where to Fish on Lac du Moulin

  There is no published depth for this one, so start shallow and work out. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. Public occurrence data for Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean names northern pike, Atlantic salmon, lake whitefish and fallfish. At least one recorded species is protected in parts of its range; read the local rules before targeting anything. Lac du Moulin responds to conditions more than to tactics.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Average temperature peaks around 16°C in July and bottoms out near -19°C in January. Winter owns most of the year at this latitude. Ice fishing carries the winter, and the water opens about early May. On the long-run averages the water opens up around early May and starts locking again about mid November. Fishing peaks soon after break-up and again before the cold returns. On Lac du Moulin the same rules apply, with local timing.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing in our records says who may fish here. No car park, ramp or path is recorded within easy reach of the shore. Pike mean a wire trace, no exceptions; big spoons and jerkbaits do the searching. Take the rules with you rather than trusting memory. Rules for boats are stricter than rules for the bank in many places. If the gate is shut, Lac au Poivre at 2 km is the nearest alternative. Where Lac du Moulin is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.