Lac du Papillon Fishing in Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean, Quebec

• Overview

  Lac du Papillon is listed under Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean, Quebec. The water sits 577 metres up. Surface area runs to about 4 hectares — small enough to read in one session. It is high ground by Quebec standards. Mistissini lies 149 km from the water. Beyond it, Pont Rouge at 177 km and Sainte-Jeanne-d'Arc at 178 km. It sits well inside its county, with no border complications.

• Where to Fish on Lac du Papillon

  Depth figures are not published for this one. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean records list northern pike, Atlantic salmon, lake whitefish and fallfish among the fish reported. Some of the species recorded here are protected or tightly regulated, so check what may be targeted before you fish. On Lac du Papillon a short move beats a long cast.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The year swings from about -21°C in January to roughly 14°C in July. The ice season is long here and the open one short. Winter locks it down, and mid May brings it back. Break-up near mid May, freeze-up near early November: that is the shape of an average year. From the thaw to midsummer the fishing improves week by week. Lac du Papillon fishes to that pattern most years.

• Tackle & Baits

  The access position is unclear from public sources. We find no slipway, car park or made path within a short radius, so treat access as rough. For the pike, wire up and throw larger lures along the weed edges. Where access is informal, keep it that way by behaving. Close seasons apply to some species and not others. Lac du Fripon sits 1.3 km off and takes the overflow. Confirm before you fish Lac du Papillon.