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

• Overview

  Quebec holds Lac du Ricochet, in Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean. It stands 725 metres above sea level. It covers about 9 hectares, so this is small water you can walk round in under an hour. It sits higher than most water we list in Quebec. Saint-Fulgence sits 50 km from here and is the nearest stop. Saguenay sits 62 km out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. This one is safely inside the county line.

• Where to Fish on Lac du Ricochet

  Depth went unrecorded, which puts the reading back on you. This is a lake, so the margins and the first drop matter most. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. Records held for Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean cover northern pike, Atlantic salmon, lake whitefish and fallfish. Several of these carry legal protection or closed seasons; the rulebook comes before the rod. Fish Lac du Ricochet where the bottom changes rather than where it looks deep.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages move between -19°C in January and 15°C in July. The year here is short and sharp: a long lid, then a burst of open water. After mid May the shallows warm and the fish move up. The open-water window runs from around mid May to about early November in an average year. The open run goes from the thaw to the freeze, and April through October covers most of it. The season on Lac du Ricochet follows the weather closely.

• Tackle & Baits

  Who may fish here is not settled in anything we hold. Nothing is mapped in the way of a ramp or car park within a short radius. Pike mean a wire trace, no exceptions; big spoons and jerkbaits do the searching. Where the road in crosses private land, ask first. Night access is frequently treated as a separate matter. Failing this one, try Lac de la Renoncule, 0.7 km away. Treat Lac du Ricochet as unsettled until someone local tells you otherwise.