Lac du Rutabaga in Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Set in Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean, Quebec, this is Lac du Rutabaga. Around the bank it is spruce and muskeg. This is a pocket water of some 4 hectares, and every part of it is reachable from the bank. Most waters listed here for Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean are larger. The closest town, Leblanc, is 64 km away. Weymontachie is 101 km away, with Normandin at 106 km. One jurisdiction covers this water end to end.

• Where to Fish on Lac du Rutabaga

  There is no published depth for this one, so start shallow and work out. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Species logged across Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean include northern pike, Atlantic salmon and lake whitefish. Some of the species recorded here are protected or tightly regulated, so check what may be targeted before you fish. On Lac du Rutabaga the quiet end is the one worth the extra effort.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Expect July near 16°C and January near -18°C on the long-run figures. Water stays cold even at the height of the year. The lid usually goes in early May, which opens the strongest weeks of the year. Break-up sits around early May on average, with the water closing again about mid November. Just after the ice goes and just before it returns, the fishing lifts. On Lac du Rutabaga that shapes the whole year.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing on record says whether the bank is open or closed. No launch point is recorded nearby, so this is a bank water unless you carry a boat in. Pike mean a wire trace, no exceptions; big spoons and jerkbaits do the searching. Look for a notice board at the entrance. Keep proof of licence with you rather than in the car. Should this one be busy, Lac Ira is 1.9 km off. Treat access at Lac du Rutabaga as something to verify.