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

• Overview

  Lac Dumais stands in Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean, Quebec. The setting is taiga. Small at around 2 hectares: two anglers spread out cover most of it. It is a small entry by Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean standards. For supplies, Métabetchouan is 37 km out. For a city, Saguenay is 94 km off. Others close at hand: Lac Pascal 0.7 km, Lac aux Pins 1.3 km off, Lac a Sec 2.8 km, Lac au Mirage 3.1 km off and Lac des Sectionnaires 3.8 km. The nearest boundary is a fair way off.

• Where to Fish on Lac Dumais

  Depth is unknown to us, and the shoreline is the better guide. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Across Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean, recorded fish include northern pike, Atlantic salmon, lake whitefish and fallfish. Some of the species recorded here are protected or tightly regulated, so check what may be targeted before you fish. Treat Lac Dumais as a water to read rather than to cover.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Long-term averages put July at about 17°C and January near -17°C. This far north the hard season runs and runs. Winter locks it down, and early May brings it back. Going by climate averages, expect open water from about early May until roughly mid November. The weeks after the thaw and the ones before the freeze are the strongest. Lac Dumais fishes to that pattern most years.

• Tackle & Baits

  The paperwork position is blank for this one. No made access appears within a short radius, so plan to park on a verge and walk. A wire trace and a big bright lure handle the pike; deep water asks for a heavier spoon. Take the rules with you rather than trusting memory. Where parking is tight, arriving early solves most problems. Should this one be busy, Lac Pascal is 0.7 km off. Where Lac Dumais is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.