Fishing at Lac Eric, Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean, Quebec

• Overview

  The Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean entry here is Lac Eric, in Quebec. Elevation runs to 369 metres. With some 13 hectares of water, there is room for a boat but no need of one. Shoreline comes to about 2.8 km, small enough to learn in a day. Saint-Honoré lies 52 km from the water. It is 64 km to Saguenay, the nearest city. The nearest boundary is a fair way off.

• Where to Fish on Lac Eric

  No depth figure has reached our records, which makes a plummet useful. This is a lake, so the margins and the first drop matter most. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. Survey and observation records for Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean 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. On Lac Eric a short move beats a long cast.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages move between -19°C in January and 16°C in July. Long winters and short summers set the pattern. Count on hard cover from midwinter, and open water from early May. Expect the water usable from around early May until roughly mid November. Spring is short and heavy here; autumn is longer and steadier. Plan any trip to Lac Eric around it.

• Tackle & Baits

  The paperwork position is blank for this one. No dam controls it, and the level follows the season. 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. Rules differ from one water to the next round here. Night access is frequently treated as a separate matter. Lac Accroche, 3.6 km away, makes the obvious fallback. Treat Lac Eric as unsettled until someone local tells you otherwise.