Lac Famars Fishing Guide, Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean, Quebec

• Overview

  Out in Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean, Quebec, sits Lac Famars. This is northern bush country. Small at around 4 hectares: two anglers spread out cover most of it. Chibougamau sits 81 km from the bank. For a city, Saguenay is 219 km off. Water in the same corner: Lac Fourtou within 0.7 km, Lac Palavas (0.9 km), Lac Assat within 1.8 km, Lac Nerbis (1.9 km) and Lac Delut within 2 km. The nearest boundary is a fair way off.

• Where to Fish on Lac Famars

  Depth remains unrecorded, so treat the first session as a survey. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. Records held for Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean cover 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. Lac Famars repays a walk before the first cast.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Climate normals give 16°C for July and -19°C for January. Water stays cold even at the height of the year. After early May the shallows warm and the fish move up. Open water usually runs from early May until about mid November. The strong weeks are the first after break-up and the last before the freeze. On Lac Famars the same rules apply, with local timing.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether the bank is open is not something our records settle. There is no mapped parking or launch close by, which usually means walking in. For the pike, wire up and throw larger lures along the weed edges. Provincial rules still apply whatever the bank status. Some water is controlled locally without a sign saying so. Lac Fourtou sits 0.7 km off and takes the overflow. Where Lac Famars is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.