Lac Gagnon Fishing near Chambord, Quebec

• Overview

  Look for Lac Gagnon in Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean, Quebec. Beyond the shoreline you have mixed forest. This is a pocket water of some 3 hectares, and every part of it is reachable from the bank. On size it sits at the modest end of our Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean list. Nearest place of any size is Chambord, 6.1 km away. Métabetchouan is 6.5 km away, with Desbiens at 12 km. The nearest boundary is a fair way off.

• Where to Fish on Lac Gagnon

  No depth figure has reached our records, which makes a plummet useful. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. 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 and lake whitefish. At least one recorded species is protected in parts of its range; read the local rules before targeting anything. The shape of Lac Gagnon rewards a slow walk along one bank.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The range across the year is -17°C to 17°C. The middle months are generous; the ends are demanding. Expect a solid lid for months and a thaw around early May. Ice usually gives way near early May, and forms again about mid November. May into June fishes hardest, and September gives a second good stretch before the lid returns. Lac Gagnon fishes to that pattern most years.

• Tackle & Baits

  No access rule appears in what we hold. We find no slipway, car park or made path within a short radius, so treat access as rough. Pike mean a wire trace, no exceptions; big spoons and jerkbaits do the searching. Where a permit is needed, the nearest town usually sells it. Where the way in crosses private ground, ask first. Lac a Belley sits 1.2 km off and takes the overflow. The position on Lac Gagnon is worth confirming on the day.