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

• Overview

  Lac Hemon falls in Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean, part of Quebec. The water sits 478 metres up. With some 53 hectares of water, there is room for a boat but no need of one. The edge covers about 8.8 km, enough to hold several distinct areas. It ranks high for size among our Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean listings. The closest town, Pont Rouge, is 63 km away. After that come Sainte-Jeanne-d'Arc at 64 km and Dolbeau-Mistassini at 69 km. The county line is nowhere near, so one local authority covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Lac Hemon

  Without a survey to go on, judge depth from how the bank falls away. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. County-wide records name 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. Read Lac Hemon for ten minutes before the first cast goes out.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Climate records put July near 16°C and January near -19°C. Winter runs most of the calendar, and everything worth doing happens in the gap. Once it clears, about early May, the fishing comes on quickly. Climate figures give an open season running early May to mid November. The strong weeks are the first after break-up and the last before the freeze. Anyone fishing Lac Hemon regularly works to that calendar.

• Tackle & Baits

  Public data does not answer the access question here. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. Public mapping records no formal access here, so plan for a walk and soft ground. Pike mean a wire trace, no exceptions; big spoons and jerkbaits do the searching. Parking space is the usual limit rather than the bank itself. Where the way in crosses private ground, ask first. The nearest alternative is Lac Hannegrave, 4.8 km out. None of that is settled for Lac Hemon in what we hold.