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

• Overview

  You will find Lac Illy in Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean, Quebec. Height above sea level is 316 metres. Surface area runs to about 7 hectares — small enough to read in one session. The closest town, Chibougamau, is 86 km distant. Normandin is 93 km away, with Albanel at 94 km. Also on the doorstep: Lac Etel 0.8 km, Lac Gael 2 km away, Lac Penol 2.1 km, Lac Amou 2.5 km away and Lac Perineau 2.8 km. Rules here are straightforward: one set of provincial rules.

• Where to Fish on Lac Illy

  Open data we checked carries no depth for this water. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. Survey and observation records for Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean include northern pike, Atlantic salmon, lake whitefish and fallfish. At least one recorded species is protected in parts of its range; read the local rules before targeting anything. Read Lac Illy for ten minutes before the first cast goes out.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Long-run averages give July about 16°C and January about -19°C. Little of the calendar is open water, so timing counts for everything. Count the season from break-up, usually early May. Going by climate averages, expect open water from about early May until roughly mid November. Right after break-up, and again as the nights sharpen, is when to go. At Lac Illy the season follows that pattern closely.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing on record says whether the bank is open or closed. No slipway, car park or made path shows up nearby in mapping, so treat access as rough. A wire trace and a big bright lure handle the pike; deep water asks for a heavier spoon. Rules for this water may differ from the county norm. Some ground is open by custom rather than by right, so tread carefully. Should this one be busy, Lac Etel is 0.8 km off. What applies at Lac Illy may have changed since it was mapped.