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

• Overview

  Out in Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean, Quebec, sits Lac Keel. The country round it is spruce and muskeg from end to end. It covers about 9 hectares, so this is small water you can walk round in under an hour. It sits higher than most water we list in Quebec. Head to Leblanc, 62 km away, for anything you forgot. After that come Weymontachie at 87 km and Normandin at 94 km. No boundary runs near, so the local rules hold throughout.

• Where to Fish on Lac Keel

  No depth figure has reached our records, which makes a plummet useful. 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. Across Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean, recorded fish include northern pike, Atlantic salmon, lake whitefish and fallfish. Several of these carry legal protection or closed seasons; the rulebook comes before the rod. Read Lac Keel before you fish it and the day goes better.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The seasonal spread runs -18°C to 16°C. The fishing year opens late and shuts early. Hard cover is dependable here; it goes around early May. Open water usually runs from early May until about mid November. Early summer and early autumn carry the open-water season. Time your trip to Lac Keel by conditions rather than dates.

• Tackle & Baits

  Public sources are silent on who controls the bank. Nothing in the way of made access shows up nearby: no ramp, no car park, no path. Pike mean a wire trace, no exceptions; big spoons and jerkbaits do the searching. Look for a notice board at the entrance. Access can change hands, so last year's answer may not hold. If the gate is shut, Lac Ferland at 1.2 km is the nearest alternative. For Lac Keel in particular, ask before you travel.