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

• Overview

  Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean, Quebec, is where Lac Machard sits. It sits in spruce and muskeg country. Roughly 14 hectares: a morning covers one end, an afternoon the other. At about 5.0 km of edge, most people work one arm at a time. Normandin is the closest place, 88 km off. The big place round here is Saguenay, 201 km distant. The nearest edge is a long way off, so local rules apply throughout.

• Where to Fish on Lac Machard

  Depth is not on record here, which means reading the ground instead. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. Fish documented in Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean include 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. On Lac Machard the quiet end is the one worth the extra effort.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Temperature averages peak at 16°C in July and bottom out at -19°C in January. The year here is short and sharp: a long lid, then a burst of open water. Once it clears, about early May, the fishing comes on quickly. The water is typically free of ice between early May and mid November. Reckon on open water from spring through to late autumn, with May and June the strongest. That is the shape of the year on Lac Machard.

• Tackle & Baits

  The rules here are undocumented as far as public sources go. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. There is no mapped parking or launch nearby, which keeps numbers down. For the pike, wire up and throw larger lures along the weed edges. Rules differ from one water to the next round here. Some ground is open by custom rather than by right, so tread carefully. Should this one be busy, Lac Jouac is 1 km off. Rules at Lac Machard are worth checking on the day.