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

• Overview

  Lac Maingard falls in Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean, part of Quebec. The sea is 36 km distant. Surface area runs to roughly 3.12 sq km, so plan for one area rather than the whole. It ranks high for size among our Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean listings. Start from Saint-Fulgence, 40 km down the road. The big place round here is Saguenay, 51 km distant. The nearest edge is a long way off, so local rules apply throughout.

• Where to Fish on Lac Maingard

  We hold no survey for this water; read the slope of the shoreline instead. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. Open biodiversity records for Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean list northern pike, Atlantic salmon, lake whitefish and fallfish. Several of these carry legal protection or closed seasons; the rulebook comes before the rod. On Lac Maingard the quiet end is the one worth the extra effort.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Expect July to average close to 15°C, with January the cold end at about -19°C. The ice season is long here and the open one short. Winter locks it down, and mid May brings it back. Average temperatures cross freezing around mid May in spring and again near early November in autumn. The first weeks of open water and the last are the ones to plan for. It holds true on Lac Maingard more years than not.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing in our records says who may fish here. Nothing built is recorded close to the bank here. For the pike, wire up and throw larger lures along the weed edges. A landowner's word beats anything printed elsewhere. Rules for boats are stricter than rules for the bank in many places. For a change of water, Lac Decouvert is 1 km distant. Check the current arrangement for Lac Maingard.