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

• Overview

  Set in Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean, Lac Marcelle is a Quebec water. The surface lies 128 metres up. About 6 hectares of surface, which puts the far bank inside easy sight. Ground here is low by Quebec standards. 6 km away sits Saint-Ambroise, the nearest town. It is 24 km to Saguenay, the nearest city. No county line comes close, which keeps the paperwork simple.

• Where to Fish on Lac Marcelle

  No published figure covers depth, so learn it as you fish. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Records held for Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean cover northern pike, Atlantic salmon, lake whitefish and fallfish. Several of these carry legal protection or closed seasons; the rulebook comes before the rod. Fish Lac Marcelle to its features, not to its size.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Temperature averages peak at 18°C in July and bottom out at -18°C in January. Cold winters and warm summers give a wide working range. The lid usually sets by midwinter and gives way around late April. Going by climate averages, expect open water from about late April until roughly late November. May into June fishes hardest, and September gives a second good stretch before the lid returns. Keep it in mind when planning a trip to Lac Marcelle.

• Tackle & Baits

  The access position is unclear from public sources. Overnight stays are possible 980 m away. Pike mean a wire trace, no exceptions; big spoons and jerkbaits do the searching. A landowner's word beats anything printed elsewhere. Where the way in crosses private ground, ask first. Lac Charles, 0.3 km away, makes the obvious fallback. What applies at Lac Marcelle may have changed since it was mapped.