Lac Marticote in Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Within Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean, Quebec, you have Lac Marticote. What surrounds it is spruce and muskeg. The water covers some 11 hectares, so pick a bank rather than trying to cover it all. The bank runs about 1.7 km all the way round, so one visit can cover most of it. Head to Leblanc, 81 km away, for anything you forgot. The nearest city of size is Saguenay, 234 km away. The nearest edge is a long way off, so local rules apply throughout.

• Where to Fish on Lac Marticote

  Our records carry no depth, so judge it from the bank. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. County-wide records name northern pike, Atlantic salmon and lake whitefish. Protected fish appear in the records for this area, so treat the list as information, not an invitation. Lac Marticote fishes better once you know its edges.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The range across the year is -18°C to 16°C. Ice holds for a long stretch, so the open weeks matter more here than further south. Ice-out usually falls in early May, and the weeks after it fish hardest. Averages place the thaw at early May and the freeze at mid November. Late spring and early autumn carry the year between them. On Lac Marticote the same rules apply, with local timing.

• Tackle & Baits

  We hold no note on access for this one. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. Public mapping records no formal access here, so plan for a walk and soft ground. For the pike, wire up and throw larger lures along the weed edges. Look for a notice board at the entrance. Signs go up and come down, so check on the day. The nearest alternative is Lac Jeannine, 0.5 km out. Ask locally about Lac Marticote if anything is unclear.