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

• Overview

  Look for Lac Penol in Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean, Quebec. It sits at 326 metres above sea level. Surface area runs to about 3 hectares — small enough to read in one session. Most waters listed here for Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean are larger. Head to Chibougamau, 87 km away, for anything you forgot. Saguenay is the closest city, 206 km away. The nearest boundary is well away, so one set of rules covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Lac Penol

  No depth figure appears in our records, so the bank has to tell you. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean records list northern pike, Atlantic salmon and lake whitefish among the fish reported. Protected fish appear in the records for this area, so treat the list as information, not an invitation. Read Lac Penol for ten minutes before the first cast goes out.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The seasonal spread runs -19°C to 16°C. Winter owns most of the year at this latitude. Count on hard cover from midwinter, and open water from early May. On the long-run averages the water opens up around early May and starts locking again about mid November. Late spring and early autumn carry the year between them. Time your trip to Lac Penol by conditions rather than dates.

• Tackle & Baits

  Public sources are silent on who controls the bank. No car park, ramp or path is recorded within easy reach of the shore. Pike mean a wire trace, no exceptions; big spoons and jerkbaits do the searching. Rules for this water may differ from the county norm. Rules for boats are stricter than rules for the bank in many places. Lac Etel, 1.3 km away, makes the obvious fallback. Confirm access to Lac Penol locally before you travel.