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

• Overview

  Lac Planaire lies in Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean, in Quebec. It lies 477 metres above sea level. Surface area runs to about 9 hectares — small enough to read in one session. Some 76 km away sits Leblanc, the nearest settlement. Normandin lies 91 km off, Albanel another 97 km. Neighbouring water: Lac Mondor just 0.7 km, Lac Juville 0.8 km off, Lac La Barre just 1.4 km, Lac Faveron 1.7 km off and Lac Propiac just 1.7 km. It sits well inside its county, with no border complications.

• Where to Fish on Lac Planaire

  The records we hold are silent on depth, so plan to find it yourself. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. County-wide records name northern pike, Atlantic salmon, lake whitefish and fallfish. Protected fish appear in the records for this area, so treat the list as information, not an invitation. Read Lac Planaire before you fish it and the day goes better.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Temperature averages peak at 16°C in July and bottom out at -18°C in January. Everything is compressed into the middle of the year. Count on hard cover from midwinter, and open water from early May. Break-up sits around early May on average, with the water closing again about mid November. Late spring and early autumn carry the year between them. The season on Lac Planaire follows the weather closely.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether the bank is open is not something our records settle. There is no mapped parking or launch nearby, which keeps numbers down. A wire trace and a big bright lure handle the pike; deep water asks for a heavier spoon. Parking space is the usual limit rather than the bank itself. Access can change hands, so last year's answer may not hold. If the gate is shut, Lac Mondor at 0.7 km is the nearest alternative. Rules at Lac Planaire are worth checking on the day.