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

• Overview

  The Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean end of Quebec holds Lac Rustan. Country round the bank runs to taiga. It covers about 6 hectares, so this is small water you can walk round in under an hour. Nearest town is Normandin, 59 km off. The nearest city of size is Saguenay, 175 km away. The nearest edge is a long way off, so local rules apply throughout.

• Where to Fish on Lac Rustan

  We hold no depth figure for this one. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. Open biodiversity records for Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean list northern pike, Atlantic salmon, lake whitefish and fallfish. Some of the species recorded here are protected or tightly regulated, so check what may be targeted before you fish. Fish Lac Rustan to its features, not to its size.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Climate normals give 16°C for July and -18°C for January. The fishing year opens late and shuts early. Count on hard cover from midwinter, and open water from early May. Break-up near early May, freeze-up near mid November: that is the shape of an average year. Fish feed hardest at the start and the close of the open season. Lac Rustan fishes to that pattern most years.

• Tackle & Baits

  The rules here are undocumented as far as public sources go. Formal access is not mapped, so the last stretch is likely on foot. Pike mean a wire trace, no exceptions; big spoons and jerkbaits do the searching. Where access is informal, keep it that way by behaving. Where tickets apply, they are sold in the nearest town rather than on the bank. The nearest alternative is Lac Poirier, 0.9 km out. Confirm access to Lac Rustan locally before you travel.