Lac Sauna Fishing in Capitale-Nationale, Quebec

• Overview

  Look for Lac Sauna in the Capitale-Nationale part of Quebec. It stands 323 metres above sea level. At 3 hectares it is the sort of place you fish for an evening rather than a day. Head to Laurentides, 9 km away, for anything you forgot. It is 93 km to Sainte-Foy, the nearest city. It sits well inside the county, so one set of rules covers it.

• Where to Fish on Lac Sauna

  Depth is unmeasured here, so let the shoreline guide you. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Across Capitale-Nationale, recorded fish include lake sturgeon, Atlantic sturgeon and longnose sucker. Protected fish appear in the records for this area, so treat the list as information, not an invitation. Work Lac Sauna in sections rather than trying to cover it.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages here run 17°C at the top of summer and -15°C at the bottom of winter. Spring and autumn carry the fishing; summer and winter test it. After late April the shallows warm and the fish move up. Averages suggest open water from about late April through to roughly late November. The weeks after the thaw and the ones before the freeze are the strongest. On Lac Sauna the same rules apply, with local timing.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing we hold confirms whether access is permitted. A slipway 960 m out gives trailer access. Mapping shows a campsite some 820 m from the water. Walleye come to jigs worked slow near bottom, and to trolled crankbaits along the drops at dusk. Where the road in crosses private land, ask first. A polite question at the farm gate opens more banks than anything else. Lac Beaujour sits 0.6 km off and takes the overflow. For Lac Sauna in particular, ask before you travel.