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

• Overview

  You will find Lac Savard in Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean, Quebec. Height above sea level is 642 metres. It measures about 17 hectares, which is a comfortable size for bank fishing. Around 3.4 km of margin, front to back. It sits higher than most water we list in Quebec. Supplies mean a trip to Saint-Honoré, 31 km off. Then Saint-Fulgence, 38 km, and Saint-Ambroise, 40 km. No boundary runs near, so the local rules hold throughout.

• Where to Fish on Lac Savard

  Depth is not on record here, so the bank has to tell you. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Across Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean, recorded fish include northern pike, Atlantic salmon, lake whitefish and fallfish. At least one recorded species is protected in parts of its range; read the local rules before targeting anything. On Lac Savard a short move beats a long cast.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages here run 15°C at the top of summer and -19°C at the bottom of winter. This far north the hard season runs and runs. Break-up comes around mid May, and the run that follows is short and strong. On the long-run averages the water opens up around mid May and starts locking again about early November. June through September is the settled part of the year, with the shoulders busier for fish. Plan around that when you fish Lac Savard.

• Tackle & Baits

  Our records carry no access rule either way. No dam controls it, and the level follows the season. Access points are not mapped for this water, which suits people who like quiet. Pike mean a wire trace, no exceptions; big spoons and jerkbaits do the searching. Parking is often the real limit rather than the bank itself. Barbless rules turn up on managed water more often than not. The nearest alternative is Lac Dunh, 1.2 km out. Where Lac Savard is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.