Lac Simon Fishing near Labrecque, Quebec

• Overview

  Set in Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean, Lac Simon is a Quebec water. The bank is 441 metres above sea level. Surface area is around 31 hectares, which gives you real water without needing a boat. Bank access stretches around 4.3 km in total. It ranks high for size among our Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean listings. Labrecque at 106 km is the nearest place to stop. Then Saint-Honoré, 109 km, and L'Ascension-de-Notre-Seigneur, 110 km. There is no boundary nearby to worry about.

• Where to Fish on Lac Simon

  Without a survey to go on, judge depth from how the bank falls away. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. This is a lake, so the margins and the first drop matter most. Open biodiversity records for Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean list northern pike, Atlantic salmon and lake whitefish. Protected fish appear in the records for this area, so treat the list as information, not an invitation. Read Lac Simon before you fish it and the day goes better.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Seasonal averages run from -19°C in January up to 16°C in July. Open water is the exception rather than the rule here. The open season starts with the thaw, near enough early May. Averages suggest open water from about early May through to roughly mid November. The shoulder weeks of the open season are the productive ones. It holds true on Lac Simon more years than not.

• Tackle & Baits

  The paperwork position is blank for this one. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. There is no mapped parking or launch nearby, which keeps numbers down. For the pike, wire up and throw larger lures along the weed edges. Ask in the nearest town if you are unsure. Barbless rules turn up on managed water more often than not. Lac Gagne sits 5.4 km off and takes the overflow. The position on Lac Simon is worth confirming on the day.