Lac Simoneau, Quebec: Fishing Spots and Seasons

• Overview

  Lac Simoneau is a Gaspésie-Îles-de-la-Madeleine water, Quebec side. The coast is 18 km away. Small at around 9 hectares: two anglers spread out cover most of it. The edge runs 1.4 km or so, easy to work in an afternoon. Gaspé at 71 km is the nearest place to stop. For a city, Saguenay is 424 km off. It sits well inside the county, so one set of rules covers it.

• Where to Fish on Lac Simoneau

  No depth figure has reached our records, which makes a plummet useful. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Fish documented in Gaspésie-Îles-de-la-Madeleine include American eel, striped bass, alewife, rainbow smelt and brook trout. Some of the species recorded here are protected or tightly regulated, so check what may be targeted before you fish. The shape of Lac Simoneau decides where the fish sit.

• Seasonal Patterns

  July runs about 16°C on average, January about -13°C. Expect a real winter and a strong spring after it. Expect a solid lid for months and a thaw around early May. The lid tends to go about early May and return around mid November. Fish feed hardest at the start and the close of the open season. Lac Simoneau fishes to that pattern most years.

• Tackle & Baits

  The paperwork position is blank for this one. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. Nothing built is recorded close to the bank here. Largemouth respond to soft plastics tight to cover; go weedless where the growth is heavy. Take the rules with you rather than trusting memory. Some stretches are reserved and marked as such on the ground. Lac Leo at 1.2 km is the sensible second choice. Where Lac Simoneau is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.