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

• Overview

  Lac Skelton is one of the Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean waters in Quebec. Salt water lies 20 km off. At about 18 hectares, a day is enough to walk the shoreline properly. Roughly 3.4 km of bank means you can walk to a fresh area when one goes quiet. Compared with other Quebec water on our list, it sits high. Saint-Fulgence lies 24 km from the water. Saint-Honoré is 32 km away, with La Baie at 34 km. The nearest boundary is well away, so one set of rules covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Lac Skelton

  No depth figure has reached our records, which makes a plummet useful. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Records held for Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean cover northern pike, Atlantic salmon, lake whitefish and fallfish. Protected fish appear in the records for this area, so treat the list as information, not an invitation. On Lac Skelton the first feature you find is usually worth a session.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The warmest month averages 15°C, the coldest about -18°C. The freeze holds for the better part of the year. The open season starts with the thaw, near enough mid May. Average temperatures cross freezing around mid May in spring and again near early November in autumn. May into June fishes hardest, and September gives a second good stretch before the lid returns. At Lac Skelton the season follows that pattern closely.

• Tackle & Baits

  The paperwork position is blank for this one. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. Nothing built is recorded close to the bank here. Pike mean a wire trace, no exceptions; big spoons and jerkbaits do the searching. Check locally before you travel, because a wasted drive is a long one. Close seasons apply to some species and not others. The nearest alternative is Lac Brisson, 0.5 km out. Nothing here settles the position at Lac Skelton for certain.