Lac Spenard Fishing in Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean, Quebec

• Overview

  The Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean end of Quebec holds Lac Spenard. Elevation runs to 542 metres. It runs to roughly 29 hectares — big enough to hold fish away from the bank, small enough to learn. The whole outline is near 4.2 km, and most of it is walkable. Size puts it in the front rank of our Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean list. The town to know is Saint-Félicien, 43 km out. Further out sit Normandin (47 km) and Saint-Prime (50 km). One jurisdiction covers this water end to end.

• Where to Fish on Lac Spenard

  Depth is unknown to us, and the shoreline is the better guide. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Across Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean, recorded fish include northern pike, Atlantic salmon, lake whitefish and fallfish. Several of these carry legal protection or closed seasons; the rulebook comes before the rod. On Lac Spenard the obvious spot is not always the productive one.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Long-run averages give July about 16°C and January about -18°C. Winter runs most of the calendar, and everything worth doing happens in the gap. Ice-out usually falls in early May, and the weeks after it fish hardest. From about early May to around mid November, expect open water on the long-run figures. The shoulder weeks of the open season are the productive ones. It sets the rhythm of the year at Lac Spenard.

• Tackle & Baits

  Public sources are silent on who controls the bank. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. No made access is recorded, so a short walk in is the likely arrangement. A wire trace and a big bright lure handle the pike; deep water asks for a heavier spoon. Where a permit is needed, the nearest town usually sells it. Where tickets apply, they are sold in the nearest town rather than on the bank. For a change of water, Lac Chapeau is 2 km distant. For Lac Spenard, the notice at the access point is the final word.