Lac Tabou, Quebec: Fishing Spots and Seasons

• Overview

  Lac Tabou lies in Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean, in Quebec. The water sits 539 metres up. It runs to roughly 16 hectares — big enough to hold fish away from the bank, small enough to learn. Shoreline comes to about 2.6 km, small enough to learn in a day. It sits higher than most water we list in Quebec. Nearest town is Saint-Félicien, 59 km off. The big place round here is Saguenay, 161 km distant. One jurisdiction covers this water end to end.

• Where to Fish on Lac Tabou

  We hold no survey for this water; read the slope of the shoreline instead. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. Fish documented in Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean include 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. Take Lac Tabou a stretch at a time.

• Seasonal Patterns

  July runs about 16°C on average, January about -18°C. Ice holds for a long stretch, so the open weeks matter more here than further south. Expect a solid lid for months and a thaw around early May. The open-water window runs from around early May to about mid November in an average year. May into June fishes hardest, and September gives a second good stretch before the lid returns. On Lac Tabou that shapes the whole year.

• Tackle & Baits

  The rules here are undocumented as far as public sources go. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. No built facilities appear in mapping around this water. Pike mean a wire trace, no exceptions; big spoons and jerkbaits do the searching. Look for a notice board at the entrance. Access can change hands, so last year's answer may not hold. If the gate is shut, Lac Giviut at 1.1 km is the nearest alternative. Rules at Lac Tabou are worth checking on the day.