Lac Thou, Quebec: Fishing Spots and Seasons

• Overview

  Lac Thou lies in Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean, Quebec. The ground round it is taiga. At 2 hectares it is the sort of place you fish for an evening rather than a day. On size it sits at the modest end of our Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean list. Some 88 km away sits Leblanc, the nearest settlement. After that come Chapais at 99 km and Chibougamau at 100 km. The nearest boundary is a fair way off.

• Where to Fish on Lac Thou

  Open data we checked carries no depth for this water. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. County-wide records name northern pike, Atlantic salmon and lake whitefish. Some of the species recorded here are protected or tightly regulated, so check what may be targeted before you fish. Anyone new to Lac Thou should walk it once before setting up.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages move between -18°C in January and 16°C in July. The fishing year opens late and shuts early. Break-up comes around early May, and the run that follows is short and strong. Climate figures give an open season running early May to mid November. The middle of summer slows a little, with dawn and dusk carrying it. The season on Lac Thou follows the weather closely.

• Tackle & Baits

  No access rule appears in what we hold. No slipway, car park or made path shows up nearby in mapping, so treat access as rough. Pike mean a wire trace, no exceptions; big spoons and jerkbaits do the searching. Where access is informal, keep it that way by behaving. Check whether bait restrictions apply before you buy any. Should this one be busy, Lac Cotty is 1.2 km off. Check the position at Lac Thou before loading the car.