Lac Travers Fishing Guide, Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean, Quebec

• Overview

  Out in Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean, Quebec, sits Lac Travers. Elevation runs to 536 metres. Roughly 30 hectares: a morning covers one end, an afternoon the other. There is roughly 5.9 km of bank, more than one visit can cover properly. Few waters listed in Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean are bigger. For supplies, Labrecque is 74 km out. Saint-Honoré follows at 74 km, then Saint-Ambroise at 77 km. It lies deep inside the county rather than near an edge.

• Where to Fish on Lac Travers

  Depth is unknown to us, and the shoreline is the better guide. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Fish documented in Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean include northern pike, Atlantic salmon, lake whitefish and fallfish. At least one recorded species is protected in parts of its range; read the local rules before targeting anything. On Lac Travers the first feature you find is usually worth a session.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Climate normals give 15°C for July and -19°C for January. Everything is compressed into the middle of the year. Ice fishing carries the winter, and the water opens about early May. Ice usually gives way near early May, and forms again about mid November. The strong weeks are the first after break-up and the last before the freeze. The season on Lac Travers rarely departs from it.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether the bank is open is not something our records settle. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. There is a mapped slipway roughly 720 m away. For the pike, wire up and throw larger lures along the weed edges. Where the road in crosses private land, ask first. Where parking is tight, arriving early solves most problems. Lac du Flotteur sits 1.3 km off and takes the overflow. Where Lac Travers is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.