Petit lac Clair in Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Set in Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean, Petit lac Clair is a Quebec water. The surroundings are taiga. At 2 hectares it is the sort of place you fish for an evening rather than a day. Our Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean list holds plenty of bigger water. Normandin lies 41 km from the water. After that come Albanel at 44 km and Saint-Félicien at 58 km. It sits well inside its county, with no border complications.

• Where to Fish on Petit lac Clair

  There is no recorded depth, so work from what you can see. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Public occurrence data for Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean names northern pike, Atlantic salmon, lake whitefish and fallfish. Some of the species recorded here are protected or tightly regulated, so check what may be targeted before you fish. On Petit lac Clair the quiet end is the one worth the extra effort.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Long-term averages put July at about 17°C and January near -19°C. Cold dominates the year and the fishing works around it. Once it clears, about early May, the fishing comes on quickly. On the long-run averages the water opens up around early May and starts locking again about mid November. Fishing peaks soon after break-up and again before the cold returns. It sets the rhythm of the year at Petit lac Clair.

• Tackle & Baits

  The paperwork position is blank for this one. No made access appears within a short radius, so plan to park on a verge and walk. A wire trace and a big bright lure handle the pike; deep water asks for a heavier spoon. Look for a notice board at the entrance. Some water is controlled locally without a sign saying so. Should this one be busy, Lac du Tracteur is 0.6 km off. The position on Petit lac Clair is worth confirming on the day.