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

• Overview

  This water sits in Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean, Quebec. It lies 580 metres above sea level. Surface area is around 15 hectares, which gives you real water without needing a boat. The full circuit measures close to 3.4 km on foot. Compared with other Quebec water on our list, it sits high. The town to know is Sacré-Coeur, 69 km out. Les Escoumins is 72 km away, with Saint-Fulgence at 73 km. Rules here are straightforward: one set of provincial rules.

• Where to Fish on Petit lac de la Croix

  Depth is not on record here, which means reading the ground instead. This is a lake, so the margins and the first drop matter most. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. 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. At Petit lac de la Croix the first feature you find is worth twenty minutes.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The seasonal spread runs -18°C to 15°C. Open water is the exception rather than the rule here. Winter fishing happens on the ice here, with open water back around mid May. Going by climate averages, expect open water from about mid May until roughly early November. The open run goes from the thaw to the freeze, and April through October covers most of it. Expect Petit lac de la Croix to follow that timing.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing on record says whether the bank is open or closed. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. Access is unmapped, which usually means a farm track and a walk. Pike mean a wire trace, no exceptions; big spoons and jerkbaits do the searching. Bank access can be seasonal on ground like this. Close seasons apply to some species and not others. Should this one be busy, Lac Emery is 0.8 km off. Signs at Petit lac de la Croix carry more weight than any list.