Petit lac Marie Fishing in Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean, Quebec

• Overview

  The Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean end of Quebec holds Petit lac Marie. The setting is northern bush on every side. This is a pocket water of some 7 hectares, and every part of it is reachable from the bank. Normandin lies 87 km from the water. Saguenay sits 199 km out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. It lies deep inside the county rather than near an edge.

• Where to Fish on Petit lac Marie

  Our records carry no depth, so judge it from the bank. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. County-wide records name 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 Marie the first feature you find is usually worth a session.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Between January at about -20°C and July at about 16°C, the water has a wide range to work through. This is a two-season water: locked, then wide open. Winter fishing happens on the ice here, with open water back around early May. Ice clears near early May and comes back about mid November in a typical year. The strongest runs come at either end of the open season. Time your trip to Petit lac Marie by conditions rather than dates.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing we hold confirms whether access is permitted. Nothing in the way of made access shows up nearby: no ramp, no car park, no path. For the pike, wire up and throw larger lures along the weed edges. Where a permit is needed, the nearest town usually sells it. A polite question at the farm gate opens more banks than anything else. Failing this one, try Lac Yvan, 1.5 km away. None of that is settled for Petit lac Marie in what we hold.