Fishing at Petit lac Windigo, Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean, Quebec

• Overview

  Petit lac Windigo lies within the bounds of Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean, Quebec. The water sits 267 metres up. With some 20 hectares of water, there is room for a boat but no need of one. Shoreline comes to about 2.4 km, small enough to learn in a day. Albanel is the closest place, 38 km off. The big place round here is Saguenay, 150 km distant. There is no boundary nearby to worry about.

• Where to Fish on Petit lac Windigo

  Our records carry no depth, so judge it from the bank. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Across Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean, recorded fish include northern pike, Atlantic salmon and lake whitefish. Protected fish appear in the records for this area, so treat the list as information, not an invitation. At Petit lac Windigo light and wind decide more than tackle does.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Seasonal averages run from -19°C in January up to 17°C in July. Everything is compressed into the middle of the year. The lid usually sets by midwinter and gives way around early May. Ice usually gives way near early May, and forms again about mid November. The middle of summer slows a little, with dawn and dusk carrying it. It sets the rhythm of the year at Petit lac Windigo.

• Tackle & Baits

  No public source sets out the position on this bank. No dam controls it, and the level follows the season. There is no mapped parking or launch close by, which usually means walking in. Pike mean a wire trace, no exceptions; big spoons and jerkbaits do the searching. Check whether a boat is allowed before you tow one. Some ground is open by custom rather than by right, so tread carefully. Should this one be busy, Lac Windigo is 1.9 km off. Confirm access to Petit lac Windigo locally before you travel.