Joshua Lake in Saint John County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  In New Brunswick, Joshua Lake belongs to Saint John County. This is pine and birch ground. It runs to roughly 20 hectares — big enough to hold fish away from the bank, small enough to learn. Shoreline comes to about 1.9 km, small enough to learn in a day. Fundy Shores is the closest town at 4.4 km. Grand Bay-Westfield follows at 20 km, then Lancaster at 22 km. The boundary is close enough to be worth checking before you fish.

• Where to Fish on Joshua Lake

  Our records hold no depth for this water. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. Across Saint John County, recorded fish include alewife, Atlantic salmon and rainbow smelt. Protected fish appear in the records for this area, so treat the list as information, not an invitation. On Joshua Lake a short move beats a long cast.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The warmest month averages 18°C, the coldest about -9°C. Expect a real winter and a strong spring after it. Hard water holds through the cold months, breaking up near mid April. Ice usually gives way near mid April, and forms again about mid December. May into June fishes hardest, and September gives a second good stretch before the lid returns. On Joshua Lake that shapes the whole year.

• Tackle & Baits

  Public data does not answer the access question here. No dam controls it, and the level follows the season. We find no slipway, car park or made path within a short radius, so treat access as rough. Salmon and sea-run fish answer to spoons and spinners where lure fishing is allowed; check the method rules first. Rules differ from one water to the next round here. A polite question at the farm gate opens more banks than anything else. Should this one be busy, Marchs Lake is 1.8 km off. Ask locally about Joshua Lake if anything is unclear.