Nicholl Lake in Charlotte County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  The Charlotte County end of New Brunswick holds Nicholl Lake. The country here is rolling bush. It covers about 5 hectares, so this is small water you can walk round in under an hour. You are 25 km from St. George. Eastern Charlotte is 28 km and Pennfield 28 km. In the same area: Little Long Lake at about 2.6 km, Oxbow Lake 4.3 km away, McDougall Inlet at about 4.8 km, Blind Lake 6 km away and Cundy Lake at about 6.3 km. The nearest boundary is well away, so one set of rules covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Nicholl Lake

  Depth remains unrecorded, so treat the first session as a survey. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Charlotte County records list Atlantic salmon, alewife, rainbow smelt, American eel and smallmouth bass among the fish reported. Protected fish appear in the records for this area, so treat the list as information, not an invitation. On Nicholl Lake a short move beats a long cast.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Expect July near 18°C and January near -9°C on the long-run figures. Hard water is a season in its own right here. Hard cover is dependable here; it goes around mid April. The water is typically free of ice between mid April and early December. Look to early summer and the first cool weeks of autumn. Time your trip to Nicholl Lake by conditions rather than dates.

• Tackle & Baits

  Our records carry no access rule either way. No built facilities appear in mapping around this water. Largemouth respond to soft plastics tight to cover; go weedless where the growth is heavy. Rules differ from one water to the next round here. Close seasons apply to some species and not others. Little Long Lake sits 2.6 km off and takes the overflow. Where Nicholl Lake is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.