Fishing at Yoho Lake, York County, New Brunswick

• Overview

  Set in York County, New Brunswick, this is Yoho Lake. The ground round it is mixed forest. It measures some 1.23 sq km, and wind has room to build across it. The shoreline runs about 8.2 km, so it pays to pick a stretch and stay with it. On our York County list it sits near the top for size. You are 12 km from Kingsclear. Dartmouth sits 285 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 Yoho Lake

  Our records hold no depth for this water. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. Across York County, recorded fish include smallmouth bass, Atlantic salmon, pumpkinseed, yellow perch and chain pickerel. Several of these carry legal protection or closed seasons; the rulebook comes before the rod. Read Yoho Lake for ten minutes before the first cast goes out.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Average temperature peaks around 19°C in July and bottoms out near -10°C in January. Expect a real winter and a strong spring after it. Ice is part of the season here, ending near mid April. Break-up near mid April, freeze-up near early December: that is the shape of an average year. The strong weeks are the first after break-up and the last before the freeze. Yoho Lake fishes to that pattern most years.

• Tackle & Baits

  We hold no note on access for this one. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. A campsite is mapped about 1.4 km away, which makes an early start easier. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Parking is often the real limit rather than the bank itself. Some water is controlled locally without a sign saying so. If the gate is shut, Mud Lake at 7.5 km is the nearest alternative. None of that is settled for Yoho Lake in what we hold.