Fishing at Bower Lake, Yarmouth County, Nova Scotia

• Overview

  Bower Lake is a Yarmouth County water, in Nova Scotia. Height above sea level is 79 metres. The water covers some 14 hectares, so pick a bank rather than trying to cover it all. With about 2.0 km of edge, you can try several depths in one session. It is one of the smaller waters we list in Yarmouth County. Supplies mean a trip to Yarmouth, 39 km off. Shelburne follows at 51 km, then Digby at 59 km. The county line is nowhere near, so one local authority covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Bower Lake

  No published figure covers depth, so learn it as you fish. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Records held for Yarmouth County cover American eel, yellow perch, Atlantic salmon, white perch and alewife. Several of these carry legal protection or closed seasons; the rulebook comes before the rod. The near bank of Bower Lake is often the one people ignore.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages move between -5°C in February and 17°C in July. Winter puts a hard lid on this one. The lid usually sets by midwinter and gives way around early April. Ice usually gives way near early April, and forms again about late December. The strong weeks are the first after break-up and the last before the freeze. It sets the rhythm of the year at Bower Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  The rules here are undocumented as far as public sources go. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. Nothing is mapped in the way of a ramp or car park within a short radius. Trout here take small spinners, spoons and, where fly water allows, a nymph or dry. Some banks are open only from a marked point. Barbless rules turn up on managed water more often than not. For a change of water, Harris Lake is 1.8 km distant. For Bower Lake, the notice at the access point is the final word.