Fishing Country Harbour Lake in Guysborough County, Nova Scotia

• Overview

  Country Harbour Lake stands in Guysborough County, Nova Scotia. This is rolling bush country. With some 24 hectares of water, there is room for a boat but no need of one. The full circuit measures close to 2.2 km on foot. The closest town, Antigonish, is 36 km away. The big place round here is Dartmouth, 148 km distant. Rules can differ a short way off, since the county line is near.

• Where to Fish on Country Harbour Lake

  We hold no depth figure for this one. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Reported across Guysborough County: alewife, American eel and brook trout. Some of the species recorded here are protected or tightly regulated, so check what may be targeted before you fish. On Country Harbour Lake a short move beats a long cast.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Typical August readings run about 18°C; by February the average is down near -6°C. Cold locks it up for a good stretch each year. Winter locks it down, and late April brings it back. Break-up near late April, freeze-up near late December: that is the shape of an average year. Just after the ice goes and just before it returns, the fishing lifts. That shapes the year on Country Harbour Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  We have no record of the rules that apply on this bank. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. No made access is recorded, so a short walk in is the likely arrangement. Trout here take small spinners, spoons and, where fly water allows, a nymph or dry. Provincial rules still apply whatever the bank status. Rules for boats are stricter than rules for the bank in many places. Palmer Lake, 1 km away, makes the obvious fallback. Treat access at Country Harbour Lake as something to verify.