Fishing Crane Lake in Halifax Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia

• Overview

  In Nova Scotia, Crane Lake falls inside Halifax Regional Municipality. Height above sea level is 87 metres. At 3 hectares it is the sort of place you fish for an evening rather than a day. On size it sits at the modest end of our Halifax Regional Municipality list. Stellarton at 62 km is the nearest place to stop. After that come Musquodoboit Harbour at 64 km and Westville at 64 km. Rules here are straightforward: one set of provincial rules.

• Where to Fish on Crane Lake

  We hold no survey for this water; read the slope of the shoreline instead. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. Species logged across Halifax Regional Municipality include brook trout, alewife, rainbow smelt and American eel. Some of the species recorded here are protected or tightly regulated, so check what may be targeted before you fish. On Crane Lake the quiet end is the one worth the extra effort.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Climate records put August near 18°C and February near -6°C. A solid cap is the normal state through winter. Ice-out usually falls in mid April, and the weeks after it fish hardest. Open water usually runs from mid April until about mid December. Right after break-up, and again as the nights sharpen, is when to go. The season on Crane Lake follows the weather closely.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing in our records says who may fish here. No car park, ramp or path is recorded within easy reach of the shore. Light line and small metal for the trout; a fly rod earns its place on calm evenings. Parking space is the usual limit rather than the bank itself. A polite question at the farm gate opens more banks than anything else. For a change of water, Irving Lake is 1.1 km distant. For Crane Lake, the notice at the access point is the final word.