Fifth Lake in Guysborough County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  This water sits in Guysborough County, Nova Scotia. Everything around it is mixed forest. It measures about 48 hectares, which is a comfortable size for bank fishing. Around 6.6 km of bank, which is a long day on foot. Few waters listed in Guysborough County are bigger. Antigonish sits 54 km from the bank. Dartmouth sits 141 km out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. It sits well inside the county, so one set of rules covers it.

• Where to Fish on Fifth Lake

  Our records hold no depth for this water. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Reported across Guysborough County: alewife, American eel and brook trout. Several of these carry legal protection or closed seasons; the rulebook comes before the rod. Read Fifth Lake before you fish it and the day goes better.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Climate normals give 18°C for August and -6°C for February. Hard water is a season in its own right here. Hard cover is dependable here; it goes around mid April. On the long-run averages the water opens up around mid April and starts locking again about late December. May into June fishes hardest, and September gives a second good stretch before the lid returns. Keep it in mind when planning a trip to Fifth Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Public data does not answer the access question here. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. No built facilities appear in mapping around this water. 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. Barbless rules turn up on managed water more often than not. The nearest alternative is Second Lake, 1.8 km out. Signs at Fifth Lake carry more weight than any list.