Fishing at Forbes Lake, Guysborough County, Nova Scotia

• Overview

  Nova Scotia holds Forbes Lake, in Guysborough County. Salt water lies 32 km off. At 5 hectares it is the sort of place you fish for an evening rather than a day. The town to know is Antigonish, 25 km out. Dartmouth sits 150 km out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. The boundary is near enough that local access rules are worth double-checking.

• Where to Fish on Forbes Lake

  Depth is unknown to us, and the shoreline is the better guide. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Fish documented in Guysborough County include alewife, American eel, brook trout and Atlantic salmon. Several of these carry legal protection or closed seasons; the rulebook comes before the rod. On Forbes Lake the first feature you find is usually worth a session.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Between February at about -7°C and August at about 18°C, the water has a wide range to work through. Cold winters and warm summers give a wide working range. Once it clears, about late April, the fishing comes on quickly. Expect the water usable from around late April until roughly mid December. The open run goes from the thaw to the freeze, and April through October covers most of it. The season on Forbes Lake follows the weather closely.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing in our records says who may fish here. No made access is recorded, so a short walk in is the likely arrangement. For the trout, small spinners and a box of nymphs cover both approaches. A landowner's word beats anything printed elsewhere. Access can change hands, so last year's answer may not hold. Should this one be busy, Jim Sinclairs Lake is 1 km off. Check the position on Forbes Lake before loading the car.