Fishing at Fox Lake, Halifax Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia

• Overview

  Within Halifax Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia, you have Fox Lake. It lies 117 metres above sea level. It covers about 3 hectares, so this is small water you can walk round in under an hour. It is a small entry by Halifax Regional Municipality standards. Waverley lies 8 km from the water. It is 16 km to Dartmouth, the nearest city. No boundary runs near, so the local rules hold throughout.

• Where to Fish on Fox Lake

  There is no recorded depth, so work from what you can see. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. Reported across Halifax Regional Municipality: brook trout, alewife, rainbow smelt and American eel. At least one recorded species is protected in parts of its range; read the local rules before targeting anything. Read Fox Lake before you fish it and the day goes better.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Expect August to average close to 18°C, with January the cold end at about -6°C. Cold locks it up for a good stretch each year. Winter fishing happens on the ice here, with open water back around mid April. Expect the water usable from around mid April until roughly mid December. The strong weeks are the first after break-up and the last before the freeze. It holds true on Fox Lake more years than not.

• Tackle & Baits

  The paperwork position is blank for this one. There is no mapped parking or launch close by, which usually means walking in. For the trout, small spinners and a box of nymphs cover both approaches. Gates get locked out of season on water like this. Access can change hands, so last year's answer may not hold. If the gate is shut, Lookout Lake at 0.4 km is the nearest alternative. Confirm access to Fox Lake locally before you travel.