French Clearwater Lake in Yarmouth County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  You will find French Clearwater Lake in Yarmouth County, Nova Scotia. The bank is 8 metres above sea level. Surface area runs to roughly 1.22 sq km, so plan for one area rather than the whole. The margin runs to about 8.1 km in total. Few waters listed in Yarmouth County are bigger. Head to Yarmouth, 17 km away, for anything you forgot. Barrington is 46 km and Shelburne 50 km. It sits well inside the county, so one set of rules covers it.

• Where to Fish on French Clearwater Lake

  Depth is unknown to us, and the shoreline is the better guide. Time trips to the tide table rather than the clock here. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Records held for Yarmouth County cover coalfish, American eel, Atlantic cod and yellow perch. Fish French Clearwater Lake where the bottom changes rather than where it looks deep.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Average temperature peaks around 17°C in August and bottoms out near -4°C in February. The season stretches long at both ends here. In milder years the edges alone go, and the middle never sets. February into May fishes hardest as the water warms. It holds true on French Clearwater Lake more years than not.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing we hold confirms whether access is permitted. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. No made access appears within a short radius, so plan to park on a verge and walk. Trout here take small spinners, spoons and, where fly water allows, a nymph or dry. Look for a notice board at the entrance. Night access is frequently treated as a separate matter. Marcel Lake at 1.9 km is the sensible second choice. For French Clearwater Lake in particular, ask before you travel.