Hen Lake in Queens County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Hen Lake lies in Queens County, in Nova Scotia. The surface lies 101 metres up. At about 15 hectares, a day is enough to walk the shoreline properly. The full circuit measures close to 1.9 km on foot. The closest town, Bridgewater, is 38 km away. Further out sit Liverpool (49 km) and Mahone Bay (49 km). It sits well inside the county, so one set of rules covers it.

• Where to Fish on Hen Lake

  Depth remains unrecorded, so treat the first session as a survey. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. Records held for Queens County cover smallmouth bass, Atlantic whitefish, yellow perch and chain pickerel. Protected fish appear in the records for this area, so treat the list as information, not an invitation. Hen Lake repays a walk before the first cast.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Seasonal averages run from -6°C in January up to 19°C in July. Hard water is a season in its own right here. Hard cover is dependable here; it goes around mid April. The water is typically free of ice between mid April and mid December. Reckon on open water from spring through to late autumn, with May and June the strongest. It holds true on Hen Lake more years than not.

• Tackle & Baits

  We hold no note on access for this one. No dam controls it, and the level follows the season. Nothing in the way of made access shows up nearby: no ramp, no car park, no path. Largemouth respond to soft plastics tight to cover; go weedless where the growth is heavy. Sort the permit out before you load the car. Check whether bait restrictions apply before you buy any. The nearest alternative is Tupper Lake, 2.3 km out. Confirm before you fish Hen Lake.