Fishing Hills Lake in Queens County, Nova Scotia

• Overview

  Nova Scotia holds Hills Lake, in Queens County. The coast is 10 km away. Small at around 9 hectares: two anglers spread out cover most of it. It is one of the smaller waters we list in Queens County. For a base, Liverpool sits 20 km out. Then Bridgewater, 24 km, and Lunenburg, 36 km. The line between counties passes nearby, which can change who manages the water.

• Where to Fish on Hills Lake

  Depth remains unrecorded, so treat the first session as a survey. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Records held for Queens County cover smallmouth bass, Atlantic whitefish, yellow perch, chain pickerel and brown bullhead. Some of the species recorded here are protected or tightly regulated, so check what may be targeted before you fish. On Hills Lake that means starting tight and working out.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Long-term averages put July at about 19°C and January near -5°C. A hard winter is normal, and the thaw brings a strong few weeks. The lid usually sets by midwinter and gives way around early April. On average, early April opens the water and late December closes it again. Right after break-up, and again as the nights sharpen, is when to go. Hills Lake runs to that rhythm year in and year out.

• Tackle & Baits

  Who may fish here is not settled in anything we hold. Mapping shows an empty shoreline: no ramp, no jetty, no marked entry. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Rules differ from one water to the next round here. Close seasons apply to some species and not others. Should this one be busy, Long Lake is 0.7 km off. None of that is settled for Hills Lake in what we hold.