Kellys Lake Fishing near Antigonish, Nova Scotia

• Overview

  Guysborough County, Nova Scotia, is where Kellys Lake sits. The ground around here is mixed forest. The water covers some 25 hectares, so pick a bank rather than trying to cover it all. Shoreline comes to about 3.5 km, small enough to learn in a day. Antigonish is the closest town at 30 km. Sydney is the closest city, 149 km away. Local rules may differ a few miles either side of here.

• Where to Fish on Kellys Lake

  Depth is unmeasured here, so let the shoreline guide you. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Across Guysborough County, recorded fish include alewife, American eel and brook trout. At least one recorded species is protected in parts of its range; read the local rules before targeting anything. At Kellys Lake the water rewards a slow, careful approach.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Expect August near 18°C and February near -7°C on the long-run figures. Hard water is a season in its own right here. Ice fishing carries the winter, and the water opens about late April. The open-water window runs from around late April to about mid December in an average year. May into June fishes hardest, and September gives a second good stretch before the lid returns. Kellys Lake runs to its own calendar within the local pattern.

• Tackle & Baits

  Access is not recorded for this water. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. Nothing is listed nearby for parking or launching a boat. Light line and small metal for the trout; a fly rod earns its place on calm evenings. Rules for this water may differ from the county norm. Some stretches are reserved and marked as such on the ground. The nearest alternative is Three Cornered Lake, 1.3 km out. For Kellys Lake in particular, ask before you travel.