Murphys Lake Fishing near Musquodoboit Harbour, Nova Scotia

• Overview

  Murphys Lake falls in Halifax Regional Municipality, part of Nova Scotia. Elevation runs to 10 metres. At 9 hectares it is the sort of place you fish for an evening rather than a day. Shoreline comes to about 1.6 km, small enough to learn in a day. It is low-lying compared with other Nova Scotia water we list. Nearest town is Musquodoboit Harbour, 26 km off. Porters Lake is 38 km and Lawrencetown 43 km. It lies deep inside the county rather than near an edge.

• Where to Fish on Murphys Lake

  There is no recorded depth, so work from what you can see. Being tidal, the water moves twice a day, and the fishing moves with it. 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. County-wide records name Atlantic cod, coalfish, brook trout, alewife and rainbow smelt. Some of the species recorded here are protected or tightly regulated, so check what may be targeted before you fish. Read Murphys Lake for ten minutes before the first cast goes out.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Average temperature peaks around 18°C in August and bottoms out near -5°C in February. Fishing here follows the temperature more than the calendar. Ice-out usually falls in mid April, and the weeks after it fish hardest. Ice clears near mid April and comes back about late December in a typical year. June through September is the settled part of the year, with the shoulders busier for fish. At Murphys Lake the season follows that pattern closely.

• Tackle & Baits

  The paperwork position is blank for this one. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. Mapping shows a jetty some 1.1 km off. Trout here take small spinners, spoons and, where fly water allows, a nymph or dry. Where the road in crosses private land, ask first. A polite question at the farm gate opens more banks than anything else. For a change of water, Green Lake is 4.5 km distant. What applies at Murphys Lake may have changed since it was mapped.