Shepherd Lake Fishing near Port Hawkesbury, Nova Scotia

• Overview

  Shepherd Lake is a Guysborough County water, in Nova Scotia. The surface lies 137 metres up. Surface area is around 34 hectares, which gives you real water without needing a boat. The whole outline is near 2.9 km, and most of it is walkable. It is among the larger waters listed here for Guysborough County. Nearest place of any size is Port Hawkesbury, 19 km away. The big place round here is Sydney, 127 km distant. This one sits near enough to a boundary to be worth checking.

• Where to Fish on Shepherd Lake

  Depth here is unknown, so count the lead down before committing. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. Open biodiversity records for Guysborough County list alewife, American eel, brook trout, Atlantic salmon and blueback herring. Protected fish appear in the records for this area, so treat the list as information, not an invitation. Fish Shepherd Lake where the bottom changes rather than where it looks deep.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Climate records put August near 18°C and February near -7°C. A full turn of seasons, with the strongest sport on either side of summer. The freeze runs deep into the year, with break-up near late April. The lid tends to go about late April and return around mid December. Reckon on open water from spring through to late autumn, with May and June the strongest. That is the shape of the year on Shepherd Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Public data does not answer the access question here. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. The nearest car park we can see is 630 m out, so expect a walk with your gear. There are picnic tables recorded roughly 610 m off. Trout here take small spinners, spoons and, where fly water allows, a nymph or dry. Rules for this water may differ from the county norm. Signs go up and come down, so check on the day. Should this one be busy, Five Mile Lake is 3.1 km off. Nothing on Shepherd Lake should be assumed from this page alone.