Fishing Square Lake in Halifax Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia

• Overview

  Square Lake sits in Halifax Regional Municipality, out in Nova Scotia. It sits in rolling bush. Roughly 16 hectares: a morning covers one end, an afternoon the other. The edge runs 3.2 km or so, easy to work in an afternoon. Head to Stellarton, 65 km away, for anything you forgot. Beyond it, New Glasgow at 67 km and Westville at 68 km. The county edge is within a short distance of the bank.

• Where to Fish on Square Lake

  There is no published depth for this one, so start shallow and work out. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Fish documented in Halifax Regional Municipality include brook trout, alewife, rainbow smelt, American eel and Atlantic salmon. Several of these carry legal protection or closed seasons; the rulebook comes before the rod. At Square Lake light and wind decide more than tackle does.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Expect August near 18°C and February near -6°C on the long-run figures. A hard winter is normal, and the thaw brings a strong few weeks. After mid April the shallows warm and the fish move up. Break-up near mid April, freeze-up near mid December: that is the shape of an average year. The open run goes from the thaw to the freeze, and April through October covers most of it. On Square Lake that shapes the whole year.

• Tackle & Baits

  Access is not recorded for this water. No dam controls it, and the level follows the season. Public data shows nothing built here, so treat the whole approach as informal. For the trout, small spinners and a box of nymphs cover both approaches. Where the road in crosses private land, ask first. Rules for boats are stricter than rules for the bank in many places. Quoddy Lake sits 1.8 km off and takes the overflow. The position on Square Lake is worth confirming on the day.