Stave Hill Lake Fishing Guide, Halifax Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia

• Overview

  Set in Halifax Regional Municipality, Stave Hill Lake is a Nova Scotia water. The country here is rolling bush. At roughly 7 hectares, the whole thing is within casting reach of a single walk. The nearest town is Musquodoboit Harbour, 36 km away. Dartmouth sits 72 km out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. The nearest boundary is well away, so one set of rules covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Stave Hill Lake

  There is no recorded depth, so work from what you can see. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Halifax Regional Municipality records list brook trout, alewife, rainbow smelt and American eel among the fish reported. Protected fish appear in the records for this area, so treat the list as information, not an invitation. Fish Stave Hill Lake to its features, not to its size.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Climate normals give 18°C for August and -5°C for February. A hard winter is normal, and the thaw brings a strong few weeks. Hard water holds through the cold months, breaking up near mid April. Climate averages put the opening at about mid April and the closing near late December. The strongest runs come at either end of the open season. Plan any trip to Stave Hill Lake around it.

• Tackle & Baits

  The rules here are undocumented as far as public sources go. There is no recorded infrastructure here; expect to find your own way in. Light line and small metal for the trout; a fly rod earns its place on calm evenings. Some banks are open only from a marked point. Where the way in crosses private ground, ask first. For a change of water, Little Cranberry Lake is 0.7 km distant. None of that is settled for Stave Hill Lake in what we hold.