Trout Lake Fishing near Antigonish, Nova Scotia

• Overview

  Nova Scotia holds Trout Lake, in Guysborough County. It stands 57 metres above sea level. Around 31 hectares of surface means several distinct areas to work. Around 2.7 km of margin, front to back. Few waters listed in Guysborough County are bigger. Antigonish at 32 km is the nearest place to stop. Further out sit Stellarton (54 km) and New Glasgow (55 km). A county line runs close by, so local bylaws can differ within a short drive.

• Where to Fish on Trout Lake

  Depth is unknown to us, and the shoreline is the better guide. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Survey and observation records for Guysborough County include 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. Trout Lake repays a walk before the first cast.

• Seasonal Patterns

  In an average year August sits at 18°C and February at -7°C. Winter puts a hard lid on this one. Winter locks it down, and late April brings it back. Averages suggest open water from about late April through to roughly mid December. Right after break-up, and again as the nights sharpen, is when to go. It sets the rhythm of the year at Trout Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Access is not recorded for this water. No dam controls it, and the level follows the season. No launch point is recorded nearby, so this is a bank water unless you carry a boat in. Trout here take small spinners, spoons and, where fly water allows, a nymph or dry. Season dates differ by species, so read the table. Access can change hands, so last year's answer may not hold. If the gate is shut, Cranberry Lake at 1.6 km is the nearest alternative. Confirm before you fish Trout Lake.