Zwicker Lake in Hants: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  You will find Zwicker Lake in Hants, Nova Scotia. Tidal water begins 21 km from here. Roughly 80 hectares: a morning covers one end, an afternoon the other. The margin runs to about 6.2 km in total. Few waters listed in Hants are bigger. Windsor is the closest town at 22 km. Chester is 29 km away, with Hantsport at 29 km. The boundary is close enough to be worth checking before you fish.

• Where to Fish on Zwicker Lake

  Depth is unknown to us, and the shoreline is the better guide. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Records held for Hants cover American eel, Atlantic salmon, striped bass and smallmouth bass. Some of the species recorded here are protected or tightly regulated, so check what may be targeted before you fish. At Zwicker Lake the first feature you find is worth twenty minutes.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Typical July readings run about 18°C; by January the average is down near -6°C. Expect a real winter and a strong spring after it. Once it clears, about mid April, the fishing comes on quickly. Break-up near mid April, freeze-up near mid December: that is the shape of an average year. Just after the ice goes and just before it returns, the fishing lifts. Zwicker Lake fishes to that pattern most years.

• Tackle & Baits

  We have no record of the rules that apply on this bank. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. There is recorded parking some 340 m off. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Take the rules with you rather than trusting memory. Access can change hands, so last year's answer may not hold. Should this one be busy, Little Otter Lake is 3.6 km off. For Zwicker Lake, the notice at the access point is the final word.