Black Lake near Belfast: Fishing Spots, Seasons and Access

• Overview

  Black Lake is a Queens County water, in Prince Edward Island. The water sits 1 metres up. It covers about 2 hectares, so this is small water you can walk round in under an hour. On size it sits at the modest end of our Queens County list. Some 9.6 km away sits Belfast, the nearest settlement. Dartmouth sits 157 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 Black Lake

  Depth went unrecorded, which puts the reading back on you. Time trips to the tide table rather than the clock here. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. Fish documented in Queens County include striped bass, American eel, rainbow smelt and Atlantic cod. Some of the species recorded here are protected or tightly regulated, so check what may be targeted before you fish. On Black Lake the obvious spot is not always the productive one.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The year swings from about -7°C in February to roughly 18°C in August. Winter closes the water for a while, and the reopening is worth catching. After late April the shallows warm and the fish move up. Average temperatures cross freezing around late April in spring and again near mid December in autumn. The open run goes from the thaw to the freeze, and April through October covers most of it. Anyone fishing Black Lake regularly works to that calendar.

• Tackle & Baits

  Public sources are silent on who controls the bank. We find no slipway, car park or made path within a short radius, so treat access as rough. A small crankbait along the drop and a worm in the thick stuff cover the bass. Gates get locked out of season on water like this. Signs go up and come down, so check on the day. Should this one be busy, Moss Lake is 26 km off. Where Black Lake is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.