Here fishy fishy…. where are you??

Jonathan Crouse May 14, 2026 8:24 am Last Updated on May 14, 2026 8:24 am

I take comfort in the fact that it is not my poor technique and skill that has me only drowning bait without bites when fishing.
The sad part is the reason for the lack of bites, there are not as many fish. The first thought that came to my mind is that an increase in predator species must be the reason, but last year’s drought is to blame. The dry conditions last summer caused the hatcheries to have less fish for stocking this spring.

“We were forced to conserve water and this was done by reducing the [number] of ponds that we had in operation,” he said, noting that the ponds used in the hatcheries depend on water from local sources, like rivers and lakes.
“As we were shutting these ponds down to conserve water, we had to stock fish earlier than typical or earlier than usual because we’re reducing our capacity to hang onto them.”
Thibodeau said his team has roughly 130,000 brook trout available for spring stocking, down around 60 per cent compared to regular years.

No trout taking your bait? This could explain why

I was hoping to be able to take the boys to an area where there are lots of fish, just not sure where that is anymore.
There is a site where you can keep track of the stocked areas.

Weekly Stocking Update 2026

Not sure if there will be any more fish released, but for now, here are the stocked lakes in our area:

Recreational Fishing Area 3 – Halifax and Lunenburg
Date	Lake Name	County	Species
April 21	Henry Lake	Lunenburg	Brook Trout
April 21	Spectacle Lakes	Lunenburg	Brook Trout
April 21	Wiles Lake	Lunenburg	Brook Trout
April 23	Wrights Lake	Halifax	Brook Trout
April 23	Stillwater Lake	Halifax	Brook Trout

Recreational Fishing Area 4 – Digby, Queens, Shelburne and Yarmouth
Date	Lake Name	County	Species
April 25	McGowan Lake	Queens	Brook Trout
April 27	Goose Lake	Shelburne	Brook Trout
April 27	Pathe Lake	Queens	Brook Trout
April 30	Plympton Lake	Digby	Brook Trout
April 30	Journeays Lake	Digby	Brook Trout