Vision of accessible trout fishing pond being pursued

The Shelburne County

Fish and Game Association (SCFGA) has put the wheels in motion in pursuit of an accessible trout fishing pond in Clyde River where young and old could cast a line.

The idea was brought forth at the association’s last meeting.

“We should dig a pond somewhere, get (Nova Scotia) fisheries to stock it every year and let the kids fish,” said association member Buzzy Smith in an interview. “We have been holding an annual derby at Alvin Lake (just outside Shelburne for years) but it’s not a good fishing place for kids,” with lots of rocks, trees and tripping hazards.

SCFGA president Stephen Nickerson added a manmade trout fishing pond would be a benefit to local residents young and old alike, providing a healthy outdoor recreational activity.

“It would be something for the kids to do and grown ups too,” said Nickerson. “The way it is today with trout, if you’re going to catch a trout, you’ve got to walk at least five, six, eight miles in through the woods. Elderly people can’t do it. With a fishpond a lot of grandparents would take their grandchildren there. Parents could take their kids. Fishing a stocked pond, they wouldn’t have to have a fishing license.”

An angler since he was four years old, Nickerson said in his lifetime, trout fishing in southwestern Nova Scotia has gone from "a lot of trout to no trout. It’s the acid rain. With a pond we could lime it and the fish would live.”

Nickerson said such a project probably wouldn’t be that expensive to do. “It would be just the digging. All the fill

(for a parking lot) would come from the pond so I don’t think it would be a big expense.”

The Municipality of Barrington owns land in Clyde River along Highway 103. The SCFGA has contacted Barrington Municipal Warden Eddie Nickerson with their idea.

“I really do believe it’s something that could be attractive to residents of the municipality,” said Warden Nickerson when contacted, noting the idea is still “in the infancy stages."

"I’m looking at some land the municipality has, and they are going to do some background work with the Department of the Environment and that type of stuff to see what we’ve got to do and how we can do it," he says. "I would really like to see it come to fruition.”

Warden Nickerson said once the SCFGA gathers more information, he expects that the association will make a formal presentation to council. “It’s their baby. I think it might be something we could access funding for, especially if the municipality leased land to them and they kept it up. It’s an outdoor activity, it would bring families out to catch a fish. It sounds like a good idea to me.”

According to the provincial fisheries website, there are only two barrier free fishing sites in southwestern Nova Scotia. Meadow Pond in Liverpool sponsored by the Region of Queens Municipality is stocked annually with speckled trout. Anglers can fish for smallmouth bass and chain pickerel at the Lake Milo Aquatic Club in Yarmouth. The nearby Sealed Landers Park also has a wheelchair accessible picnic park.

The Nova Scotia Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture stock approximately 200 lakes each spring and fall across the province. In the spring brook trout and rainbow trout are made available for the program. In the fall, as part of the department’s enhancement program, primarily brook trout populations are enhanced, but the program can also include brown trout and Sea-run Atlantic salmon. In recent years, the hatcheries have been able to provide additional Rainbow trout to sites with winter seasons as the Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture looks to expand winter angling opportunities.

In 2020, more than 76,000 sportfishing licences were sold in Nova Scotia, the highest participation since 1985. Sportfishing generates more than $66 million annually for Nova Scotia’s economy.