Canada: Winter fishery opens Monday in designated lakes across Nova Scotia

The winter sportfishing season gets underway Monday, but as in past years, many people will likely be casting into cold water from shore rather than dropping their bait into lakes through holes in the frozen surface. Climate change continues to cause issues, either keeping ice in some parts of the province too thin to walk on, or turning what ice there is into soft ice and slush that isn’t stable. But still, for many anglers who have been limited to the few year-round lakes in the province since the fall, the opening of the winter fishery scratches the itch to get out and cast a line. “The amount of time that many lakes are frozen for anglers to get out has definitely been reduced,” said Stephen Thibodeau, the manager of fisheries enhancement for the province’s fisheries and aquaculture department. “It’s hard to forecast or predict.” The Canadian Red Cross suggests there be at least 15 cm of ice for someone to walk, skate or fish on, 20 cm for a large group of people, and 25 cm ...