Hunting in Nova Scotia

6MM

6MM

Member
Rating - 100%
53   0   0
Location
Saskatoon, SK
I am going to be in Nova Scotia during the Easter break and have been thinking about buying a place for when I retire in 6 years. I have been cruising the real estate multiple listings for places either west of Halifax or even in New Brunswick.

I would like some feedback on what is available to hunt/fish in Nova Scotia and surrounding area.

Since the distances are not that great to travel - I live in Nipawin SK and hunt from the east side to the south west region of the province - I would even be interested in knowing about hunting in New Brunswick.

I hunt geese, ducks, deer, elk, moose, gophers, coyotes, foxes, ... as well as fishing. I will not suffer from nothing to do once I retire.

My thanks in advance to all you GunNutz for your help and guidance!
 
Yer gonna miss Sask...

Unfortunately...I dont have a lot of time to explain...but having hunted in all 3 provinces....yer gonna miss Sask. Hunnting back east, is different...you will note the shorter seasons...for one. Might I suggest you look on the net and just take a look at the local hunting regs for NB and NS. It will be an eye opener. You dont even want to talk coyotes...unless things have changed over the years..calibre restrictions, season cross over restrictions..
They do have great deer..huge white tails..which you are used to.in 4 years of putting in for draw only moose..never smelled one..yet the list of successful applicants is in the paper. Anyone will tell you the number of some family members every year getting tags..is well not fair...excellent rabbits and woodcock in the right area's...I think you will miss the wide open spaces...and freedoms you enjoyed. Thats not to say there isnt great hunting, there is..its just..well, different..there wont be any of the grab a rifle and go for a drive stuff like you may be used to...and fish fed duck will never be the same as your grain fed birds....yet, there is an attraction to the eastern provinces . Check the regs on the net...
 
I hunt geese, ducks, deer, elk, moose, gophers, coyotes, foxes, ... as well as fishing. I will not suffer from nothing to do once I retire.


I don't want to sound like a pessimist, but depending on where you do retire, you may just suffer from nothing to do!
I moved up to Ottawa 4 years ago from work, but still come home for 2-3 weeks every fall to hunt whitetail with my father. Been hunting them back here for the last 20 years. That is in the Annapolis Valley, NS. Last fall I saw a grand total of about 4 deer, all does. Never bagged anything. Year before, I saw less. Haven't taken a deer home in about 5 years. The game is very poorly managed here, and overhunting / jacking at night, all year round, has taken a real bite out of the whitetail, at least where we are. I can't speak for other parts of the province (maybe someone else can chime in here with some good news) but it is very dissapointing in my neck of the woods. Just started seeing some rabbits again this year, though I've heard there are many in other parts of the province. There are moose in Cape Breton which you can draw for. You won't see elk or gophers, but there are coyotes and fox. As for rules and regulations, they make you almost want to give up. In my opinion, coming from out West, you will be very dissapointed in the hunting. You just cannot compare, we are not in the same league. That said, I think it is much better in New Brunswick. I know their deer herd is in much better shape than ours.
Personally, I would love to retire back to NS someday myself, but I'm just praying the hunting gets better by then. I'm not optimistic the way things are going.
Good luck with your decision.
Matt
 
Last edited:
Hi 6MM

Go to their repective sights and you will find all kinds of info.

novascotiahunting.com and novascotiafishing.com
newbrunswickhunting.com and newbrunswickfishing.com

All the info you need should be there,great sites.
I would also recomend west of Halifax, southshore area.

Let me know what you can't find.

Wayne
 
NB whitetails are a fair bit bigger than NS whitetails...not that NB management is too much better, but I do believe there is a bigger problem in NS with respect to deer jacking etc.

NB has PLENTY of moose...it's just easier to win the 6/49 then get your name drawn.

I'm not sure what longbow meant about the coyotes...but NB and NS are full of them! They are really smart and I've heard NB coyotes are the biggest in Canada as they sit on top of the food chain out here.

The hunting probably wont keep pace with what your use to in sask...but I love it down here and probably wont ever leave. for those who know what they're doing, there's plenty to hunt and be successful.

i'd probably go for property in NB myself though. slightly cheaper tax rate, cheaper gas, cheaper property, plus the province is going in a good direction right now with a goal to become totally self-sufficient without relying on equalization payments from the federal government...they're looking to become the energy hub of the north-eastern part of north america...they're going to be building a second oil refinery and a second nuclear power plant in the saint john area.

for nb and if your french....the bathurst area is beautiful but they get pounded every year with snow. i live in fredericton and believe its the best part of the province...close enough to both SJ and Moncton, and argueable the fastest growing city in the maritimes.

ns...south shore or the valley....both beautiful areas. I'm actually from the south shore and have lived in the valley as well.

for the fishing....trout! lots and lots of trout! everyone will tell you there's not...but i bag to differ...i always seem to find them that is. your not going to catch 15inchers every time or anything, but you can fill your limit with nothing less than 12" if you find a good spot (and keep it secret!).
 
Last edited:
Thanks for your insights long bow, Matt74, lowe160 and nlevandier. I was expecting the hunting to be quite different due to the difference in population density in NS compared to SK. Sad to hear about the mismanagement of the game in NS.

I have 6 children and all will be leaving home in the next 8 years. I am counting on some of them to stay in Saskatchewan and the rest to move to nice warm places with good hunting and fishing. That way if hunting is tough in NS I will be able to bounce around Canada during the fall hunting in a number of locales.

I spent some time last night reading over the websites you gave me lowe160. Great information on that site and if there is something I can't find I will contact you.

nlevandier my French is non existient but it is my wife's first language, so I will take a look at the Bathhurst area. I also was thinking about the southshore and valley regions.

A couple more questions:
1. What is the goose hunting like? I use decoys on scouted fields as well as pass shoot. No competetion for fields to put out decoys at all in SK. In fact hunting on the west side of Quill Lake only one other set of hunters all season. Did not even see a Conservation officer at all. How much pressure do the geese get and how competitive is it to get permission to hunt on someones land?
2. What are some of the better areas for fishing? I have heard about 10 Mile lake as being a great spot for bass.

Again my thanks for the help so far. Again I thank you in advance for any additional posts to this thread.

Today we pack up and head to Saskatoon for our flight out at 6 am on Monday. Found places to send the younger half of my clan while we are gone and have told the older boys of the consequences for trashing the house before we get back.

I will have a laptop with me so if I will keep up with this thread during next week.

Take care!
 
We get our deer every year within the first two weeks, it's not a matter of "if" but when. We seen eight bucks in the first two weeks last year. Yes,some area's of the province have a very small deer population others have lots. Right now they are trying to solve the over population in zone 2a which is in Lunenburg county.
Ten Mile Lake is alright but there are plenty of better places I can give you. I normally do 19-21 Bass tournaments a year and there is lots of Bass. There is also lots of Trout and Pickeral.
Sorry, can't help on the Geese situation. Just sign up on any of them sites (free) and ask, plenty of help and information there. I am sure oldducker would be glad to help you out.

Wayne
 
why not hunt in NFLD???

I also plan to retire in NS.

I hope to partner up with a couple of good guys to do an annual pilgrimage to Newfoundland for moose.
Maybe every 2nd year include caribou.
6MM maybe we should talk...
 
There are plenty of geese if you know where to go. In NB they are a real problem, and any farmer in the Sussex area (near moncton) would be more than glad to let you on his land. The truro area in NS also has quite a bit of geese...and if you end up in Bathurst NB...well let me tell you, there are LOTS of birds up there (ducks and geese gallore, it also probably has the highest population of partridge in the county). I know quite a few people in Bathurst and always seem to get their deer.
Nova Scotia is beautiful though and from what I've heard, the hunting population is in decline so most areas aren't as pressured as they once were.
Good lakes...well you feel free to call me when you get down here and I'd be more than willing to take you out fishing! I fish in pretty remote lakes and streams and would hate to give those names out on the net...just for the simple fact that there are too many people that will hit the lakes hard if they even think there's fish in it. I don't bother with bass, so all my spots are trout lakes.
 
now i don't want any backlash, but as a general rule i think the hunting in canada gets better as you travel west. although newfoundland seems to be the exception.
 
"We seen eight bucks in the first two weeks last year."

Wayne,

What part of the province do you hunt in? I wish I had that problem...I haven't seen that many bucks in the last 4 years I've been returning to the valley to hunt. Basically the only reason I've been coming back is to hunt is to hunt with the old man. I was getting used to not seeing anything. We live outside Greenwood, but are trying to find a better place to hunt next fall. Up to a few years ago, I could always get a decent deer here, but not any more. But, when some people shoot 80 deer a year (yes, this did happen a few years back, and what wasn't sold for drug money went to his dogs), what can you expect. I know some areas of NS have many deer (i.e Lunenberg, Bridgewater, if you can find land you're allowed to hunt them on. But I've all but given up on deer in our neck of the woods, which is a shame because I still love hunting there with my dad.
My work may bring me back to Halifax in another year or so. Are there many deer up that way? I don't want to live in the city itself, but wouldn't mind finding a place with a 30-40 minute drive of the city.
Matt

P.S. And yes, the coyotes down here are a hybrid,and can be very large....mix b/w coyote and wolf.... A trapper friend of ours has had a few go over 60lbs!
 
Last edited:
I won't get into why SASK will be much better than NB or NS but if you are going to live in the Maritimes:

NB has a Spring bear hunt, NS does not
NB and NS are a bit shy on Moose but Quebec has plenty and no guide required, NFLD has plenty and both are not too far from NS and NB.

For Waterfowling Truro NS is excellent and I know nothing about NB waterfowling (PEI is great)
NS has wild Pheasants (as does parts fo NB but no hunting yet)

Coyotes, I believe are an under used resource in NB, fox hunting is not permitted (you can shoot Bob cat if you have a trapper's lic) Don't know about NS in this department.

I believe for deer, NB's best deer hunting is between Fredericton and Sussex, NS is between Truro and Halifax.

Fishing: Well both have excellent sal####er fishing for mackerel, cod (when the feds allow it) and believe it or not, Shark Fishing Bay of Fundy and Halifax harbour. www.sharksunlimited.ca
Both are great Atlantic Salmon provinces (fly fishing only) as well as trout, smallies, Chain pickerel (small pike). NB have been getting muskie in the last few years and NS has a good Striped Bass Fishery.

Personally I would stay in Saskatchewan but as a PE Islander, I am considering a move to NB.
 
Last edited:
Just got back from the trip

Hi everyone!

Turns out my wife and I decided not to pack along the computers for fear of doing work on our trip so I was not able to keep up with this thread while on the road.

Had a great flight to Halifax, weather was clear and sunny and we got a great look at the NS landscape as we came in. Saw the Annapolis valley from the air and was surprised by the treed landscape everywhere else.

Went to pick up the car rental and our pre-arranged car was not ready. We were upgraded to a loaded Ford Fusion with unlimited mileage. By the time we returned the car we logged close to 2400 km. Travelled over 80% of NS, a bit in Cape Breton, about a 1/3 of PEI and over to Moncton in NB. We would have spent more time in NB but with the snow that hit on Friday we cut it short so that we could make it back to Halifax on time for our flight out early Saturday morning.

First impressions of the entire area - fell in love with the landscape and the people. Everyone was friendly, helpful and made us feel welcome. I could not get over how polite the drivers are on the road. Seemed like everyone obeyed the speed laws! No one was in a hurray to get to where they were going. I swear, people would stop at green lights to let those facing the red light go through!

Really liked the south side of the Bay of Fundy between Kentville and Middleton and the south east side of the coast around Sherbrooke. Saw lots of geese around Truro and quite a few deer from Moncton to Port Elgin to Parrsboro.

It is a no brainer for me - we will retire somewhere in Nova Scotia. I appreciate all of the comments made concerning areas to hunt and fish in Nova Scotia. As we look at various properties I will pm you folks for advice before we buy.

Once again, thanks to all for contributing to this thread. I will look forward to meeting as many of you as I can once we make it to Nova Scotia and will keep in contact with you until then.

Take care,

Tim
 
Hi Tim,

I live in lunenburg county, I love hunting here. Ive taken nice bucks for the last 3 years. My old man managed a 240lbs 10 pointer this year, the only year we didnt enter the local size contest :slap: . Doesn't matter we'd have lost anyways, I think 255lbs-260lbs took the contest this year.

We have recently seen a very big gain in partridge and rabbit as well. There are also a few bear around lately, I havent had the chance to hunt them but I plan on! Lately Ive noticed quite a few coyotes around my old mans land, 365 acres in lunenburg county.

I dont fresh water fish much, I was never taught how to do it. I wish I was, I have only ever caught 2 fresh water fish in my life, trout. Not much fun IMHO. BUT! The sal####er fishing is a whole other story, as said before shark is AWESOME! Makerel {sp?}, cod, etc, all great!

NS is awesome!

Steve
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom