Make no mistake: this is real wilderness fishing! For true, wild fishing that exceeds expectations for beauty and the fight in the wild brook trout, the West Canada Lake Wilderness Area is unrivaled. The area has more than 50 remote ponds. Rumor has it Cedar and Spruce lakes are the best waters for brookies.
How to get there
The main access routes to this wilderness are off state routes 30, 28, and 8. We recommended checking the DEC website for more detailed parking information, but here are some of the main trailheads to the West Canada Lake Wilderness.
- Northville-Placid Trail Haskells Road Trailhead parking
- Spruce Lake Trailhead (at the end of Jessup River Road)
- Northville-Placid Wakely Dam Trailhead (at the end of Cedar River Road)
- South Branch Trailhead (park where the road splits at the end of Mountain Home Road)
- Brooktrout Lake Trailhead (along Indian Lake Road)
Fishing
The West Canada Lake Wilderness is prized for plentiful, remote wilderness brook trout fishing. All waters here are open to fishing. The following are known brookie spots:
- Little Moose Pond, which can be accessed via a trail off Jessup River Road
- Pillsbury Lake and Sampson Lake, which are accessed from the French Louie Trail
- Brooktrout Lake
- Otter Brook
- South Branch West Canada Creek, which can be accessed from the South Branch Trail.
- Cat Lake, Cedar Lakes, Kings Pond, Spruce Lake, West Canada Lake, and West Lake can all be reached from the Northville-Placid Trail.
