Fishing Little Lake in Halifax Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia

• Overview

  Little Lake is a Halifax Regional Municipality water, Nova Scotia side. Tidal water begins 7.4 km from here. The water measures roughly 2 hectares, so nothing here is far from anything else. On size it sits at the modest end of our Halifax Regional Municipality list. Upper Hammonds Plains lies 5.7 km from the water. Then Stillwater Lake, 9.3 km, and English Corner, 11 km. It sits well inside the county, so one set of rules covers it.

• Where to Fish on Little Lake

  We hold no survey for this water; read the slope of the shoreline instead. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. Open biodiversity records for Halifax Regional Municipality list brook trout, alewife, rainbow smelt and American eel. Several of these carry legal protection or closed seasons; the rulebook comes before the rod. The near bank of Little Lake is often the one people ignore.

• Seasonal Patterns

  On the long-term average, August reads 18°C and January reads -6°C. Fishing here follows the temperature more than the calendar. Ice-out usually falls in mid April, and the weeks after it fish hardest. Open water usually runs from mid April until about mid December. June through September is the settled part of the year, with the shoulders busier for fish. Plan around that when you fish Little Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  The rules here are undocumented as far as public sources go. A boat ramp sits 1.1 km away, so trailered boats can get on. Trout here take small spinners, spoons and, where fly water allows, a nymph or dry. Sort the permit out before you load the car. Barbless rules turn up on managed water more often than not. The nearest alternative is Rafter Lake, 0.7 km out. The position on Little Lake is worth confirming on the day.