Little Lake Fishing, NE of Port Hawkesbury, Nova Scotia

• Overview

  Little Lake stands in Guysborough County, Nova Scotia. It sits 14 km in from the sea. It covers about 4 hectares, so this is small water you can walk round in under an hour. On size it sits at the modest end of our Guysborough County list. The nearest town is Port Hawkesbury, 39 km away. Antigonish is 42 km and Louisdale 54 km. The nearest boundary is a fair way off.

• Where to Fish on Little Lake

  Open data we checked carries no depth for this water. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. This is a lake, so the margins and the first drop matter most. Guysborough County records list alewife, American eel, brook trout and Atlantic salmon among the fish reported. At least one recorded species is protected in parts of its range; read the local rules before targeting anything. Little Lake responds to conditions more than to tactics.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Climate normals give 18°C for August and -7°C for February. Winter shuts the surface down for months. Firm cover through the cold months, then open water from late April. Break-up near late April, freeze-up near late December: that is the shape of an average year. Reckon on open water from spring through to late autumn, with May and June the strongest. At Little Lake the season follows that pattern closely.

• Tackle & Baits

  Who may fish here is not settled in anything we hold. No car park, ramp or path is recorded within easy reach of the shore. Trout here take small spinners, spoons and, where fly water allows, a nymph or dry. Check locally before you travel, because a wasted drive is a long one. Check whether bait restrictions apply before you buy any. Middle Lake at 0.8 km is the sensible second choice. Nothing here settles the position at Little Lake for certain.