Little Pine Lagoon is without doubt my favourite fishery in the highlands. The lake is situated 8km south-west of Great Lake and 25km (approx) from Bronte Lagoon. Little Pine is naturally fed by the Western Lakes catchment of the Little Pine River and is 1007 metres above sea level and the lagoon covers an area of 220 ha when full. It is a very clear lake, (but tends to discolour on very windy days) the shoreline is very flat and grassy, but is very hard fishing in late summer when the lake level is low due to the Canadian Pond Weed.

Little Pine is a Fly Fishing only water and a wild brown trout fishery. The water has a reputation for very hard fighting trout with well conditioned browns in the 0.8-1.5kg size range.                              

Little Pine Lagoon is world renown for two major highlights that take place on this water. The first being the "Tailing Trout" in the springtime, with October and November being the best months. Dawn and dusk are usually the best time, but be warned they are extremely hard to entice to take your offerings. The second occurrence is the huge dun hatches in the summer months. Late December through to March. Hatches have been known to take place from 10 am to 3pm, but this is highly dependant on the right weather conditions. I have found overcast warm days with a slight chop to be the best.

I have fished with many friends on the 'Pine' and we all have our favourite flies. My favourite for this water are Red Tag, Nobby's Emerger, Rob's Dry, Possum Fur Dun and a Brown Nymph.

Please note 'Bag Limits' for Little Pine Lagoon is now only 5 trout per angler.              

Photos: J. Scatchard
             B. Osborne