Lilla Öratjärnen

Character of the water

Lilla Öratjärnen lies in central Sweden — a humic brown forest lake. The tea-stained, humic water hides the bottom within an arm's length. In summer a thermocline settles around 7 m and splits the lake into two worlds.

The surroundings

The lake lies half-remote, a fair way from the nearest road, tucked into woodland.

A small but surprisingly deep pocket (20 m) with steep drops straight down from shore — the bottom falls away fast.

Permits & rules

Fishing permit required — Lilla Öratjärnen FVOF. Day permit ~100 kr · annual permit ~500 kr.

• Pike: keep at most one over 75 cm per day.
• Handheld tackle only. Respect the protected zones at the inlets and outlets.

Fishing Lilla Öratjärnen

perch, pike and burbot sit at the top of the food chain in Lilla Öratjärnen, carried by roach and ruffe. The brown, humic water keeps visibility short — the fishing is more about vibration than sight.

Every session at Lilla Öratjärnen is fished in whatever conditions hold right then — the same pressure, wind and light as over the real water. What bites today isn't what bit the day before, and those who return learn the water for real.

General rules of thumb for this kind of water

• Brown, humic water dampens the light — fishing can be good even in the middle of the day.
• In deep, oxygenated lakes the predators seek cool depth in summer, shallower in spring and autumn.