I was up fishing my favorite small lake with a man-made earth dam on one end. Flows out into a very very small stream. I'm talking two foot deep max and only a couple of inches at most points. Either I couldn't locate the bass (biggest possiblity) or they were not biting. So I walked down off the earth dam to the other side where it empties out into this small stream. Grabbed my ultralight setup to catch some big pumpkinseeds and bluegills. When I walked down to the concrete slab that carries the water through.....there was some big swirls everywhere in only six inches of water. So I tossed my little berkley trout worm in there and bam something started taking drag lol. I was like......that is one big pumpkin seed. Come to find out......it was a 8 inch smallie. SHOCKED I was. There are no smallies according to the DEC in this small pond/lake. NONE. They were very very brown probably from being in such a shallow type of water. Really don't know where they came from. Long ways to transfer them from another body of water that holds them.

But I stayed there for another 15 minutes and pulled another three of them out of there. All 8 inches. Made my night even though they were small. Fighting them in less than a foot of water and on 4lb test line with an UL rod was pretty sweet. Those fish were the last thing on my mind that I thought I would catch down there. Have no clue where they came from.

Cool! I love surprise smallies

Cool! I love surprise smallies

I have never seen smallies so brown either. It was weird.

I was thinking about transferring them over to the other side but decided against it. No telling what that could do. But man were they busting up the bream in that small stream.

I lost the trout of a lifetime using an ulta light with 4#. They are a blast! Be careful with that thing though.

I lost the trout of a lifetime using an ulta light with 4#. They are a blast! Be careful with that thing though.

I hear ya.

It's pretty much my brook trout/panfish combo but who knows what will decide to clamp on. So my drag is set pretty darn loose.

I lost the trout of a lifetime using an ulta light with 4#. They are a blast! Be careful with that thing though.

I hear ya.

It's pretty much my brook trout/panfish combo but who knows what will decide to clamp on. So my drag is set pretty darn loose.

i only saw 1 smallie my whole life until i started fishing the river.....they just a bring a smile when their not expected

i only saw 1 smallie my whole life until i started fishing the river.....they just a bring a smile when their not expected

Brought a smile on my face but it also brought a thought of I don't understand? Being a good christian man I didn't say that out loud lol.

I just wish they were in the main resevoir though. THere not going to survive in this small stream. That is what is so odd. I have no clue how they got there. So its not like I found a new smallie spot. Because there is no way nothing of size could be in only a couple inches of water.

Have you found any fall fish yet? they give a pretty good fight.

Have you found any fall fish yet? they give a pretty good fight.

Been catching some LM still but haven't attempted to go back to that spot to see if there have been any more smallies creeping in.

Somebody probably caught the fish before you and placed em' in the stream thinking that it had all the specifications and such for the fish to thrive.  Probably not the sharpest knife in the drawer that one was.  Smallies are adaptive though.  

Does this stream freeze over at all?  How long is the stream?  Does it empty into another body of water?  Did the fish you caught show any signs of having been caught before?

no pics ;D