Lilla Smalsjön

Character of the water

Lilla Smalsjön lies in central Sweden — a acidified brown forest lake. The tea-stained, humic water hides the bottom within an arm's length. Acidification has thinned life down to the hardiest few.

The surroundings

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

A small but surprisingly deep pocket (17 m) with steep drops straight down from shore — the bottom falls away fast.

Permits & rules

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

• Handheld tackle only. Respect the protected zones at the inlets and outlets.

Fishing Lilla Smalsjön

Lilla Smalsjön holds 3 species, with perch and burbot at the top of the chain and roach schooling beneath them. The depth gives the water two storeys — and the fish move between them with the season.

Whoever fishes Lilla Smalsjön regularly builds something of their own: a log of what took, where and when. That's how the water gives up its patterns — cast by cast, never all at once.

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.
• Acidified water yields few, hardy species.