New fishing season behind the corner

The last few weeks I’ve been feeling quite uncomfortable in my own body. It’s like there’s something crawling inside that keeps me somewhat nervous all the time. My wife calmly noticed that I’ve spent a hell lot of money on fishing literature, gear and DVDs lately. No way I can deny that. -It’s because of the abstinence, I say, and know it’s true.

Tomorrow it is the 1st of April, a big day for most of the fishermen in the west coast of Sweden. That’s when the sea trout season begins and the shores get filled by eager fishermen, ones just like me. Well – it’s just that I won’t be fishing on the 1st of April. It’s like being a kid and celebrating Christmas a bit later than the other kids. I will spend that day at work just like normal people do (apart from those who take a day off on the 1/4). Anyway, from Friday on I’m on vacation for a whole ten days and that might include some fishing…

Here are some happy pictures from last years’ season starts:

Spring fishing in Ransarån

Vegard Veberg from the Norwegian magazine Jakt & Fiske came with me to the spectacular lower Ransarån in late May 2009. He wrote an excellent article about our adventures , and it was published in the latest issue of Jakt & Fiske. You can se a preview on their website: http://jaktogfiske.net/id/1804.0

PS! Tapani and yours truly are going there in early June this year, and I´m really looking forward to that trip! The fishing there is pretty tricky and very exciting – sight-fishing in crystal clear water with big arctic char and trout cruising along the banks. Poor Joona and Fredrik are busy with other stuff, and cannot make it. I guess they´re kind of jealous…  Mohahahahhahahahahah! Mohahahahah! Mohahahahhahaha!

Ransarån is just one of the interesting waters in the Kultsjödalen area. Satsån, Vojmån, Kultsjöån, Saxån and the Stekkenjokk plateau are other places where it´s well worth spending a week or two.

You can check out Ransarån and the Kultsjödalen area here: www.kultsjogarden.se/index.php

Ransarån

Caddis goodies

Now that winter is here it’s time to spend some dark evenings tying flies for next summer. Here are some of my favorite patterns for the caddis-eating trout in Finland. You won’t fail with these ones!

Silicon pupa

• Hook: short, curved #14-16
• Body: anron wrapped around a needle with clear silicone (then dried).
• Back: black rubber (nymph back or similar)
• Hackle (optional): brown hen
• Thorax: hare’s ear
• Wing buds: black raffia
• Antennas: mallard or similar

Silicon emergent pupa

• Hook: short, curved #14-16
• Body: anron wrapped around a needle with clear silicone (then dried).
• Thorax: hare’s ear, well brushed
• Wing: Gray or white polypropylen or deer hair

Caddis pupa

• Hook: curved #10-14
• Back: clear or olive rubber back, colored black in the front
• ribbing: thin (0.15) nylon line
• body: caddis green dubbing
• wing buds: black chenille
• thorax: hare’s ear
• antennas: black fly tying thread

Captain Gold Hook

Gold heads are often deadly for trout, but exactly this pattern has been the number one of my gold head patterns. One rainy fishing trip a few years ago I got two trouts over 2 kilos and one weighting 1,9 on this pattern, and lost one of the biggest graylings in my life…

• Hook: Curved gold colored hook #10-14
• Head: gold head
• rib: thin gold wire
• body: cream fly rite or antron
• thorax: dark brown hare dubbing

The JFF High Life

The tent woke us up automatically after the temperature in the morning sunshine reached 55C. It was good to take a morning swim in the river although the water was way too cold. Finally, we had the time to do some serious fishing without too much hurry. Did we catch anything? Yes we did.

On the last days eve in the tundra we had a concert and a fish feast at the base camp. We weren’t expecting any audience, but something nice happened, you’ll hear about it later.

Ransarån

This area holds some beautiful fishing waters that all have more or less the same name: Ransan, Ransaran, Ransarån, Ransaren…  We took the boat at lower Ransarån  to get across the lake Ransan. Our target was to go to the river-mouth of the upper Ransarån and hike upstream to find a good camping spot.

Taking the easy way across the lake

It was a very nice hike by the reindeer trail. Looking at the pools and streams our anticipation for the fishing was quickly building. Fredrik took the time to pick up some mushrooms. We ate them.

Håvard doing the Bear Song

The border of Sweden and Norway is amazing when it comes to scenic views and good fishing. The upper Ransarån is a versatile river in a bigger water system. The wildlife here is still very abundant, and during the boat trip I heard some stories of encounters with the bear. Since the area is one of the most densely populated bear territories in northern scandinavia, the stories were not hard for me to believe. But we weren’t here for the bear. I had a feeling we could easily spend two weeks exploring these waters and finding the best holding spots for the trout.

Fredrik's trout

As the sun went down, we were ready. And when it comes to fishing, night is the time when things really start cooking.

More coming soon§

Here are some very exclusive pics from our latest wilderness adventure. We are now pretty beaten and in a hurry to  the next gig. More text and pictures about what REALLY happened are coming soon.