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Author Topic: Winter 2006/2007 in Denmark  (Read 11450 times)

Rodney

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Winter 2006/2007 in Denmark
« on: December 06, 2006, 12:51:43 AM »

Greetings all, after scrambling in the past week to get all my work taken care of and leaping across the Atlantic Ocean yesterday, I am now once again at an apartment in the heart of Copenhagen, Denmark. The weather here is ridiculously warm, compared to what we have endured in the Lower Mainland recently. Daytime high is in the 10s C, but milder weather usually means gustier wind. As usual, there are plans to find fishing opportunities with the good folks at Global Flyfisher and Sports Fiskeren, the national governing body of sportfishing in Denmark. Hopefully, I will be able to take you guys and gals along for the ride and have a few fishing photos and videos to show by the end of the trip, plus the odd stories about Denmark's landmarks.

The Flight

It is always so foreign to endure being caged in a highly pressurized metallic tube that is moving at 600mph with several hundred people for ten hours. ::) The flight was rather uneventful this time. No major turbulence, which means an extremely boring trip. Halfway into the flight, I looked around me and I seemed to be the only one awake. ::) The guy who sat next to me, slept deeply from the moment with took off until the last hour of the flight. :o He is an Bosnian who resides in Vancouver and was on his way to Bosnia to pick up his wife and kids, and visit his parents at the same time.

There's fair amount of inconvenience since the Heathrow incident a few months ago. At YVR, they insisted that I had to carry my tiny bottle of eye drops in a big ziplock bag like a granny. I purchased a bottle of water just before boarding from YVR, only to have it confiscated at Frankfurt. ::) I was so thirsty, yet I didn't want to fork out 3.50 Euros for 300ml of coke, so I was liquid-less until Copenhagen. :P

From Frankfurt to Copenhagen, I ended up sitting 2 feet away from the engine on a MD81. :-\ Luckily the flight was only 1 hour. :D

Coming out from Copenhagen Airport, I was greeted by dozens of cameras, but apparently they were not for me according to Nina. ;D

A couple of photos to start the trip. ;D


A peek of the giant engines of A340 once we got off it.


Inter-terminal train at Frankfurt Airport.

Enjoy, more updates to come!
« Last Edit: December 06, 2006, 12:57:00 AM by Rodney »
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Fish Assassin

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Re: Winter 2006/2007 in Denmark
« Reply #1 on: December 06, 2006, 12:58:01 AM »



Coming out from Copenhagen Airport, I was greeted by dozens of cameras, but apparently they were not for me according to Nina. ;D


Guess they don't see too many Orientals in Denmark ! ;D ;D Have a good holiday.
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Rodney

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A first on the fly
« Reply #2 on: December 10, 2006, 08:22:36 AM »

Guess they don't see too many Orientals in Denmark ! ;D ;D Have a good holiday.

We are indeed very rare in Denmark. ;) The only orientals who you see are Japanese and Chinese tourists in the summer months and the odd oriental Danes who grow up here.

Our first fishing attempt took place today. The weather remains unusually warm over here. Today's daytime high was between 5 and 10C. Normally ice would start to form on lakes by this time of the year. To make things even more comfortable, we were blessed with clear sunny sky and the absence of wind! On this island, it is rather unusual to avoid any breeze. I have always been rather intimidated when fishing in the wind over here, but the locals have always reminded me that you simply need to adapt and find calmer spots.

We spent the day at the stream where we frequently visit just south of Copenhagen. The drive is always around 30 minutes, rather easy once you are on the freeway. Driving within Copenhagen, is a different story. The narrow streets and tiny street signs always keep me on public transit instead.

The eastern part of Denmark has also been getting fair amount of rain in the past couple of months, so the river bank was pretty flooded today. The spongy marsh is completely saturated, making it difficult to walk around. Nina and I found outselves fishing alone most of the time today, perhaps because of the fact that you need to pay CAD$15.00 of daily fee to fish this river.


A view of the river with the sun on the far horizon, creating a rather bright background.

Today's equipment included a 6wt setup that I chose to target european perch with. There was also a chance of encountering late sea trout, but retention for them is now closed.


6wt Stryker rod matched with a silver Islander LX 3.4.

A couple of years ago, we were told by some locals that large presentations are the key of success when fishing for european perch, or redfin, during winter. The water is cold, the fish are not as mobile, so they are only willing to prey on larger food items. Our #6 and 8 flies just didn't produce back then. For this trip, I tied up some #2 flies. The patterns are simply my poor attempt of Christas Trees, with a bit of white marabou feathers tied to the head.


European perch.


My choice of weapon.

The other species that we target this time of the year is the northern pike. Again, large presentations are needed. Nina fished with some #6 spinners with a golden or pink blade that I have made up for the trip. We also toyed with some large flashy flies that the locals use for them.


A large pike fly.

You would think that large predatory species such as northern pike and perch have no problems falling for a spinner or flashy fly. Over the years, we've actually encountered more sea trout than perch or pike. Targeting them has always been frustrating at times, a couple of hook-ups per trip is considered successful.

Not long after we started fishing, Nina screamed "Fish on!" 50 metres upstream from me. Dropping my fly rod, I sprinted towards the cameras but was only to be told by her that the fish had come off. ::)

We fished about a dozen different spots with no success between 10:30am and 1:00pm. Finally, while stripping my fly in at one point, a sudden bump turned into a bent rod as I lifted it up. It was a european perch, not a large one (2lb or more) that apparently exists in this stream, but still a lovely fish. Spiny ray fish species have always interested me. The dorsal fin stretched to its maximum like a peacock as I lifted the fish up. ;) A few quick photos, it was sent back to the water once again. They are very tasty and anglers are allowed to keep a few per day, but we live in a very small apartment so we do not like to mess with cleaning fish. :D



A landed fish lifted our spirit up. While taking a break, Nina connected with another fish. This time, it stayed on and appeared to be big! The Fenwick HMX spinning rod performed wonderfully while I focused the video camera on the action, until a sudden slack on the line as the fish approached shoreline. ::) Nina wasn't very pleased, apparently I did something to the lure. :P Based on the way this fish fought, we guessed that it was most likely a sea trout.

Our trip ended shortly after that. One landed fish and two losses, but it was certainly satisfying, for me anyways. ;) I caught my first european perch on the fly, something I wanted to do during this visit. :)

Nina

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Re: Winter 2006/2007 in Denmark
« Reply #3 on: December 14, 2006, 01:22:50 AM »

Rodney just left for some sea trout fishing in north west zealand. Should have some good stories when he returns. Weather is warm, rainy and windy  ;D  ;D
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Fish Assassin

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Re: Winter 2006/2007 in Denmark
« Reply #4 on: December 14, 2006, 01:36:17 AM »

He left you to go fishing ? ;)
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Nina

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Re: Winter 2006/2007 in Denmark
« Reply #5 on: December 14, 2006, 05:19:10 AM »

He left you to go fishing ? ;)

Hey, living in a small apartment here, if I can get some time for myself, I'm all for it!  ;D  ;)
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keithr

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Re: Winter 2006/2007 in Denmark
« Reply #6 on: December 14, 2006, 06:04:06 AM »

thanks to both of you for including us in your trip.  nice detail photos in rod's post.
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BwiBwi

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Re: Winter 2006/2007 in Denmark
« Reply #7 on: December 14, 2006, 11:29:35 AM »

So going fishing eh Rodney?  Is that why you have no time to do the work?   ;D ;D ;D
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Rodney

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The first Baltic sea trout experience
« Reply #8 on: December 14, 2006, 12:41:34 PM »

I've been caged in this tiny apartment for days, some fishing time was desperately needed. ;) Today's exploration was a new experience.

Besides northern pike, european perch, the most popular gamefish in Denmark is sea trout. Sea trout, are migratory brown trout, which spend a portion of their life in the ocean. Their anadromous lifecycle is pretty similar to their Pacific cousins. Because of this ocean phase, where plenty of nutrients can be had, sea trout can grow much bigger than residential brown trout. A average sized fish range between 5 and 10lb, while a few fish up to 20lb+ emerge each year. Angling for sea trout can be done in rivers when they return to their spawning ground, but an increasingly popular fishery for Baltic sea trout in the last several decades is beach fishing throughout the year.

During the winter months, sea trout have a tendency to inhabit in fjords where salinity of the water is much lower and temperature is warmer. This allows the fish to avoid expending too much energy. Due to this behaviour, it allows Danish anglers to catch some fine specimen from shore.

It is an unique fishery that is not common outside the Baltic Sea, so for many years I have always wanted to experience it. While the condition favours angling for them, catching them is not as easy as it sounds. To a newcomer such as myself, beach fishing, especially flyfishing, can be so intimidating once you look at the big piece of water that you have to work on. Environmental cues such as contours, kelp beds, rocks assist your hunt, but there are not too many hints beyond that. The fish's diet ranges from small shrimps to herrings. Close to shore, most of the feeding takes place near the bottom by the kelp bed, meaning they rarely rise and show themselves. The only method of yielding regular success is by fishing many different locations and knowing them intimately overtime. This is where local knowledge comes to play.

From networking on the internet over the years and introduction by friends, I have fortunately been able to tag along with some knowledgable local Danish anglers in the last few seasons. Not only are they experienced, they are always very willing to share if you have the will to learn. After email tagging back and forth since September, I finally had a chance to explore the beach fishery for the first time with Ryan. Ryan and his friends visited British Columbia this fall. They enjoyed it so much that they have already planned their trip to BC next year. During the planning session for this year's trip, I provided some suggestions on where they should visit. They have since insisted that I should come fishing with them during my stay in Denmark, an invitation that I cannot really resist. ;)

This morning Ryan picked me up just after first light, which was around 9am and we drove across Zealand to a location where he was connecting with fish last weekend. The weather was not so appealing. Rain and gust have been active since last night. For local beach flyfishermen, wind is simply an element that you have to adapt to. Because we are on an island, there are always sheltered places where your casts are not as influenced by the wind. Today's location faces north with a tall forest behind us, so the southerly wind did not really affect us at all.


A shrimp fly pattern that is commonly used on the Danish beach.

Today's flyfishing setup is a 6 weight with a tapered leader tied to the floating line. The shrimp fly is slowly pulled in as it gradually sinks down. The hope was to cast it just beyond the weed bed and entice a few feeding fish if they were present. Spincasting is also another popular method on the beach, especially on windy days or whenever the fish are feeding beyond where a fly could reach. Small spoons are usually used while a fly under a weighted float can be even more effective at times.

The wading was not so bad compared to some of the other more difficult locations, so I was told. The beach has a gradual gradient with the odd rocks and some weeds. It was supposed to be a beach for entry-level beach fishermen. Nevertheless, The waves generated from ferries and current were actually quite strong today, despite of the absence of the wind. The water was pretty murky, especially towards the end of the day, meaning navigation required some caution.


Fishing between surfs.

The first couple of hours resulted in no hook-ups, however I was pretty certain that a light bump I had was a fish's miss-take. Ryan was surprised by the result, as last weekend they brought several fish to shore, with a hook-up on the second cast of the day. Not to worry of course, as I did not have a big expectation, the first outing at a new spot is simply an exploration.

After a quick rest and some snacks on the beach, we were back in the water again. This time I decided to arm myself with a spinning rod and one of the spoons that I have made up for the trip. Whipping that fly while trying to balance myself between waves was getting rather exhausting. :-\

It was probably exhaustion, but I was beginning to slip once awhile. While taking a few steps out, I lost my balance and slipped slightly on an underwater rock. I quickly re-balanced myself. While thinking that I had just saved myself from a plunge, a swifty wave greeted me and lifted both my feet up. ::) With both legs suspended, I lunged forward like a swimmer doing a butterfly. In that split second, the camera inside my waders was the first item that popped up in my head, so I instantly extended my arms out to prevent water gushing into the waders. It sure worked, but that fjord water up to my armpits was absolutely freezing. :-X

Once I got up and replayed what had just happened, I chuckled a bit. We were, after all, only wading up to our thighs. You would think taking a plunge is the last thing that could happen. ::)

I started casting my spoon out again. A few casts later, a tap was felt. Thinking that it was probably just another bundle of seaweed like what I had been catching, I casually lifted the rod up but only to find the bent rod kicking up and down! I hurried and reeled in the slack, but it was too late. The first hook-up on the Danish beach was long gone. :(

While still bitter by the event that just took place, I looked down and discovered that two of my fingers are completely covered in blood! :o I guess they were cut up while I attemped to save myself from the plunge. I did not even notice that it because of the cold, the adrenaline and the fish. ::)

Our day ended soon after as we were running out of daylight at 3:00pm. Ryan was glad that I was able to connect with a fish briefly, and hinted that more will come as we head out again later on during my stay. :)


Surrounded by water.


Forested shoreline.


Close-up of some wave actions.
« Last Edit: December 14, 2006, 12:51:13 PM by Rodney »
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phatwop

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Re: A first on the fly
« Reply #9 on: December 14, 2006, 07:28:49 PM »

Guess they don't see too many Orientals in Denmark ! ;D ;D Have a good holiday.
perhaps because of the fact that you need to pay CAD$15.00 of daily fee to fish this river.



is there someone that has a booth or set up by the river that you actually pay, before you can proceed to the river kind of like a toll-booth?
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Rodney

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Second outing remains a learning phase
« Reply #10 on: December 18, 2006, 03:03:46 PM »

is there someone that has a booth or set up by the river that you actually pay, before you can proceed to the river kind of like a toll-booth?

There isn't a booth set up by the river, but there is a gas station located a couple of kms before the river where you can purchase the day card. The day card can also be purchased online prior to your fishing trip. The other option would be to join the fishing club/society that is responsible for that river, which would provide you all the access to the river during your year of membership. The money generated from the day passes and membership fee is used to pay the farmers for angling access to the river each year. The cost varies, based on a rate per meter of river bank.

I cannot answer the degree of compliance, but I would think most anglers do comply, pay and follow the club's rules set out for its stream. We've never been checked, we also don't see many anglers at all whenever we go. The river bank is always clean, since there is actually a group responsible to make sure the land owners are happy so future access is not jeopardized. It's different to how it is managed in Canada, and in some way I find it rather effective and enjoyable. $15 per day is a small price to pay if I am given an uncrowded, clean river to fish.

Second outing remains a learning phase

After a brief introduction to coast fishing for sea trout last week, Ryan arranged another trip on Sunday. As he had put it, the first trip was sea trout 101, and the second trip would be preparation for Sweden. The water was apparently more swift, the wading involved was expected to be trickier. I was anxious, yet excited, hoping to connect with my first coastal sea trout. Because of the differences in the diet, the fish we intended to target on Sunday are much larger because they feed on fish rather than shrimp and other marine invertebrates. Ryan talked about how much deeper the fish usually are and 5 to 10lb fish, or even bigger, are a norm.

I woke up before the alarm went off at 6:30am so I was ready to be picked up. Although getting around Copenhagen is convenient due to its effecient transit system, it really makes me appreciate my car in Vancouver when it is desperately needed for those serious fishing outings over here. I logged online, checked email and chatted briefly with Chrome Mykiss, only to find out about their successful day of 10 bull trout on the fly. The fishing bug was definitely catching on now.

Ryan arrived punctually at 7:45am, we then drove to another meeting spot. We were a group of six on Sunday. All were experienced local sea trout flyfishermen. The weather appeared to be co-operating, wind was blowing from the west as expected. All ingredients of a good fishing day were present, just needed a few fish to end it.

We travelled in Henrik's VW camper van, or the fish mobil as Ryan put it. It was indeed the ultimate fishing mobil, which has fishing rods hung from the ceiling, and tackle neatly organized at the back. Along the way, Henrik talked about his many travelling and fishing stories with the van around Denmark and other parts of Europe, as well as his recent fishing adventures to BC. The boys enjoyed the trips so much that they are coming back once again next September.

Time completely flew by as conversations took over the long drive. Before I knew it, we were already at our destination. Our starting spot looks like these:



In British Columbia, or most places in North America, our fishing trips usually involve wilderness to some degree. In Europe, historic sites usually surround our fishing space. These houses above were established in the 17th Century. It certainly feels different knowing that people have walked through these paths for hundreds of years before us. Our walk through the park and down a steep path lead us to the beach where we wanted to fish. The steep chalk cliff, the narrow beach and the ocean, which were blanketed by fast-moving low clouds, resulted in a breath-taking view.



Seeing how long the beach is and how much water there is in front of us, I was somewhat skeptical and discouraged. It wasn't until when my guides explained how one needs to work systematically to taste some success in this fishery. They pointed out the rocks and weedbeds in the water, where food may hold. Often, sea trout would feed along the dark patches of the water. One should also not be deceived by waters that do not seem structured. Deep troughs close to shore are known as bath tubs, where they are easily warmed during a sunny day in the winter time. The deep troughs often hold both large masses of food and fish, meaning multiple hookups if one is lucky to come across them. Nevertheless, it is a difficult fishery, which should only be participated if you are an optimist. It is similar to winter steelheading, except there are a million times more water involved. When comparing to what the Danes have experienced in BC, they say, "In BC you just chuck a fly in the water and a fish is guaranteed. In Denmark, you have to work for your fish." ;D That is indeed very true, as over the years I have found myself back to square one when fishing in Denmark.

The wading was indeed more difficult. The water was slightly murky, mostly from the runoff that the chalk cliff produces. Not being able to see what I was walking on is somewhat unnerving. The depth change is also quite big compared to the gently sloped beach where we fished last week. To make matters worse, every few steps on the sandy bottom, there would be one baby-head sized boulder that is covered with algae. Finally, just to add one more element in to test everyone's balance, the frequency and height of the waves are irregular. ::) In the end, I chose to only wade a few steps out instead of what my local friends were doing. How the heck did they get out there still baffles me.



The amount of water we covered was rediculously long. Again, steelhead tactics come to play, except there are no runs involved. By casting and taking a few steps everytime, the goal is to hopefully bump into some fish that just happen to be there. The fish do not rise during this time of the year because it is too cold, so the only visual cues that you are working with are the underwater structures in front of you.


This photo gives you an idea how far we fished. If you look at the background closely, you can see the white chalk cliff from the first photo.

My method during this trip was spincasting. I was told that the fish maybe a bit further out and spincasting would give me a better chance of connecting with one. Not knowing what lures to use, at first I Simply used some of the salmon spoons that we typically fish with in British Columbia. After awhile, I was then given a slimmer, heavier lure. Apparently I needed to whip it out much further to cover the water more efficiently. Later on, a angler from that area demonstrated exactly how far the cast needs to be. I could not spot where the lure landed everytime.


My attempt of looking as if I know what I am doing.

After six hours of walking, casting, retrieving, all of us produced nothing except a pair of frozen hands. It appears the coastal sea trout is as fictional as H.C. Andersen's fairy tales. On our way back, we came across a few spincasters, who actually landed three sea trout and one atlantic cod! They kept one of the sea trout, which was around 6lb. Atlantic cod is apparently a common catch when spincasting as they move closer to shore during the evening hours.


The walk back up was even more tiring on a fishless day.

Well, it looks like my search for the first coastal sea trout will continue. At least I was able to burn off those Danish pastries. Our next outings will take us back to hunting for european perch and northern pike. We will be attempting to find some european perch that inhabit in brackish water during the winter months. They are known to be big and very willing to take a fly or spinner. Stay tuned. ;)

keithr

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Re: Winter 2006/2007 in Denmark
« Reply #11 on: December 19, 2006, 02:13:50 PM »

It's nice to catch some fish, but a day spent fishing with people who enjoy it is worth it, fish or no.  Great report, gives the feeling of being there or at least what it must have felt like.  Thanks.
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Sinaran

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Re: Winter 2006/2007 in Denmark
« Reply #12 on: December 19, 2006, 04:16:15 PM »

thanks a lot for sharing, Rod! It felt as if i just had my first european fishing adventure. :)   ;D
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Fish on!!! woohoo..!!

dennisK

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Re: Winter 2006/2007 in Denmark
« Reply #13 on: December 19, 2006, 09:33:54 PM »

Rod, can you pick me up a 6 pack of Carlsberg "elefant" - I'll get you something for the effort.
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Rodney

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Brackish perch finally surfaces
« Reply #14 on: December 21, 2006, 08:59:09 AM »

We have been gathering some information on european perch in brackish water on the last several days. It turned out that a few of the better spots are actually rather close to where we live. The south harbour in Copenhagen, just minutes from Central Station, was reopened for fishing this year. For decades, industrial pollutions kept this busy harbour unfishable. Although the water is cleaner now, some of the groundfish species can still not be retained due to fear of contaminants.

Today, we decided to explore a spot just a short train ride from here. It is a slough, or swamp, where a small creek feeds into. On one end of the slough, a gate that opens and closes border it with the harbour and the Baltic Sea. The water is slightly saline. Large fish inhabit this type of water during the winter time due to its ideal water temperature, salinity and abundance of food. There are plenty of small coarse fish that the larger predatory fish can feed on. We were told that large european perch are plentiful at this location, so I really wanted to check it out.

The 30 minute trip involved 15 minutes on the bus that we can hop on just outside the apartment and a 10 minute ride on the express train. Living in Copenhagen means you can get around anywhere on a bus or train very easily. The locals disagree when I comment on how efficient the public transit is, apparently trains and buses are delayed or canceled at times, but personally I have yet to experience anything that severe. The buses on our street go by every ten minutes on weekdays. The trains are almost as frequent. Express trains are faster than cars. The only time consuming commute would be walking, which seems to be one activity that we all fear back home. ;D Nevertheless, with all the services available, it takes away our dependency on cars, which are rediculously expensive to operate here.


Patiently waiting for the arrival of our final train station.

Once at the station, it took 15 minutes to walk to the harbour. Our initial concern was not knowing exactly where we could fish. That concern quickly vanished as we approached the harbour, because we could see a dozen people fishing already. :P Not only were they fishing, they were also catching too. Every few minutes, a fish was brought in and released. According to the regulations set out by the local club that manages this particular fishery, all perch are to be released during this time of the year.

We first went on a lovely foot bridge and watched what people were doing to get a general feeling of what we should do. The foot bridge borders the slough and the creek, where a underwater barrier has been placed. I suspect that this is placed to keep the perch population away from the main creek, as it is a sea trout and salmon bearing creek. European perch is a predatory species, which feeds on insects to small fish, depending on its size. While observing the creek, we could see large schools of small fish rearing.


The underwater barrier creates a small drop.

The common method used to catch these perch, is bait fishing with either a float or bottom rig. Most anglers employ a long rod, allowing them to whip the small float out with ease. The choice of bait includes worm, shrimp and small roach. Roach are small minnows that are very abundant in Danish lakes and rivers. They are commonly caught by line or net and used as live bait. Fishing with bait seemed almost to easy. ::) Before Nina and I even set up our tackle, we already saw a few dozen fish being caught. It seems somewhat pointless to use bait in a catch and release fishery. Not only you are sacrificing a fish for another fish, recapturing rate must be quite high as well. Anyways, it appears to be a pretty popular way of angling in Denmark, but a bit too messy for my preference. Our choice of method is not as uncivilized, casting and retrieving small spinners. ;)


A broad look at our fishing spot. The harbour is on the right side of the photos. The water gate is near where most people gathered.


Roach, typically used as live bait.

Originally I intended to also toss a fly, but the wind was not so favourable today. The westerly chop made it rather difficult, and cold too as we were facing it even though our backs were to the ocean. Only on a small island where you can find wind blowing towards the ocean.

The first hour of our attempt was rather frustrating. While others were still hauling in fish, we only missed a couple of touches. Once an angler decided to call it a day, we moved into his spot as the piece of water in front of him seemed to be producing all the fish. It only took a couple of casts before a large perch grabbed onto the green spinner. Unfortunately, while Nina was running for the camera, the dreadful slack in the line happened again. We had a good look of the fish when it first surfaced. It was a rather long perch, the biggest I have ever seen!


Spin and wish.

The easterly breeze was picking up as noon approached. Nina was getting cold so we decided to shift to the other side of the slough so our backs would face the wind. The fishing was not so hot there. There seemed to be a huge abundance of roach on the other side. On almost every cast, we would bump into many items. At first I thought they were just weeds, but I was quickly proven wrong when a couple of roach were foul hooked.


I can't feel anything after facing the winter breeze for awhile.

We decided that we should move back to the original side and be cold for a short time instead of be skunked. The move paid off instantly when I hooked another perch on my first cast. This time I brought the fish in quite carefully. It made a few sudden dives as it approached the shallows. I inserted my thumb into its mouth and lifted it out by the lip like a bass. It was a good sized fish, easily in the 2lb range! A fish this size seemed to be very typical as others were catching similar or bigger fish. I was pretty glad to finally see a large brackish european perch falling for my lure.


Today's only catch. The three dorsal spines, the thick black bars and a rather large hump are common features of a large european perch.

We fished for another 30 minutes or so with no success. Nina managed to connect with one on a spoon but it was quickly lost. Apparently my lure has a flaw again.

Although we did not connect with dozens of fish like experienced locals, at least we found a new and seemingly good spot. :)