Since Nina and I finished our Christmas shopping over two weeks ago, we decided to escape from the chaos in Copenhagen by heading down south for a brief fishing trip. It was probably the best day to venture out since most would be shopping instead of fishing. At first we could not really agree on where to go. I was interested in heading back to the brackish water to connect with some more jumbo perch, while Nina wanted to fish the river where pike, perch and sea trout are present. In the end, we ended up going to the river and paying $30 for the day use fees. It turned out that this move was a wise one, and this turned out to be one of the better Danish fishing days for me.
After picking up the transportation from Nina's dad at 6:30am, we first headed to Nina's lab where she had to collect some data and water her experimental plants for her Master study. After it was taken care of, we got on the freeway and arrived at the river in no time. There was a moderate westerly breeze like it has been in the last few days. With the overcast sky, and good water clarity, I felt confident that we were going to find some fish. The river was slightly higher than before, so the bank was very saturated and muddy. This is always part of the charm when fishing at a Danish stream. Standing in knee-deep mud and reaching the main flow where the edge of the submerged bank is heavily covered with vegetation are no easy tasks. Sometimes it becomes rather frustrating when you are completely stuck in the mud, unable to perform a proper retrieve, or keeping mud out of all your gear.
We first fished a spot where Nina lost her first fish two weeks ago. After casting the streamer fly several times, I could feel a few small taps when stripping through the same spot. Finally I lifted up the rod curiously to figure out what was pecking, only to find a small elongated fish wiggling at the end of the line. Once the fish got closer, both Nina and I had a good laugh.
This was my first pike on the fly, even though it was the world's smallest. 
Big or small, a fish always lifts up the spirit this early in the game. If there is one, there must be another, or something that is willing to eat it. After sending it back to its playground, we quickly started tossing out our fly and lure again. It didn't take long before Nina also connected with a fish, on a small green spinner that I was using earlier this week. Sure enough, it was a medium sized european perch. The submerged shallow bank made it easy for her to land the fish by simpling guiding it into the shallow pool.
Nina's catch of the day.Two fish within 30 minutes was rather sensational.
Most of the time we have a hard time just to catch a fish, but they are usually quite big. This particular river where we often fish is known to produce northern pike up to 20lb. I have always found that skeptical, as most of the ones that I've seen were under the double digit. There are also many big sea trout that travel through this river to their spawning ground, they sometimes grow as large as 20lb.
The brief excitement seemed to be the only highlight of the day as we came up empty in the next two hours.
We were baffled, because there were some very nice spots where we thought a pike or two would live in. Unlike salmon fishing, I sometimes find it rather frustrating that moving and covering as many spots as possible is needed when targeting a stationary species such as pike. The fish maybe highly predatory and willing to take a lure, but that would not happen unless the lure brushes across its field of vision.
Discouraged and chilled by the breeze, we were starting to give up. I decided to head down to where I caught my first perch on the fly two weeks ago and see if anyone was home. After retrieving the fly at different speeds, I noticed that this section of the river is much deeper than other parts. I called Nina over, wanted her to drag a spinner through it slowly. Meanwhile, I let my streamer fly sink much longer before I started stripping the line in.
Nina found herself with a tangle in the main line after a cast and started fixing it. I flung the fly across the river and waited while it sunk. Just when I was starting to strip some line in, it was instantly tightened. My reflex set the hook hard and I found myself with a very bent and lively 6wt rod! This was no small perch!
I screamed, "Big fish! Big fish!" Nina looked up and froze for a few seconds when she saw the commotion, then quickly dropped her tangled rod and ran for the camera.
The mysterious fish stubbornly stayed deep down and began swimming towards me. I frantically tightened the line by stripping in while wakling backward. Once the line was tightened, it turned and headed downstream towards Nina's rod, which was sitting at the edge of the bank. I now found myself running forward, pointing the rod down and trying to turn it around. Luckily it changed its mind, turned around and headed upstream. The new Islander LX3.4 performed wonderfully as it smoothly fed line to the runner.
Finally it surfaced, a very long, grey body turned from side to side. I yelled, "It's a big pike! Big pike on the fly!"
The grey body then emerged from the surface and splashed a few times.
"No! It's a sea trout! Big sea trout on the fly!"
I jumped into the shallow water and slid the fish across the water surface before tailing it. In the beginning, I was expecting a big perch. I knew it was a big fish, but not that big. The cold hands were no longer a issue. I dipped both of them into the water with no hesitation and cradled the fish while Nina snapped a few photos. It was a long fish, but somewhat skinny, most likely one of the post-spawning fish, which are rather common this time of the year. Without stressing it more than it should be, I sat in the water and kept it submerged before Nina told me to let it swim away freely. We estimated the fish to be in the 6 or 7lb range.
Who would have thought that a big sea trout would fall for a fly that I have tied up? Not me, that's for sure. The big perch never showed itself today, but I cannot complain with a sea trout as a substitute.
Satisfied, we started to work our way back up the river to the car. I managed to briefly connect with a good sized fish on a #4 golden spinner before it came loose. Losing a fish that you intend to release is not a big deal, but losing a fish that you don't even get to see can be so frustrating. You end up replaying the whole event in the brain numerous times, guessing what it may have been.
For some reason, I can't seem to go beyond two fish in one day at this particular place. Nevertheless, I was very pleased with landing a fish that actually peeled some line off the fly reel today.
Christmas arrived slightly earlier this year.
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Topic: Winter 2006/2007 in Denmark (Read 11516 times)