Stockholm Fishing League

Dammtorp; Tench Fishing

2011-08-09T15:29:00.000-07:00

1.41 Kilo, a lovely Tench late on the evening on float fished maggot....

1.13Kilo, this fish came almost straight away..

Spent the evening Tench fishing at Dammtorp with Ed, whilst Karl dropped out to get his face into a photo before heading off.
We were using float tackle, standard wagglers, I used maggot as bait while Ed opted for gilthead worms and a grain of sweetcorn. We grounbaited with a litle sweetcorn as well as loose maggots and I had a bite immediatel. A small Rudd! Then another bite. Another small Rudd! Then another bite..
I was expecting a Rudd but the fish pulled back far to hard and started to fight in a manner that meant only one thing, Tench. After a good scrap on light line Ed slipped the net under her and I had my first Dammtorp Tench of 1.13kilo. Took a photo and slipped her back and fished on. It was three hours later before any action, despite Tench bubbling in the swim occasionally. I eventually loose fed some maggots with th catapult, soon fizzing bubbles began to rise to the surface and after what seemed an age the fish had followed the trail into my swim. Bubbles were all around the float for a few minutes before the fish took my bait and the float lifted upwards. This fish almost did not know it was hooked and practically swam into the net for me before going ballistic! The fish was a cracking deep specimen of 1.41kilo, nice. Ed then had a reasonable Rudd, before frustratingly lossing a Tench before we packed up in fading light...

Dammtorp; July 2011

2011-07-31T07:02:00.000-07:00

Andy Shaw with his first Tench; 1.66kilo.

Spent the evening at Dammtorp with Andy Shaw. We float fished with gilthead worm and sweetcorn as bait, always a good bait. At about 4pm Andy got a small Ruud, before losing a good fish, almost certainly a Tench. A while later Tench bubbles fizzed about his float, before it sailed away. The fish gave him a great fight before we slipped the net under it, a long female fish that weighed 1.66kilo despite having just spawned. This was Andy's first Tench and he was well happy with himself.
The rest of the evening was, to say the least, frustrating. Fish bubbled everywhere in the swim, perhaps four or five fish, yet the floats registered only line bites as the fish swam around our baits for two or three hours without touching them. We concluded the fish had either detected our hooks and heavy braided line or they were preoccupied feeding of the small pellets I had groundbaited the swim with. Next time we will try light mono line and bait smaller hooks with maggot, groundbaiting with the same...

The year so far!

2011-06-13T09:28:00.000-07:00

Been a bit lazy but finally the fish so far this year!

Pike 2.33kg

A veeeeeeery small pike! My new record! (smallest), worth a point though?

Pike 2.8kg

1,17kg Gös

All taken at Krykviken, Lidingö over two sessions in June. Looks like this new spot is a winner! i'll be back there again.

Albysjön; 17th May 2011

2011-05-17T08:23:00.000-07:00

1lb 10oz. of Tyresta Albysjön Perch, a cracking fish....

Simon with a jack Pike, the first of the year. This one took a worm!

1lb. 12oz. Perch taken on a float paternostered roach at the end of the session....

Tyresta Albysjön, a nice place to fish in every way....

The same 1lb. 10oz. fish pictured above, a close up photograph this time...

A third fish of 1lb. 12oz. which hit a legered worm minutes after the second fish, most likely these two were part of the same shoal moving throught the swim, explaining the siular size. A really well marked Perch this one...

Close up shot of the same well marked fish, a super specimen...

The venue today was Tyresta Albysjön and it turned into a memorable days Perch fishing. Almost immediately I had a cracking Perch of 1lb. 10oz. on a legered worm. A few hours passed where plenty of half pounders fell to worm, before Simon caught a jack Pike on the same bait! A five hour session was coming to a close when my roach livebait was taken, having missed an earlier run I was relieved to strike into this fish, a cracker which tipped the scales at 1lb. 12oz. I was just done releasing this fish when my legered worm rod was ripped off the rod rest and i struck into another fanrastic Perch, again 1lb. 12oz. though a nicely marked fish this time. The short session came to an end at 3pm., which just goes to show even a few hours out can really produce some good fish...

Sandasjön; 15th March 2011

2011-03-15T09:46:00.000-07:00

A full day out ice fishing today for Karl and myself and started in or usuakl spot. A cracking day of bright sunshine and we were basking in the sun with not a lot to do for 40 minutes before my rod went straight over and i was into a cracking Rainbow Trout that fought really well for three or four minutes before we saw it....

Al in action, look at the bend in that rod...

Finally got the fish to come up after a bit and handed it out, what a cracking Trout it was, my best to date, and not far of 4lb. My scales didn't have batteries though, so I put it down as a thre pounder to be safe and decided to release it to fight another day...

The head on that. The best part is it's back in the lake to be caught again....

Not a lot happened for a while after that, no bites at all, so we had a bit of lunch...

Karl in action, look at the bend in that forceps. The first man I've ever seen to eat a flask of noodles on a frozen lake, with a medical instrument....

After lunch we crossed the lake to a now favourite spot. I drilled my first hole and had a bite almost straight away, duly landing a 1lb. Rainbow Trout. Karl was having a frustrating time. After pimpling his bait for all of ten minutes he put the rod down for a minute, had a bite, just a tap, before the whole rod and reels were hauled across the lake at lightning speed before the whole lot dissapeared down Karls hole! It was funny, poor fish, poor Karl...

A nice pounder, my second of the day...

It wasn't long until I did the hat trick, a really delicate bite, a Roach I thought as I struck. not so though, another Rainbow Trout of 1lb. 3oz. this time...

Take the smile of yer face, number three this one...and yes I need a haircut.

Karl then had a couple of bites which didnt develop, a really frustrating day for him. Just to rub salt into the wounds I picked up a fourth, a slightly bigger creature of around a pound and a half this time. Took a photo of the trio, the last of which Karl is probably eating as I type this.

A trio of Rainbow Trout on the ice...

All in all a very good day for me, a very bad one for Karl, though he did enjoy getting out all the same. This is by far my best catch of trout, last time here was more regular with just the one fish caught, a fish of 2lb 3oz., a very good start to the year for me...
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/photo.php?fbid=10150089023263414&set=a.10150089003633414.264948.729928413&theater

Ice melting in the coming weeks, a full season to look forward to yet, might manage another trip out on the ice yet though...

League Results 2010

2011-03-15T09:38:00.000-07:00

Totals For the league as follows for 2010 after years end...

1st. Ed 70pts.
2nd. Al 67pts.
3rd. Karl 3Pts.

These totals include bonuses for biggest individuals of each species. Ed took largest Brown Trout, Rainbow Trout, Bream, and Hornsimpa. Al had the largest Pike, Zander, Perch and Rudd.
Several species not caought at all during the year, notably, Silver Bream, Seatrout, Salmon, Eel and Tench...
Best of luck this year lads, hopefully we will all get out a bit more this year, not a lot of free time available to everyone last year.

Nedre Rudan, 16th September

2010-09-16T22:06:00.000-07:00

Out at Nedre Rudan today, a very good lake for Rainbow trout. Arrived around 08.00 and started float fishing with maggot. After about 10 minutes the float went under and I struck into a small but hard fighting fish. Was please to see it was a bäcköring (brook/brown trout) very beautiful fish weighing in at 12oz (I have new digital scales finally). About 2 hours later I had a very strong bite on float fished prawn and was shocked to find a pike on the end of the line!!! It weighed in at 3lb 4oz. The old guy sitting close to me insisted that fish be killed. He is a member there and they dont want the pike eating the Rainbow trout. Bit of a shame really. About an hour later another good bite and this time a 2lb 7oz Rainbow trout, a very hard fighting fish and good fun on the match rod! There were fish jumping clear out of the water (up to a few feet!) all day which was quite a site. Not really many bites for me but the guys using flies were pulling in loads. A good lake and worth more attention in the future. Our camera is broken so a few pics here from the phone.

Early September 2010

2010-09-09T06:05:00.000-07:00

Waxholm Sunset, always a stunner it seems...

A Perch of around a pound from Älbysjön...

Motoring out on the archipelago, rods ready to go...

Karl at sea on the Baltic...

Perch from Waxholm, both gassed up from deep water and taken home for the table. The smaller fis just over a pound, the larger a 1lb. 9oz, specimen that gave a great scrap on the light feeder rod...

A few snaps here from the first week of September. Last Tuesday Karl and I were invited out to Dalarna by Nick and we spent a few hours in the boat fishing on a breathtaking evening, though alas, no fish were taken, all this at the same time Ed was pulling out his 4kilo Pike! A really nice evening all the same...

A few das previous Karl and I had an early morning fish on Älbysjön, a little dissapointing, though we did get a couple of bites each. I had a couple of reasonable Perch of around a pound weight, though I had left the scales behind, so no points for the forgetful...

Last of all a good day at Waxholm yesterday, lots of Perch caught by myself, mostly smal but a few better fish caught to, pictured above. During the course of the day lost three reaaly hard fighting fish, certainly big Perch. This site is outstanding in late September for Perch, will be back soon. Will add points to the table for Ed's Rainbow Trout and Pike, as well as the Waxholm Perch.

Kyrkviken, Lidingö September 8th

2010-09-07T23:14:00.000-07:00

At a different spot on Kyrkviken in Lidingö today, rushed down after work arriving around 6pm, very slow start to the day with just a few small roach and perch after a 30 min wait. Cast in the live bait rod with a quite large roach as bait and after only about 5 minutes the float was gone and i struck into a very hard fighting pike. Weighed in at around 4kg (my scales not the most accurate) A very fish and a great fight!

Rönningen, Hälsingland 21st August

2010-08-22T21:33:00.000-07:00

Third time for me fishing at this lake close to a friends country house outside böllnås. The first two were a complete disaster with not even a bite... The lake is stocked with rainbow trout but they are not easy to catch! Got to the lake this time at around 06.30 and fished two rods on the ledger with salmon egg power bait. After about two hours without a bite a re-cast one of the rods and as soon as the bomb landed i saw a huge swirl in the water in the same spot ( i think the bomb pretty much landed on a fish) after a couple of seconds i started getting very small bites and struck. The fish went crazy, jumping out of the water several times and putting up a great fight. After about 5 minutes i managed to land the fish, a lovely rainbow trout weighing in at 1.9kg. I kept the fish and it was eaten for lunch!

Better late than never! Dreviken July 2010

2010-08-22T21:24:00.000-07:00

Should have put up these pics a while ago... Me and Al headed out to the spot at Dreviken for the day. Plenty of smaller fish and some very beautiful Rudd. Inlcluding a good specimen for Al. One small pike for me too. No sign of the big pike that can usually be found here so another trip back in order. I don't remember the weights so hopefully Al can fill them in.

Zander; 15th July 2010

2010-07-14T23:03:00.000-07:00

At long last, my first Zander!

A stonking Perch at dawn, 1lb. 14oz., a really thickset fish....

Horribly over exposed in blazing sunshine, but you get the picture, a nice Pike...

A very scenic venue, stunning everywhere you look and not a soul in sight....

An overnight fishing session at Albysjön alone tonight and it went very well indeed. Zander was the main hope, having never caught one I decided this was a likely place to catch one. I arrived at 7pm. and set up two rods on the rod pod, with eletronic alarms to help in darkness. Bait was rather tricky, most of the fish caught being very small, managed a small bream and a few Roach and got the baits out about 7.30pm. Not long to wait, when at 8pm. a screaming take registered on the left rod and a great fight followed as a good Pike fought all the way to the bank. It weighed in at 4.36kilo, just a tad under 10lb., a great start to the session.

Was happy to catch a few Loi for bait at dusk and put out a third rod on a quivertip with a live Loi as bait on a simple paternoster. Nothing for a while, then at 11pm. the quivertip bounced back, the line went slack and I wound down and struck. Not much of a fight in all honesty, but I knew before I saw the fish this was my first Zander, finally! The fish weighed 2lb. 3oz., a small fish, but I was delighted all the same.

The rest of the night was frustrating as my few livebaits ran out, the fish too small really. Dawn came at 3am. and I managed a few fresh baits. Put a Roach out on a free roving float at eight feet depth and it was soon taken, a good scrap this time and a superb Perch the result! 1lb. 14oz, went the scales, a super fish that was really deep and thickset. This lake has a reputation for big Perch and this fish was a taste of that. Not much doing fish wise for the rest of the morning, but very enjoyable due to the incredible scenery and wildlife. Over the course of the night I saw a Moose (a bit too close for comfort), Roe Deer, a Badger, a Fox, several Beaver and a Mink!

The lake itself is worth more attention, though three fish over 10 hours is rather hard work I reckon that on the right night the fishing might be quite good...

Grinda - A new fish!

2010-05-15T14:16:00.000-07:00

Out to Grinda for the day. Not really fishing planned but took a rod along, fished ledgered worm in very deep water. Was very surprised by the two fish cought! I've never seen anything like this before. Apparently called a Hornsimpa and very rare these days in Swedesh waters, they are a protected species and normaly live in very deep water. A very strange looking fish! I didnt weigh the two caught and the swedish record is only 330 grams.

Stockbysjön May 9th

2010-05-09T20:59:00.000-07:00

First time at a new spot today, was talking to a guy walking his dog while fishing at Kyrkviken and was told this small lake was full of specimen Rudd so decided to check it out. After a slow start I started getting bites although extremely hard to strike on, very slow bites with the float sliding slowly into the water. After some trial and error the fish started coming in. To my surprise I cought ONLY Rudd during the whole evening... Around 20 fish in the most perfect condition I have ever seen. The two largest weighing in at 1lb 7oz and 1lb 12oz! Specimen fish. Back today and tomorrow for another try as i'm sure there are even bigger ones here for the taking! I'll try and remember my camera next time so I can get some decent pics, its pretty much impossible with the iphone!

Lidingö May 3rd

2010-05-08T21:16:00.001-07:00

Fourth time out at Kyrkviken for this year, still very quiet with just two fish taken. A very small Perch after about an hour and then a very nice Perch weighing in at 3lb 2" both fish taken on ledgered worm. This fish proving again that this spot is very very good for big Perch. Back again soon for another try...

Sandasjön; 17th Febuary 2010

2010-02-18T10:30:00.001-08:00

Karl Stein with a 1lb 10oz. Rainbow Trout caught through the ice. You can see the amazement in his own eyes....

This fish puts Stein in joint first place with Ed, both of them having caught the same species at the same weight...

An enjoyabe few hours ice fishing at Sandasjön, Karl, Simon and myself droping out in mid morning. Karl immediately got off to a flier when he hooked a Rainbow Trout almost immediately, the fish throwing the hook off when it surfaced! Thinking we were in for a trout bonanza we fished on. A few small Roach followed, then a small Perch. Then Karl struck a small nible and found himself fighting a lovely Rainbow Trout which fought really well. Managed to get this one out, it went 1lb. 10oz. on the scales, giving him a place at the top of the table. Karl's first fish in about six months this! A really nice day out in good conditions, not too cold today...

Nedre Rudan; 16th January 2010

2010-01-16T12:09:00.000-08:00

Ed with the first fish of 2010, a lovely ice caught Rainbow Trout weighing in at 1lb 10oz. The fish took a maggot baited mormonsk hook whilst it was being jigged in midwater..

Always awaited, the moment the fish comes up through the hole in the ice and you get to see wgat it is you have hooked...

Simon waits it out in harsh winter conditions, scenery stunning today...

My homemade ice fishing rod, put together from an old feeder rod which snapped at the base. No trout fell to this on today though....

A nice day out today, it being the first trip of the year For Ed, Jim, Simon and Al, ice fishing for Rainbow Trout at Nedre Rudan. The lake is rather small, though is a good lake for Rainbow Trout, he lake record here is just over 15lb.! Brown Trout and Char are also present in smaller numbers, the Char being difficult to catch. In summer season the presence of Carp, Mirrors and Commons, as well as a small number of Grass Carp and a head of Tench make this venue very interesting indeed.

today though it was Rainbow Trout we were after and Ed duly landed a very nice fish of 1lb.10oz.(3Pts.) after about an hour, a great way to kick off the years fishing. A small Perch to myself was the only other fish taken on a tough day when the fish seemed to be rather inactive, lots of anglers at the lake failing to catch today.

2009; Final Points Table

2010-01-09T04:23:00.000-08:00

Another year gone by, 2009 a rather quiet one fo fishing ion comparison to previous years. Will be remembered as the year when Karl Stein almost failed to register a single point on the table, a truly remarkable achievement....

As always the bonus points to be awarded at the end of the year for biggest fish of every species that scored on the table, with 12pts. going to each. In addition the heaviest overall fish of the season gets a further bonus of 12pts.

Biggest scoring fish of each species as follows;

Rainbow Trout; Ed; 2lb. 1oz.; Rudasjön; May 29th.
Seatrout; Simon; 1lb. 2oz.; Strömmen; September 10th.
Pike; Ed; 13lb 2oz.; Dreviken; May 26th.
Perch; Ed; 1lb. 14oz.; Lidingö; May 31st.
Bream; Al; 4lb.3oz.; Tyresö Slott; April 23rd.
Ide; Rafa; 3lb. 8oz.; Dalarna; June.
Rudd; Al; 1lb 1oz.; Lovon; June 7th.
Sik; Al; 1lb 5oz.; Tyresö Slott; April 17th.

All the above fish are rewarded 12 Points, in addition the largest fish, Ed's Pike is also awarder 12 Points as heaviest fish of the year...

FINAL POINTS TABLE; 2009

1st. Al; 96 Pts.
2nd;. Ed; 70 Pts.
3rd Rafa; 30 Pts.
4th. Simon; 28 Pts.
5th. Phil; 4 Pts.
6th Tom; 3 Pts.
7th. Kev; 2 Pts.
7th Karl; 2 Pts.
7th. James; 2 Pts.

So there it is folks. 2010 has now begun and the slate is clean again. Ice fishing is now a viable option, which i will be organizing in the coming week now that it is safe on the lakes. Hopefully Zander will become a feature this year, possibly also Carp and Tench also. Perhaps also a week fishing somewhere. Thanks for the company guys over 2009, hope you all land a few monsters this year..

Ready for ice-fishing?

2009-12-15T06:00:00.000-08:00

Who's up for trying this method of locating the fish?

Malaren; 13th October 2009

2009-10-13T11:46:00.000-07:00

The best fish of a great days fishing for Pike, this one just an ounce under 10lb.

A superb fish of 9lb. 6oz. for Simon on a Zalt plug....

A lovely fish of 6lb. 13oz. opened my account for the day...

A superb day out fishing today for Pike on Lake Malaren with Jamie and Simon on the boat, jerkbaits the main takers of fish today. After a slow start with just a single jack Pike for Jamie the fishing rapidly improved in the afternoon with relocation to a sheltered bay which found the Pike attacking the lures freely for a hectic hour in which 15 fish were taken, 8 for Jamie and 4 each for Simon and myself! Simon had the first good fish when a lovely 4.25kilo(9lb 6oz.) fish snapped up his Zalt lure. Simon quickly followed this with another fish not far off 6lb, again on the Zalt. I was late into the action, eventually had a nice 3.10kilo(6lb. 13oz.) fish on a surface running Belly Buster. This was quickly followed by what proved the best fish of a superb day when I took a cracking 4.50kilo(9lb 15oz.) fish, just an ounce under 10lb., this time on a Buster Jerk. The fishing then went quite with the Pike apparently off the feed for the evening. Thanks to Jamie for the day, the boat making all the difference when it comes to this species....

Waxholm; 27th September 2009

2009-09-27T12:26:00.000-07:00

Rafa and a superb 0.72kilo(1lb. 11oz.) Perch. Big Perch do that to some people...

A lovely 0.50kilo(1lb. 1oz.) Perch for Karl saw him off the mark for the year on the table...

Fishing into a Waxholm sunset....

A great days fishing for Perch today at Waxholm, which always produces the goods at this time of the year. A lot of fish were taken during the course of the day, many of them reasonably sized Perch, with stacks of smaller fish and on a few occasions Pike were launcing themselves at our hooked fish as we drew them from the water. Myself, Linda, Karl, Rafal and Phil O Keefe all fished today and everyone caught good numbers of fish around the 3/4lb. Mark, as well as a few nice Roach and a couple of Bream. Ledgered worm was, as usual here, the killing method. Better fish came to Phil, with fish of 0.47(1lb.) and 0.50kilo(1lb. 1oz.), while Karl also chipped in with a fish of 0.50kilo(1lb.). Rafal topped the pound mark early, with the first really good Perch of the day, yet still managed to save the best for last, with a cracking Perch of 0.78kilo(1lb. 11oz.) late into the evening. This venue is capable of producing very large Perch indeed, well above 2lb. certainly, with perhaps a 3lb. fish a real possibility here as the fish gather to feed on the huge shoals of Bleak that gathere here at this time of the year. The fishing here doesn't last longer than threeor four weeks before the baitfish diperse to deeper water and the Perch follow. Always nice when the fishing is truly excellent and this was one of those days

Lidingö; 16th September 2009

2009-09-16T13:53:00.000-07:00

Ed and Perch; the bugger weighed in at 15oz.!

Six hours today produced some nice Perch and a few roach, all on the legered worm. The livebaits were hit a couple of times but the baits were dropped each time. It seems the bigger fish may have left for deeper waters, we noticed a big drop in water temperture today. Nice photo of the biggest fish posted, as you can see the weather was rather nice this evening, super light in this shot, almost makes Ed look healthy...

Strömmen; 10th September 2009

2009-09-10T07:03:00.003-07:00

1lb. 20z. Seatrout on Legered worm for Simon in the afternoon sun!

Just a couple of hours at Strömmen today in the afternoon, the sun beating down. Fishing was excellent though, lots of bites and plenty of small Perch and a few nice Roach too. A Perch of 1lb 2oz. (2 Pts.) fell to my rod before Simon stole the show with a lovely Seatrout of the same weight, a 3 point fish. I will be doing a night session here as soon as I have the time off!

An Oldie and a Goldie...

2009-09-01T05:27:00.000-07:00

Me with a Tench that weighed over 5lb. Class photograph dug up whilst I was home in Dublin.
The hair is even better looking than the fish, check out the expensive Jimmy Nail shirt...

Early Days fishing for Rudd in Dublin. Laugh it up boys!

Couple of cracking old photos for you lot! Any slagging and I won't lend any of you any more livebait or worms!

Leksand ,june 2009

2009-08-29T13:55:00.000-07:00

Another visit to Leksand in Dalarna,at the banks of Dalälven river ended up with accidently(as usual)catching massive ide (thanks,Alan).The river was fish wise unexciting,just couple of tiny perch caught on ledgered worm after hours sitting around.

It was caught on the stick with attached line,float and hook that was for Suso to trash around,with bit of corn for colour effect.It clicked 1.6kg!!! with approx.45 cm length.Amazingly enough at the same spot was captured possibly the same fish 2 years ago,in similar manner.Back then it had 1.45kg.Or maybe I wish that white fish can be territorial as well.With absolute lack of its own species or another (rudd,bream,pike etc.) in the neighbourhood of jetty it was the only thing I ever spot in the water.

Nyfors; 4th August 2009

2009-08-06T06:27:00.000-07:00

3lb. 2oz. Bream..

A warm still day, not a lot going on fish wise!

A rather dissapointing day, ended up at Nyfors after most other sites proved to be crowded with sunbathing swedes! Best a surprise in the form of a 3lb. 2oz. Bream that came from the margins on a float rig, a nice bonus giving 3 points. The afternoon was dead, though stayed on until 8pm. after Ed and Karl and the family departed, only to find more frustration. Around 7pm I had two runs on the livebaits I had legered, one fish came of after a few seconds, the second dropped the bait. Annoying after waiting all day for a run....

Möya; 2nd August 2009

2009-08-04T06:58:00.000-07:00

1lb 6oz. from the lake this afternoon in blazing sunshine...

Much sunnier conditions today, a scorcher of a day in fact. Spent the whole afternoon and early evening fishing at the lake and must of caught a couple of hundred small perch on the worm before resorting to float fished live baits in the hope of a bigger fish. Two takes soon followed, one fish coming off, the other landed and weighed in at 1lb. 6oz, a really nice fish. Would like to spend more time at this lake as I feel it could hold some very big specimens due to the huge numbers of small fish in the lake for Perch to grow big on...

Möya; 1st August 2009

2009-08-04T06:51:00.001-07:00

A cracking Perch of 1lb. 13oz., this on taken on legered worm....

A couple of days spent on Möya on the Stockholm Archipelago saw me fishing a small lake at the north of the island I know holds some lovely Perch. Wet conditions saw me spend just a couple of hours fishing legered worm in the late afternoon, a lot of small perch taken before I eventually struck into a powerful fish that gave a super scrap on the quivertip rod. The fish, a really dark coloured individual, tipped the scales at 1lb. 13oz.

Lidingö; 21st July 2009

2009-08-04T06:47:00.000-07:00

A nice Perch of 1lb. 1oz. on a float legered perch livebait....

Lidingö the venue again today in tough conditions, really windy and squally conditions, the fish not feeding well at all. One nice Perch was taken, a fish weighing in just over the pound mark...

Perch; Lidingö; 12th July 2009

2009-07-12T15:42:00.001-07:00

1lb. 13oz. Perch, a really aggresive run on a Roach livebait, a great way to start the evening...

1lb 13oz. Perch

1lb 3oz. Fish, this one took a Loi livebait...

15oz. Perch, this fish barely under the 1lb. mark...

A super evening session tonight at Lidingö, the Perch feeding again. Best of the lot was a 1lb. 13oz. fish, a real belting take and scrap from this one to open the evenings account. Next a fish barely under the 1lb. mark, before finally a lovely fish was taken at 1lb. 3oz. on a small Perch livebait. Two runs were missed when both baits were taken at the same time, a sure sign these are shoaling fish arriving in the swim as they patrol the area.

Lidingö; 6th July 2009

2009-07-05T20:26:00.000-07:00

A super Perch of 1lb. 9oz. from Lidingö today....

1lb. 3oz. Perch, the last of the evening.....

Just an ounce under the pound mark at 15oz., a very slim fish this one!

A really good evening at Lidingö today, the Perch really have arrived in numbers now. Three decent fish were taken on live Loi, which were easily caught on the float today. In addition to the fish photographed above a total of five other runs were also missed, two on the roving float fished bait later in the evening and three on legered baits.

All the above fish were taken on the bottom on the legered bait. All were taken on a simple trace with just a single hook, a size 4 lip hooked live bait and the same rod accounting for all three fish. The other rod was rigged with a treble hook set up and several takes on livebaits were dropped before a run developed, which leaves me thinking the fish felt the hooks. Will be fishing with singles from now on as a result, as there was no problems hooking the fish with this set up at all, the baits all taken confidently head first and striking immediatly resulted in nicely mouth hooked fish.

Fished at a different spot to usual today aftr the favoured area was occupied on arrival, this was a sroke of fortune as it turned out as I managed to find a much more suitable spot for fishing with space for up to four anglers. Baitfish easily caught here and there were plenty of Perch in the area. Surely a few two pounders to be had over the next couple of months, perhaps even a three pounder....

Tyresö Nyfors; 22nd June 2009

2009-06-23T08:56:00.000-07:00

Had only just cast my first livebait when this jack Pike struck it, this before a very interesting night fishing session that was frustrating, yet some thing of a success nevertheless....

Tyresö Nyfors, Älbysjön was the selected venue for a crack at night fishing for Zander and arrived at 8pm. in order to secure some baits. A few small Perch were soon picked up on a float fished worm, though the hoped for Roach and Loi were not at first. Immediatly hit a jack Pike on the first cast. A short while later Linda had a lift on her bite indicator, then nothing. An inspection of her bait revealed a badly mauled bait towards the rear, no typical razor cut Pike tooth marks though, rather Perch or Zander the culprit. Fish activity was high with shoals of baitfish began scattering on the surface as they were attacked from below by unseen predators. As darkness fell I had more bites and dropped runs, mangled live baits the result. A small Bream and a two Roach all taken from behind and were scored roughly and crushed towards the tail, feel these baits were hit by Zander which dropped the baits. Then another fish hit on a larger Roach and an exremely powerful fish, surely a big Pike, hooped the rod over after a few moments when it seemed to realize it was hooked. This fish bit through the line, I can only assume the bait swam back over the mainline, was then engulfed and the teeth did the rest. Linda had another bait marked badly before the feeding spell passed and activity dropped off.

A frustrating night yes, but interesting all the same. Figure the problem is too much resistance on the leger rig causing dropped runs, which in itself is a classic sign of Zander, which do not like resistance. Using a heavier lead might well be the answer, the heavier the lead the more static it stays and the fish will pull line through the eye of the lead without dislodging it and feeling resistance. Float fishing with nightlite inserts for visibility might also prove very, very efficient.

Will try another few sessions at night for Zander. Securing good bait is key, small Roach, Bleak or especially Loi being the fisrt option if possible, perhaps arriving earlier and concentrating on these might be an idea.(A throwing net would be ideal, bait fish are everywhere in the lake in the margins.) Given good quality bait and some refinemnts in the rigs I figure some good results could be had from this lake with regard to Zander, as well as some very big Perch and Pike also before the fall of darkness...

Lidingö; 8th June 2009

2009-06-08T13:50:00.001-07:00

6lb. 9oz. Pike

A nice perch of around 12oz.

Out to Lidingö in the afternoon, proved to be rather slow as expected, a cold windt day. A few small Bream, Perch and Rudd were taken on the legered worm, the best fish a Perch of about 12oz. Best fish of the day came right at the end of the day when my Rudd livebait was snatched and the bite alarm went into overdrive. A great scrap followed, the fish running really well three times before it was landed and weighed, the fish a Pike of 6lb. 9oz.

Malaren; Lovon; 7th June 2009

2009-06-07T06:08:00.000-07:00

1lb 1oz. Rudd

Malaren lake at east side of Lovon, the whole area is known as a superb predator fishery, with Pike, Perch and Zander fishing excellent in the area....

Popped down to this site for a morning session after identifying the area as one of Stockholms best Zander venues, though was left thouroughly frustrated by a total lack of small bait fish in the area. I failed to catch a single bait sized fish all morning and had no deadbaits with me, this meant the predators went unfished for all day. My frustration was made even worse when a boat appeared close by and the two anglers aboard caught several Pike into double figures on jerkbaits! With no natural baits caught and no artificial lures in my bag I was, by then, well pissed off!

The day wasnot a total disapointment however. One lovely Rudd of just over a pound was caught from amongst the reeds, with another good fish lost, offering some consolation on the day. Both fish took a slowly sinking float fished worm...

Lidingo Sunday 31 May

2009-05-31T12:13:00.000-07:00

Out to my favourite spot today, boiling hot day which probably affected the fishing a bit. Pretty slow start with only lots of very small Perch on floatfished worm. Two livebaits out and after about an hour the float went under and headed straight for the reeds... First decent perch of the year and it put up a very good fight. Weighed in at 0.85kg (1.9 pounds) Lost a couple of decent sized Bream and eventually got one in weighing in at 0.76kg (1.7 pounds). Not a bad day and a few more points for the table, heading back to Rudasjon tomorrow with hope's of a monster rainbow trout, apparently they run up to 5kg!! so fingers crossed...

Rudasjön Friday 29th May

2009-05-29T11:03:00.000-07:00

First time out at this lake, just by the pendeltåg station at Haninge. Arrived around 10am and started float fishing worm, lots of small Perch, Roach and Rudd. Also fished ledgered worm and was setting up the livebait rod when i noticed the ledger tip bent over. Thought it was a Tench at first but was happily surprised to see a rainbow trout! My first ever. Weighed in at 0.92kg. Shortly after was bringing in a small float fished Rudd when a jack pike grabbed it from right in front of me. dropped off when I tried to pull it out and attacked the Rudd again the second I dropped it back in the water. I moved over the livebait rod and cought it after a few minutes, didn't bother weighing it as it was so small. A few more small fish and then it died down till around 3.30 when the float went under again. This time with prawn as bait. After a great fight I finally brought a beautiful 1.26kg Rainbow to the bank. I'll be heading back to this lake for sure, and soon.

Lidingö Monday 25th May

2009-05-26T23:57:00.000-07:00

Out at Lidingö for the day on Monday from about 09.30. Lots of smaller perch and roach from the go. Nice bream after about 20 mins weighing in at 1.26kg and a small pike on perch livebait about an hour later. Still a bit early for fishing out here but not a bad day. Boiling hot day and the fishing died off around 1pm so called it quits for the day at 3pm. Hopefully some more huge perch from this spot over the summer...

Drevviken; 26th may 2009

2009-05-26T11:43:00.001-07:00

An old friend, at 13lb 2oz., the third time I have seen this Pike on the bank! Ed delighted to catch her today...

5lb 3oz. Pike for Ed..

1lb1oz. Rudd, my only fish of the day! Haircut badly needed!

A jack Pike rounded the day off for Ed...

Drevviken today for Ed and I, arrived around noon. Ledgered worm was rather slow all day, though Ed had some Bream Roach and Rudd while I struggled to catch. At 2.40pm, right on the moon south trigger Ed had a run on his live bait which proved to be a fish I caught twice last year! A cracking Pike of 13lb 2oz. on this occasion, this fish seems to be very territorial and remains in this swim throughout the warmer months of the year, perhaps even all year round. Got the photos quickly and the fish went back unharmed as they all should.

A while later I banked a lovely Rudd of 1lb. 1oz, a pristine fish which proved to be my only catch of the day. Ed continued to thrash me with two further Pike, one of 5lb. 3oz. and another smaller fish we didn't bother to weigh. Packed up at around 5.30pm, a great day for Ed in the end, 9 points in total to him for the day and just 2 points for my lone Rudd.

Ed also due points for a Bream over two pounds and a jack Pike caught yesterday at Lidingö, these points have also been added to the table...

Tyresö Albysjön; 23rd May 2009

2009-05-26T11:37:00.000-07:00

Perch from Albysjön

Out with Simon for a day at Tyresö Albysjön, a liitle dissapointing really, though there were signs of fish. Two runs on the livebaits were dropped, Perch the culprit for one of them, dropping the bait when resistance was felt. Otherwise a few Bream, Roach and Perch were taken in the three swims we fished. This lake may be worth a night session or two this summer for Zander. Undoubtedly this lake may well hold some very big Perch too which are worthy of attention.

Dammtorpsjön; 18th May 2009

2009-05-26T11:25:00.000-07:00

Rudd

Dammtorpsjon

Spent the afternoon fishing Dammtorpsjön in Nacka out of curiousity. A very weedy lake makes fishing very difficult, the lake is also full of water lilies. Legered a worm on the quivertip rod, plenty of Rudd fell to the method, though nothing above 7oz, or so today. Of more interest was a screaming run on on of my ledgered boilie rods, the result was a powerful run which resulted in the fish running into a waterlily bed before the hookhold gave, to huge frustration on my part.

The lake holds Tench, Carp and Crucian Carp. Reckon this lake may reward a bit of effort, though swims would have to be cleared of weed to allow fishing in order to have a good chace of presenting a bait properly and landing fish should one be hooked. A really nice lake though, close to town also and may well be worth a few sessions...

Tyresö Slott; 23rd April 2009

2009-04-23T13:16:00.000-07:00

A 2lb. 20z. Ide from the slott for Simon!

4lb 3oz. Bream, my biggest swedish Bream to date...

A day out at the Slott went somewhat away from the planned chain of events, the plan being to catch some bait and proceed to the tip of the slott to fish for Pike. As it happened, frustratingly, not a single baitfish could be tempted and we ended up on the bridge to try for bait there. No baitfish were present, though Bream were. Simon and I had a number of bites culminating in a 4lb 3oz. fish to my own rod, my biggest swedish Bream to date and a 6 pointer to boot!

After an uneventful couple of hours at the tip we decidede to return to the bridge where Simon had a 2lb Bream, awarding him his fist point of the year. Ed and James then arrived in time to see the fish of the day, another surprise from the Slott from right under the bridge, a cracking 2lb. 2oz. Ide, another new species from this site, which never fails to hold a surprise or two every year. This noteworthy fish netted Simon another 6 points.

The day wore on very quetly, Simon headed home whilst the rest of us fished on. At about 18.30 the Roach suddenly began to feed heavily and we caught an absolute stack of them, some of them reasonable fish. Headed home after a good day out happy with a good days fishing...

As a footnote a day out last week at Lidingö, generally unproductive, did produce a Pike of around 3lb. for James, the fish falling for a lure, earning him his first point of the year.

Moon Phase; New Moon(-2days)

Moon Rise;04.22 Moon Set;09.52 Moon Low Pt.;12.51

Tyresö Slott, April 17th 2009

2009-04-17T05:17:00.000-07:00

A very happy me with my first ever rod caught Sik from Tyresö Slott...

My first ever Sik! This fish was another real surprise from the Slott, a venue that has produced a huge array of species over the past few years. The fish came at 7.30am, a really vicious bite that hooped the rod over. Striking into it, I initially thought it a Perch, then a large Roach, the fish put up a tremendous fight ans was a very fast swimming fish. Was delighted when it lay on the surface and I realised it was my first Sik, The fish is rather rare around Stockholm and gives me three points, the fish weighing in at 1lb. 5oz. Something of an oddity, this fish reminded me of the Bonefish of warmer climes, with a simular elongated appearance, colouration and underslung mouth. A member of the whitefish family, apparently superb eating, but this one was released today...
A rather bizarre occurance was that the only three bites that came to my Pike rods all morning came more or less simultaneously on all three rods at 06.55am! Two of the Smelt deadbaits were dropped, the other fish put up a rather odd dour fight before coming off. All bites were rather tentative and must of been either Zander, or most likely Perch. I think what happened is a large shoal moved through the swim resulting on all three smelt deadbaits being taken, maybe! The baits were unmarked on inspection laeding me to think Pike were not the culprits..
Simon joined me later in the morning and we caught a stack of Roach on the legered worm before we headed home. A really enjoyable morning...

Moon Phase; Last Quarter Moon
Moon Rise;03.40 Moon Set; 10.02 Moon Low Point;18.42

Sandasjön; 4th March 2009

2009-03-04T10:34:00.000-08:00

Another brace from Sandasjön; 0.50 and 0.65 kilo.

0.65 kilo Rainbow on the ice....

Another trip to Sandasjön today hoping for a few more Rainbow Trout. Again I was lucky enough to catch two fish, the first almost straight away, a really plump female of 0.65 kilo(1lb. 7oz.) in weight. The other, a more modest 0.50 kilo(1lb 1oz.) fish, also a female, came later in the afternoon. Karl had no luck at all over the day and left without a trout, which spoiled it just a little. My livebaited Roach was also viciously taken twice in quick succession by what I am quite sure was a good Perch after inspecting the bait later, the fish being seized from behind in typical fashion....

As mentioned, both fish were female, which I realised when preparing them for dinner, as they were full of roe. Kept this to use as bait for Seatrout in the near future, it is a deadly bottom fished bait in Stockholm Ström...

Moon Phase; First Quarter Moon

Moon Set 03.19 Moon Rise;07.56 Moon Low Point;18.07

As lucky as Al

2009-02-21T01:33:00.000-08:00

Sändasjön; 11th Febuary 2009

2009-02-11T10:44:00.000-08:00

A Brace of Rainbow Trout..

Rainbow Trout(.52kilo)

Close up...

My first Rainbow Trout, a .48kilo fish...

Nice to have a few fresh fish for dinner....

A really fine day in every way, the weather was stunning, a beautiful sunny winters day. Ice fished at Sändasjön in the hope of a Rainbow Trout with Ed and Simon. Just after arriving lost two fish which were undoubtedly trout, the second pulling my unattended ice rod through the hole in the ice, I managed to recover it by plunging my arm after it down the hole, only to lose the fish! A short while later I was delighted when my bait was again taken and I duly landed my first Rainbow Trout after a nice scrap through the hole in the ice, a fish just over a pound in weight at .48 kilo. Ed then had a monster bite and was bitten off, most likely by a Pike. A bonus followed when I hooked and landed another very slightly heavier Rainbow Trout of .52 kilo, a really purple fish this, which was really well marked. Both these fish are worth a total of 6 points on this years table. All in all a really fortunate day for me, the lads not so lucky with no trout, though plenty of small roach were caught on a day we all enjoyed...

Moon Phase; Full Moon+2 Days

Moon Low Point;01.07; Moon Set;07.41 Moon Rise;19.39

Ice Fishing; Flaten, 11th January 2009

2009-01-12T09:37:00.001-08:00

Winter Perch

Karl's first fish from under ice...

Jack Pike

Another monster....

Scouse eskimo fishing in a hole...

At last, for the first time in three years the tempature has fallen enough to allow ice fishing around Stockholm. A really enjoyable few hours spent on Flaten enjoying a form of fishing new to us all. Managed to catch a few Perch between us on vertically jigged lures, mostly tiddlers, as well as a single jack Pike which netted me the first point of 2009. A lot to learn about ice fishing, hope the cold weather holds so that we can try some predator fishing, with Pike, Perch, Zander and Burbot all possible from under the ice...

Final Point's Table; 2008

2009-01-12T08:52:00.000-08:00

Another year passed already, so time to post the final points table for the year 2oo8. As always, bonus points are now added for the biggest points scoring fish of each species caught over the year, with a reward of 12 Points for each. In addition a further 12 Points are awarded for the heaviest fish of the year outright. The following fish are awarded points;

Pike; 14lb. 14oz., Dreviken. Al (24 Pts., also largest fish of the year.)
Zander; 3.8kg., Lidingö. Ed (12 Pts.)
Perch; 1.2 kg., Lidingö. Ed (12 Pts.)
Burbot; 6lb. 5oz., Tyresö Slott. Al (12 Pts.)
Eel; 1lb. 4oz.,Aspö. Karl (12 Pts.)
Rudd; 2lb. 3oz., Tyresö Slott. Al (12 Pts.)
Bream; 3lb. 9oz., Varmdö. Al (12 Pts.)
Tench; 4lb. 2oz., Nyfors, Al (12Pts.)
Ide; 1lb. 4oz., Aspö. Al (12 Pts.)

All of this means the final table looks like this...

1st. Al (194pts.)
2nd. Ed (53pts.)
3rd. Karl (28pts.)
4th. Simon (13pts.)
5th. Tom (3pts.)
6th. Kevin (2pts.)

Again in 2008, several species were not caught at all. Notably, these include Salmon, Brown Trout, Seatrout, Rainbow Trout, Grayling, Char, Chub, Dace, Silver Bream, Carp, Crucian Carp, Asp and Flounder. Several of these are easily available with a little effort and time and offer good opportunites in 2009. Other species, like Roach, a commonly caught species were not caught at sufficient size to register points on the table. Burbot, Eel, Ide and Zander were all caught for the first time during 2008. Hopefully 2009 will bring some more great fish and enjoyment for you all...

Stockholm Strömmen;15th October 2008

2008-10-15T20:41:00.000-07:00

11lb. Seatrout (male)

Five hours were spent fishing this evening between 8pm. and 1am., alas, without a fish for Ed, Karl or myself. A couple of hours alone yesterday evening produced the same result and it seems the peak of the Salmon run here has passed and the fish are scarcer now. Seatrout however will pick up over the next month or so and will continue to be present into the new year, the fish photographed above was caught early this evening, a reminder of what can be taken with a little luck, or perseverence, a superb male Seatrout that weighed 11lb.! A well coloured fish that has been in the Ström for some time, these fish are silver when they first come in from the baltic, gradually gaining darker colouration as the weeks pass.

Pike fishing was quiet last Monday also and a half day on Malaren produce a single jack Pike for myself and a brace for Jamie on what was a poor day overall, despite promising conditions. The seaon is drawing to a close now for many species as the winter closes in....

Malaren; 9th October 2008

2008-10-09T10:30:00.001-07:00

6.60kilo(14lb 9oz.) Pike for Jamie....

6.60kilo(14lb 9oz.) Pike

4.20kilo(9lb 5oz.) Pike at dusk....

4,20kilo(9lb. 5oz.) Pike

3.80kilo(8lb. 6oz.) Pike for Simon during the morning...

Simon and the head of the beast....

A superb days piking from the boat with Simon and Jamie on lake Malaren. Fished from 10.30am through until 6.oopm. with lures all day. First fish came to Jamie with a fish of around a kilo, followed by another simular fish for myself. A couple more takes and small fish came before Simon had the first really good fish of the day when he took a 3.80kilo fish on a green Zalt Wobbler, a lovely fish for him to start the day. The afternoon proved rather quiet with a handful of small fish lost on the strike before Jamie connected with the best fish of the day, a cracking 6.60kilo fish on a Buster Jerkbait. Simon landed another small fish, as did I before the light started to fade. I was delighted to get a really nice 4.20kilo fish ar dusk, also falling to a Buster Jerkbait, which gave us all a good fish during the day, which was thorughly enjoyable....

Lidingö; 29th September 2008

2008-09-29T11:57:00.000-07:00

The head on that....!

6lb. Pike...

Lidingö the venue for Karl, Ed and myself on a day when new moon fell and it was rather dissapointing in all honesty. On the plus side the weather was glorious for the time of year....

A total of six livebait rods between us and just a single Pike, albeit a really hard fighting, exceptionally nicely marked and well proportioned 6lb. fish. The livebait was a small Roach. Ed had a dropped take, as I did during the day. Later I had another good run on a Perch bait which released the bait on the strike, these fish were probably all big Perch...

Vaxholm; 22nd September 2008

2008-09-22T13:08:00.000-07:00

Ed and 6lb 1oz. Pike

1lb 3oz. Perch

Karl with 2lb 9oz. Bream

A really nice day today, great weather and a few fish as well. Vaxholm was the venue for Karl, Ed and myself and we all legered a worm on the bottom anf fished a livebait. Quite a few Perch caught during the afternoon, with fish actively hunting baitfish in front of us. Ed took the larggest, a 1lb. 3oz. fish that bagged him 2 points. Soon afterwards Ed's livebait was taken and after a lively struggle a really nice Pike of 6lb. 1oz. (2pts.)was landed and relased. Not to be left off the points table Karl landed his biggest Bream to date, a fish of 2lb. 9oz. (1 pt.)on the leger. All in all a nice day with Perch, Pike, Bream, Roach and Ruffe all taken...

Stockholm Strömmen; 2nd September 2008

2008-09-02T15:28:00.001-07:00

8lb Seatrout...

7lb 8oz. Salmon from Strömmen

Brace of Salmon around the 10lb. mark....

A fine trio, Seatrout and Salmon, all around the 8lb mark...

Evening spent again at Strömmen with Karl from 5pm. until 11pm. A really frustrating evening in all honesty, hooked no less than seven fish between us and landed none! Particularily depressed myself after hooking no less than five fish, one of which was a very good Salmon. A lot of fish were landed tonight of a high average size, some cracking Seatrout in particular were witnessed. Have taken some photos of some of the catches made and posted here for interest. Did learn a lot tonight about fly choice and hook strength in particular, as well as several other tips for the future, feel it won't be long before a good fish is landed....

Stockholm Strömmen; 1st September 2008

2008-09-01T10:45:00.000-07:00

Strömmen Seatrout...

A few free hours in the late afternoon today, thought I would try the Ström again for a couple of hours and arrived at 15.20, I was surprised to find myself the only fisherman there before I was joined by a swedish fisherman, the pair of us having it all to ourselves. Several jumping Salmon made sure the adrenalin was high with fish well into double figures active in the water below us. Fished the traditional fly method here, which involves an 80 gram weight, three way swivel and long leader to the fly. After 40 minutes, having just changed to a dark blue tube fly, I was hit hard in a savage fashion, the fish giving phenomenal resistance as it sulked across the river. I was only barely managing to hang on and keep contact for three minutes when it decided to make off downstream under the bridge where it easily snapped me off just above the fly. The albeit short fight left me in no doubt as to just how strong these fish can be and wondering how large a fish I had jusy hooked. Needless to say I was gutted...

Perhaps 45 minutes later at 17.30 the swedish lad beside me had a take, also on a blue fly and after a brief struggle landed a really beautiful Seatrout of around seven pounds weight, a slightly coloured fish, suggesting it had been in the freshwater for perhaps a week or two. Really nice to be able to net this fish for the guy and get a good look at the fish. Took a couple of snaps which I have posted here. The concensus after seeing this fish caught was that I had probably hooked a good Salmon or perhaps a very large Seatrout, and though a little disapointing not to have landed a fish, it is good to have finally connected with a fish.

Stockholm Strömmen; 27th August 2008

2008-08-27T13:39:00.000-07:00

A 10lb. Salmon from Strömmen...

A 5lb Seatrout taken just after dusk...

Popped down to Stockholm Ström for a couple of hours in the late evening and fished an hour into darkness. The late autumn run is begining now with both Seatrout and Salmon coming through in big numbers, with some colossal fish present. Seatrout run well over 20lb. here and Salmon as large as 50lb.!

Fished a tube fly on a long leader from a three way swivel, with an 80 gram weight required to get the fly down in the very strong flow and happily lost very little tackle. No fish fell to my rod but fish were taken by others during the evening, a couple of which I took snaps of and have posted here to whet the appetite! Will be getting out over the next few months and into the winter in pursuit of that dream fish, a large Seatrout really would be something special...

Lidingö; 19th August 2008

2008-08-19T11:51:00.001-07:00

1lb 13oz. Perch

1lb 2oz. Perch

4lb 15oz. Pike

Simon and Perch

A fine day at Lidingö today with Karl and Simon, fishing principally for Perch. Perch came early on the legered worm, particularily to Simon who had three nice fish around the 12oz. mark. Karl then had a free roving Perch Live bait taken by a Pike of 4lb 15oz. which gave him a scare or two as it did its best to entangle itself in the reeds to our left before it was landed. A nice fish barely under five pounds gave him his first single point of the day for the table.

Next came a really nice fish for myself, a lovely 1lb 13oz. (4 Pts.) fish with rather faded markings, presumably an older female fish. This fish fell to legered worm and gave a brief but powerful account of itself on the swingtip rod. Then to wrap the evening up Karl had a large Roach livebait taken before he failed to hook what most probably was a good Perch. This was followed by a fish of 1lb 2oz. , a 2 point fish that went into the reeds and was fortunatly landed all the same, which was a great way to end the session before we packed up at 19.30. Happily all todays fish were released and swam away strongly to fight another day....

Lidingö; 12th August 2008

2008-08-11T15:16:00.001-07:00

2lb 2oz. Perch

1lb 6oz. Perch

An evening session was long awaited at this spot, had been itching to try for big Perch, probably my favourite species to catch when they are bigger specimens. Began at about 4pm., with two float paternostered livebaits set up, complete with bobbins and bite alarms. Fished another rod on the bottom with worms on a fixed paternoster.

A frustrating start was had due to a lack of suitable bait sized fish coming on the worm, no shortage of Perch though with constant action with medium sized fish. Lost two fish in the reeds that might of topped a pound, my own fault for not carrying a landing net. Finally got a couple of bait sized fish, a small Perch and a Roach. The perch was the first to be taken at 18.10, the culprit a lovely 1lb 6oz. Perch(2pts.) which was landed after a few anxious moments after the fish kited into the reeds...

Things went quiet after that and I occupied myself with more modest Perch and Roach on the worm. Decided to fish into dusk and was rewardered at 21.10 when a roach livebait was taken suddenly, a screaming run and fabulous fight followed before a cracking Perch of 2lb 2oz. was landed, a 6 point fish and my best Perch for some time. A nice way to end the day...

Lidingö; 30th July 2008

2008-07-30T06:19:00.000-07:00

0.9kg Perch

1,2kg perch

1,2kg Perch

Out at my favourite spot this morning hopin for another Zander or a pike. Arrived about 07.30 and started catching small perch on worm straight away. About 10.30 the livebait float went under and I struck into what I thought was a small pike. Was very pleased to see a huge perch instead! Weighed in at about 1,2kg. 10 minutes later the other float went under producing a good perch just under 1kg. Both caught on small perch livebait.. I'll be going back again soon!

Malaren 14-15th June

2008-06-30T03:48:00.000-07:00

Bream

My first ever lure cought pike!! about 1.5kg

Second ever lure cought pike, 2.6kg

A nice weekend away at a friends country house on the island of Alholmen (somewhere after Ekero) Tried lure fishing for the first time ever and to my surprise, actually caught something. Caught both pike within 10 minutes at the same spot. All in all a pretty quite weekend though but some good spots so worth a return trip soon.

Waxholm; 26th June 2008

2008-06-26T12:08:00.000-07:00

4lb 13oz. Pike

11oz. Perch

Grabbed the rods, reels, scales, camera, a few weights and a packet of size 10 hooks and headed out to Waxholm for a few hours light fishing for Perch. My first cast produced a good bite and I struck into a very strong fish that absoloubtly hooped my 12 foot swingtip leger rod over. I was dreaming about a monster Perch for 5 minutes as it stayed deep and took line every time I tried to bring it to the surface. When it did break the surface my dreams were dashed, a Pike of 4lb 13oz. had taken my worms of the bottom! The fish was well hooked in the scissors of the jaw, away from the teeth and it was landed, photographed and slipped back in. A truly unbelievable fight on the ultralight rod, it only it could of been the Perch I thought it might be!

Lots of Perch biting, all small at first, but things did improve steadily as the sun dropped lower, leading to three fish over .75lb before I had to leave at 19.15 to watch the Euro '08 semi-final! Might be well worth an evening in the area with small livebaits for, hopefully, a big, big Perch...

Trehörningen; 26th June 2008

2008-06-26T02:26:00.001-07:00

1lb 14oz. Tench

Tench

Crayfish

A few very enjoyable hours spent fishing in the evening for Tench with Linda, Jim and Ollie. Groundbaited carefully on arrival and was into a Tench of 1lb 14oz. on just my second cast using a strawberry flavoured maize and redworm bait on a paternoster rig, a rapid result. Things then went rather quite with small Roach here and there until the sun dropped and the odd Bream and Rudd were then taken, though nothing of any size. A Crayfish was caught after it tangled itself in my line on my second rod which was fishing a method feeder rig and boilie on a hair. A really good sized Cray it was too! Had two good runs on the method feeder but figure the hair link was too long as neither fish was hooked. At 21.45 a second small Tench of about 1lb. was taken on my paternoster rod, again on the strawberry maize and redworm hookbait. Both Tench gave me 6 points for the evening, though neither was very large, this lake appearing to hold a lot of small fish, though may not be a great site with a view to a big specimen. Still, a beautiful place to spend an evening all the same...

In addition, Simon took three small Pike from the boat on Malaren a few days ago, which gives him three points towards his point total for the season. The points table is now fully updated...

The Zander....

2008-06-25T01:59:00.000-07:00

Hi guys, well, first addition from me. Had to add this one. Out fishing on May 31st from about 7.30 am at kyrkaviken in Lidingö. A beautiful sunny day, well over 20 degree's. Fishing on the float for smaller fish and two livebaits out for pike (had 6.5kg pike here before) Around 9.30am the livebait float went under and I struck into a very solid fish. Felt very strange from the start as the fish went straight out for open water and very deep!! After about 10 minutes fight I finally caught a glimpse of the monster and was shocked to see a very angry zander (my first ever). On my very poor scales it weighed in at around 3.8kg, a beautiful fish. I'll be going back again to try for more...

Tyresö Nyfors; 17th June 2008

2008-06-18T06:37:00.000-07:00

4lb 2oz. Tench

Rudd

A night fishing trip this time for a change with Zander very much in mind. Things got of to a quick start for me with a cracking Tench of 4lb. 2oz. taken at the start of the session at 21.05 on a legered worm, a 5 point fish and a fin perfect specimen. Was not aware the species was present in the lake and this one really fought all the way to the bank.

We fished until 0300am., unfortunatly the results were not good. At least four Zander baits registered no takes at all, with the legered worm taking only one good fish, a Rudd of about 12oz. or so. A frustrating result with regard to a species that has eluded us for two years or more now....

Malaren; 5th June 2008

2008-06-05T05:46:00.000-07:00

9lb. 2oz. Pike

Simon with his first Pike of the day...

My first Pike of the day...

Lovely trip out in the boat with Jamie and Simon after Pike. The weather was incredible, an absolute scorcher, which affected the fishing no doubt, nevertheless got a few fish. I hooked up first to a fish of somewher in the 4-5lb class on a big bandit jerkbait, though did not weigh this one. Things were quiet for a bit after that fish, changed lures and I again hit a fish, this time a fine, really well conditioned Pike of 9lb. 2oz. which fought well. This one fell to a large jointed Rapala Rap-Shad.

Simon then began to catch, with three Pike coming to him in quick succession, all under the 5lb. mark. Jamie had a desperatly unlucky day, with several strikes and no fish landed, culminating with a very good fish that took a shallow running jerkbait. Unfortunatly the trace parted after a clutch failure on the reel he was using. Headed back in a short while later, a really enoyable session and great to get a few fish on lures. The outing earns three points for both Simon and I.

Trehorningen; 3rd June 2008

2008-06-03T06:58:00.000-07:00

2lb 9oz. Tench

1lb 15oz. Tench

Male Tench; 8oz.

Trehörningen Lake

Went after Tench today on my birthday, to a new venue, Trehörningen. Arrived to find a stunning lake, very picturesque, full of water lilies and it just screams Tench. Despite the later morning start and the very bright, sunny conditions I was hopeful of a fish due to the New Moon today and the fact that the moon low point was at 12.10pm.

Started fishing at 09.15am. and things were initially rather quiet. Fished just one rod, a 12 foot quivertip with a free running rig and worm as bait. A large Tench rolled on the surface in front of me early on. Several frustrating bites followed, each time the worms were stripped from the hook with only the tiniest movement of the rod. I then hooked and lost a good fish, presumably a Tench at 12.00 nooon. At 12.40 I banked my first Tench of the year, also my smallest ever, an 8oz. male that put up an amazing fight considering its size and had me wondering if I had hooked one of the lakes Crucian Carp! At 13.20 I banked a much better fish od 2lb 9oz., a really pleasing result. This was follow by another at 1.35pm., this one weighed 1lb. 15oz. and was a beautiful pale fish, just lovely to look at. Rudd were a constant nuisance and grabbed most of the baits before they could even hit the bottom, in the future will use sweetcorn or mini boilies to avoid them. Two Perch were caught, Bream too were in evidence, along with a single Roach.

No sign of Crucian Carp today, though some bubbling may have been by this species. Hopefully will get one on a future session at this lovely lake.

Dreviken; 1st June 2008

2008-06-01T06:18:00.000-07:00

1lb. 7oz. Rudd

A sweltering hot morning developed into a scorching day, bright blue skies and strong sun killed the fishing. Started fishing at 08.45am and struggled to tempt a bite, had to set up a float rig on the bait rod to secure a couple of small Perch livebaits, both of which would eventually be released after the session, with no interest at all from predators of any kind. Just four bites on the leger rig for the whole session, a paltry result! Only managed to hit one of these bites at 10.40am, was really suprised by the resistance I met upon striking. A really nice Rudd of 1lb. 7oz. was gratefully landed, the fish is worth 4pts. and made the days efforts worthwhile...

Trigger Times; Moon South at 10.10am.

Varmdö; 29th May 2008

2008-05-29T10:47:00.000-07:00

3lb. 9oz. Bream

2lb 8oz. Bream

Jack Pike

Perch

A new location today out on Varmdö, and considering the weather it went really, really well. Fished from 1pm until 5.00pm in blazing sunshine in a dificult strong wind, far from ideal conditions. The worm turned up the goods today, with 95% of fish falling to one legered rig. Lots of Perch to around 8oz. caught, which is always nice, these came throughout the day. The only trigger period of note was a Moon Set at 1.30pm and sure enough at 1.25pm my rod was taken from the rest by a good Bream of 3lb 9oz., this fish fighting really well and had me thinking it was a good Perch before it appeared on the surface. This was followed ten minutes later by a 2lb 8oz. fish that didn't fight at all! It was back to Perch then, alang with a couple of Roach and skimmer Bream before my livebait slid off at the death, though just a small jack Pike turned out to be the culprit. A great few hours angling which gave me a total of 5 points in all. Really impressed by the fishing and was told of very big Perch in the area, as well as very big Pike and Zander too. The Bream fishing could be exceptional too if done properly. The whole general area is well worth some attention and has huge potential, with a huge amount of water that could be covered, all of this close to the city....

Also today Tom Summers had a jack Pike from the lake by his land to claim a single point.

Weather; Sunny, 24 Degress, Gusty. f4-5 Wind, South Westerly.

Dreviken; 28th May 2008

2008-05-28T15:17:00.001-07:00

The same Pike again! 14lb. 9oz. today!

2lb. 7oz. Pike

Out to the same swim in Dreviken today for a few hours in the evening. Started fishing at 17.30 after a bus breakdowm delayed me, fishing very slow at first and I could not even catch small baitfish at first. Eventually got some skimmer Bream, Roach and Rudd and got some baits out for Pike. First run came at 19.15, a good fish which spat the bait and hooks out at the bank after a four minute tussle, a good fish of not far off ten pounds. This was quickly followed by a second run, a small fish this time of 2lb. 7oz., a single point fish. Things then went quiet for a while until 21.10 when another run came, this time a long on. A great fight followed before a very familiar looking fish was landed! Comparing the two later on the photos taken it is certainly the same fish I landed just two days ago, this time 5oz. lighter at 14lb. 9oz. Have decided that I should not take points for this guy as he is probably territorial and catching the same fish repeatedly seems somehow wrong. It does go to show that they certainly get back to normal life soon after being caught and perhaps are not the brightest! Will be difficult to keep fishing at the site if this guy keeps coming out!

Weather; Fine, Sunny. Westerly Wind F3-4. 20 Degrees Celsius.

Trigger Times,; 19.20, 21.20

Dreviken; 26th May 2008

2008-05-26T13:19:00.000-07:00

14lb 14oz. Pike

0.78lb Rudd

Bream

A great days fishing today at Dreviken. Started fishing at 2pm., immediatly began to catch Rudd, Roach and particularily skimmer Bream. Thing continued on like that for some hours while the worm baits were constantly taken, two livebaits remaining untouched for a while. At 5.50pm a ledgered Bream was finally taken right on cue, though I lost this fish at the bank, a Pike of around 5lb. or so. I rebaited another bream and recasted. As I was setting up the bobbin indicator line was taken from my hands, I assumed it was the fresh livebait and reset the bobbin and bite alarm, stood up and watched as line started to tear of the reel again, the alarm sounding off. I struck into a solid Pike, which gave me a fantastic fight on the light rod, taking about ten minutes to get to the bank where I gratefully managed to land the fish by hand! The scale swung to just under 15lb, a cracking fish and new personal best, after a few quick pictures with the camera timer I released it, the fish swimming away strongly. The fish is worth 6 points on the league table.

At 6.45pm. I managed a good Rudd of .78lb, which gave me another point, before some better Bream appeared in the swim, all over a pound. Another moon trigger approached and I could not believe how on cue two runs were at 7.55pm and 8.05pm. These were somewhat unuasual though in that both were dropped after very positive takes, with perhaps three metres of line quickly stripped off the reel. Both were on the roach live bait, which on inspection the first time bore the tell tale puncture marks of a Zander, I can only assume the rigs offered too much resistance and spooked the fish. Good to know they are in the area all the same, something to have a go for in the coming weeks...

Weather; Westerly wind F2-3, Cloudy from 1700, Sunny previous to that. 20 degrees falling in evening.

Trigger Times; 16.10; High Point at 18.10; 20.10

Tom's first of the season!

2008-05-25T07:43:00.000-07:00

Yes Tom, you sure do......

A novel entry on to the points board, Tom Summers first two Pike of the season came today and this one was duly entered by photo text, the first and not the last inbox specimen no doubt! If Tom could lift it, it could not of been more than 5lbs! Both fish taken from the boat and give Tom a total of 2 points for the league table!

In addition Simon had four Pike yesterday, all under 5lbs, giving him a total of 4 points for the table which puts him on the board for the year also...

Aspö, Furusund; 4th-6th May 2008

2008-05-07T13:17:00.000-07:00

3lb 8oz. Pike (Apologies for the frightening backdrop...)
Arrived on the island at around 13.00 with Rafal and Souso, as well as Karl after a short drive north from Stockholm. Aspö is a small island in the Norrtalje archipelago and after a short walk to the summer house there we started to fish immedediatly in the bay in front of the house, a really beautiful area it is too. Sun shone strongly as Karl hooked his first Pike of the trip, a 3lb. 8oz. fish that took a Mepps spinner, a single point for the league table. Karl then had another point when he took a small jack Pike on the mepps a short distance away, also had another fish follow his lure and turn away. Rafal then hooked a fish of about 6lb and was really unlucky to have a hook snap off on his mepps to allow the fish to slip away at the last minute before it could be banked and weighed.
We fished on for the rest of the day, catching Rudd, Bream, Rudd/Bream hybrids and Perch, though some nice fish were taken, none were big enough to gain any further points.

9lb. 13oz. Pike

9lb 13oz. Pike

Day two began in a similar fashion, with plenty of fish coming to the worm, among them Bleak and Loi, adding to the species tally. Then Karl twitched his Perch livebait at 13.30 and all hell broke lose. A really good scrap ensued as the Pike made run after run, peeling line off the reel time and time again. After about ten minutes or so I managed to land the fish for him, a really fabulous Pike that went to 9lb 13oz and gave us all a great deal of enthusiasm and Karl 2 more points. This fish fell right on the Moon Low Point trigger time, with another trigger due at 15.30 and the area in front of the house going quiet we decided to move to another section of the bay ...

11lb. 13oz. Pike

11lb 13oz. Pike

After moving to the bay we cast out some livebaits and waited. Karl immediatly had a take on the Mepps, a fish that escaped... Then he had a small Pike take a large Bream bait, refusing to let go as he brought it back towards him. We watched this fish below us at it sulked around, gripping the Bream, before it turned it and moved awayas we looked on. The fish was not hooked however, so still we waited. At 15.30, right on the trigger time, the water exploded aroung my float as a Pike launched itself at my bait. It gave a great account of itself before I landed it, a long, lean fish weighing 11lb 130z., a 6 point fish on the league table. This fish had just spawned and would be considerably heavier in good condition...

12lb. Pike

12lb. Pike

Just moments after recasting a new bait in, my float slid away! I struck, amazed by yet another solid fish that fought me all the way to the bank. It earned me 6 points more, just minutes after the last fish I now found myself holding a really nicely marked 12lb Pike, simply amazing fishing! After a few photos it was returned safely to the water...

9lb 8oz. Pike

9lb 8oz. Pike

Twenty minutes passed, my small roach bait was taken and another good fish was landed. At 9lb 8oz. still a very good Pike, 2 points for the league, and completing a really memorable half an hour! This feeding spell was brief, coinciding with another trigger time, afterwards the water went rather quiet. I was so happy I fell into the water soon afterwards and soaked myself right up to the waist!

1lb. 4oz. Ide

1lb. 4oz. Ide

At 1530, a final surprise. After a lot of Bream, Hybrids and Rudd I struck a powerful fish on the legered worm, my first Ide ever was duly landed and weighed at 1lb 4oz., a 4 point fish. Delighted to catch this species, really wrapped up a wonderful day. Headed back to the house a short while later to enjoy a BBQ in stunning sunny weather...

Aspö, Furusund; 4th-6th May 2008; Continued....

2008-05-07T12:30:00.000-07:00

1lb. 4oz. Eel

1 lb. 4oz. Eel

1lb. 4oz. Eel

After a great days angling it was time to relax, so out came the BBQ and on went the food. Marinated pork steaks, homemade burgers, sausages, sweet and sour cabbage, potatoes, fish, peppers and onoins were soon being devoured at the lakeside as the sun dropped. Afterwards we tucked into a few cold beers and kicked back, Karl deciding to lob a worm bait out into the lake. Some time later he was fighting a strong fish which turned out to be a major surprise, a fabulous 1lb. 4oz. Eel, a really good fish that is not often caught these days as it gets increasingly scarcer. It gave Karl 2 points for the table. Got a few flash photos of it before we slipped it back, Karl rightly delighted with his catch, out came the Jack Daniels as we talked into the early hours of the morning as a Tengmalm's Owl called in the trees nearby....

8oz. Ide

Slept rather late after the late night previous, decided to gather a bit of bait in front of the house from the jetty. The suprises continued when Karl hooked and landed his first Ide, a tidy little fish that weighed 8oz., nonetheless this rare catch gives him 4 points...

6lb 14oz. Pike

6lb 14 oz. Pike

After moving down to the top end of the bay, we didn't have to wait long for some action, my livebait float soon dissapearing. I struck into a lively Pike that fought well before I landed it, just about on a single treble hook. It tipped the scales at 6lb. 14oz., a fish that gave me another 2 points for the table. Shortly after this a series of incidents took place. Karl had a small Bleak snatched by a small Pike whilst he was reeling it in on the leger rod, then lost another small fish on the spinner. All this before the most bizzarre event of the lot...

At the waters edge at our feet a movement attracted our attention, a small Bream had washed into the shore after being deep hooked and was now the center of some unwanted attention. As we watched a Pike of perhaps four pounds materialized from the depths and launched itself into the shallows after the Bream, almost beaching itself in the process in just a couple of inches of water. It then seized the fish in a flash across its side amid a spray of water, turned with some difficulty and powered off into the depths with it's prize! One of the most amazing things I have ever seen, both of us were left gobsmacked by the sight. I then missed a run on a Bream bait a few seconds later. Finally decided to call it a day just after 16.30 and eventually made our way back to Stockholm after a wonderful few days, a thoroughly enjoyable trip in every way...

Suso in Aspö!

Video diary of the trip here of Suso in Aspö put together by Rafal...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnRaclo-ezs

Tom's Lake; 2nd May 2008

2008-05-02T12:16:00.000-07:00

1lb 2oz. Perch

3lb 8oz. Pike

Kev and Jack Pike

Al and Jack Pike

A lovely evening fishing with Tom and Kevin at Tom's Lake, a lot of action in 3 hours betwenn 16.30 and 19.30. All fish taken on small livebaits on roving float rigs with a 1lb 2oz. Perch the highest scoring fish at two points. Kevin and I both had 3lb 80z. Pike and another smaller jack each, giving each of us an additional two points for the table. Interestingly feeding spells corelated remarkably closely to the trigger times connected to the moon setting. I had a further two runs to small fish, on biting through the line and another getting off at the bank. In addition Tom had two Pike come off while spinning, a lot of fish in the area and well worth another trip for the presumably bigger fish that must be present in the lake...

Weather; Overcast,6/8 Cloud Cover. High Pressure dropping, Temp.14 degrees celsius.

Moon trigger Times; 16,58;17.58

Specimen Rudd; Tyresö Slott; 25th April 2008

2008-04-25T14:05:00.000-07:00

2lb 3oz. Rudd

1lb 3oz. Rudd

Arrived at the Slott today at 16.oohrs. for an evening session, hoping for a big Bream.Immediately groundbaited a swim off the bridge and began catching Roach, a lot of them... Then had a few Bream of about 14oz., all between 18.20 and 18.35. Was still ledgering a worm on the bottom on a free running rig, when at 18.35 I struck at a slow pull and was delighted to land a superb Rudd of 1lb 3oz, a really good fish that fought well, this fish falling at almost exactly a trigger time. A 2 point fish on the league table. Then back to normal for an hour, with Roach continuously biting.

At 19.30, having been joined by Linda at that stage, I again struck a very slight slow pull and bent the rod into what I assumed to be a good Bream, the fish boring strongly away, my light swingtip rod hooped over. After a really solid struggle I was amazed when a massive Rudd came to the surface, a huge fish. I weighed it carefully at 2lb 3oz., a new personal best by more than half a pound! After a few photo's the fish was released unharmed and swam away strongly. A really memorable evening, an exceptional fish and worth 12 points on the league table.

Weather; Fine sunshine, Clear sky; Prolonged High Pressure Stable, 14 degrees Cent.

Moon Trigger times; 16.37, 18.37

Tyresö Slott; 21st April 2008

2008-04-21T11:04:00.001-07:00

Rudd; 1lb 20z.

Perch; 11oz.

A really super day weather wise today, the first warm day of the year. Met up with Karl at the Slott and enjoyed a good days fishing. Stacks of Roach again, caught loads up to 10oz. Then came a lovely Perch of 11oz. for Karl, a really immaculate fish it was too. A Bream slipped off the hook at the last minute later in the evening which would of topped two pounds easily had it been weighed. The big suprise though came in the form of a 1lb. 2oz. Rudd caught by Karl on my rod whilst I was dealing with a snagged pike bait! Lovely fish, the first one caught by any of us at this site. Having looked back at the original rules of the league it seems the only fair thing to do is award Karl the points for hooking and playing the beast! Two points therefore go his way, his first of the season....

Tyresö Slott; 16th April 2008

2008-04-16T09:03:00.001-07:00

3lb 8oz. Bream

130z. Bream

Enjoy able afternoon at the Slott. Started very slowly with nothing coming to ledgered worms or lures. Bites started later though, as the light dropped roach started to feed before Karl hooked a 13oz. Bream..Minutes later I struck into a much heavier specimen that tipped the scales at 3lb. 8oz. This was a good fish for the Slott and gave me 3 points towards the league table. Had to leave for work soon after, just as the feeding started and Pike began to show in the reeds, plenty of spawning activity seen and heard...

Rocksta; 15th April 2008

2008-04-16T09:00:00.000-07:00

Trip out today to Albysjön lake was interesting. Small Roach biting freely but many proved fickle and difficult to hook. Simon had a lovely Perch though, a nice early fish weighing in at 13oz. No pike caught, though site has alot of potential and will visit it again in the near future....

Tyresö; 6th April 2008

2008-04-07T05:49:00.000-07:00

Karl and his first fish of the year....

Simon getting some exercise...

Al and Roach...

BBQ!

An early trip to Tyresö proved worthwhile in the end, even though nothing of major note was taken. The first day that fish have been biting freely this year, with plenty of Roach coming to ladgered worm on all rods, the largest a .21 kilo fish to Jim Kelly. A single Bream of over a pound slipped the hook at the last minute on my rod. (First signs of spawning Pike also today, with fish active deep within the reeds, though none hooked)

A nice day and evening capped by a makeshift BBQ, full credit to Karl and Maria for bring the grub!

Burbot! Tyresö; 6th March 2008

2008-03-06T06:58:00.000-08:00

One of the reasons I love fishing is you never know what's next and occasionally you get a very nice surprise. This Burbot, caught whilst deadbaiting for Pike in the middle of a sunny afternnon must rank as the biggest surprise yet! After five hours float ledgering two stromming deatbaits without a sign of a fish, just as I was thinking about packing up at 13.25, one of the floats slid away and I struck into a rather dour, dogged fighting fish. I was thinking it had to be a Pike and was amazed when is came to hand and I saw what it was. The fish tipped the scales at 2.87kilo(6lb 5oz.) and is worth 8 points.

Burbot are members of the Cod family, feed at night(apparently sometimes during the day!) and are active in the winter months. They are very rarely caught around Stockholm and this is a very large individual. a super fish, an absolute zoo creature! These fish hunt and scavenge on the bottom, mainly by scent. Would be interesting to try a night session in the same spot and see if there are more to be caught. Certainly one of the best fish I will ever catch...

From now on will try to record weather and other data here on the blog as reference for the future, may help to keep a diary of these details for future reference...

Weather; Bright and sunny. High pressure, though dropping.Light Northerly wind; Temp; +5 Centigrade.

Moon Phase; (New Moon-1), Trigger times 0920,1120(South),1320

Lures....

2008-03-06T06:23:00.000-08:00

Broman Rattler
Tiny deep diving plug, good Perch Lure with vigorous action...

Broman Minnow

Deep diver, takes mainly Perch, Zander ant Trout.

Broman Wobbler

Small wobbler, takes wideerange of predatory species

Abu Tormentor

Classic Plug. Large model great for Pike and big Zander.

Buster Jerk

Superb taker of Pike, often larger specimens.

Was rather bored before my Burbot grabbed my deadbait today, so much so I was photographing lures for something to do! Would be a shame not to use the photos, so here they are!

Stora Vartan, 7th Febuary 2008

2008-02-07T13:02:00.000-08:00

Stora Värtan, Täby.

Took a trip out to Täby this morning to check this area out. The entire water is huge and is part of the achipelago, lying just north of Vaxholm. It has a reputation for being one of the better Pike waters in Stockholm, as well as holding very good Perch, Seatrout and Zander amongst other species. Lure fished here for 90 minutes without result, proved to be a little snaggy and I would say this water would come into its own around April/May, perhaps with live baits being a good option. A boat would be a huge aid as most of the bank is reed fringed, making land fishing impossible for most areas, which look really, really superb for Pike. Some access though around lightly built up areas. There is a path running along the bank all the way to Näsby Park for several kilometres which may be worth checking out...

30th January 2008; First fish of 2008...

2008-01-30T06:39:00.001-08:00

Finally after several trips out this year in the winter cold a fish to show for the effort. Made the trip up to Kungsangen with Simon today to lure fish for Pike and duly caught this fish of around 3.5lb after an hour or so on a double bladed american style bass lure. The fish is worth just a single point but was most welcome after several blanks whilst after Pike and Seatrout over the last four weeks. Hopefully a lot more to come in the coming months, rather hard work right now in cold weather, though Pike will soon be returning to the spawning grounds and giving oppurtunities to catch that elusive monster fish...

2007 Fantasy Fishing League Results

2008-01-02T06:22:00.000-08:00

Fantasy Fishing League Results 2007!

Another year passed already and time to add the bonus points for the biggest of each species caught. Biggest fish of each species caught as follows..

Pike; 12lb 8oz., Tyresö Slott; 5th April 2007; Al.
Perch; 1lb 10oz., Tyresö Slott; 30th August 2008; Al.
Roach; 2lb. 8oz., Dalarna; 15th July 2007; Rafal.
Rudd; 1lb 9oz., Drevviken; 18th June 2007; Al.
Bream; 3lb 3oz., Tyresö Slott; 30th August 2007; Al.
Tench; 4lb 3oz., Drevviken; 27th August 2007; Al.

This gives Rafal 12 bonus points for what was without doubt the best catch of the year for his huge Roach at Dalarna. Al picks up 60 bonus points for the remaining five species. 12 further points are awarded to the biggest fish of the year, the Pike caught by Al in April at Tyresö...

With the 2008 Fantasy Fishing League now open it is worth noting that a lot of species were not caught at all in 2007. Notable absentees include Salmon, Brown trout, Sea Trout, Rainbow Trout, Grayling, Chub,Dace, Eel, Carp, Crucian Carp, Flounder and incredibly Zander. Any one specimen of these species, had they been caught in 2007 would of yielded 12 bonus points for their captor.With this in mind 2008 could well be a good year if certain species are pursued at the right time of the year. Seatrout are available until the end of Febuary and again from November onwards. Pike spawning will be in March/April. Drevviken for Rudd and Tench from May to July. Zander from May through the summer months is a species long overdue. Eel in a simular time frame to Zander. Rainbow Trout are readily available at several fisheries from May until September. Brown Trout, Grayling, Dace and Chub require a trip north to the rivers where they are readily available too....

Final 2007 Table as follows...
Al; 130 Pts.
Rafal; 30 Pts.
Karl; 11 Pts.
Linda; 6Pts.
Simon; 3Pts.
Kev; 2Pts.

Jim and James both failed to score, though only got out for one day in 2007. Baz failed to score as he was not out at all once during the year! No armchair award is available Baz! The table pretty much reflects the hours spent out fishing and there is no real shortcut to catching a lot of fish, hours on the bank pay off.
Here's to a great 2008 to you all and hope to see you all out there! Thanks to all for a great year in 2007 and some great days out... Hopefully can organise a trip or two away in the coming year and encourage a few more people to get out into the fresh air. Though it is not easy for us all to get out as much as we used to due to family commitments and work, hope 2008 will be a good one for you all in every way.
draft

Tyresta Slott;26th November 2007

2007-11-27T06:17:00.000-08:00

Spent a few hours at the Slott today. Really cold. Simon had this Pike of 1.63 kilo(3lb 9oz.) on a green atom spoon after it had followed his plug twice, taken once and not hooked up. Then returned a little later when the spoon did the trick. The fish gives Simon a point for the league table.

Updated Points Table

2007-09-24T07:41:00.000-07:00

Updated points Table is as follows;

Al;58 pts.
Rafa;18 pts.
Karl;11 pts.
Linda;6 pts.
Kevin;2 pts.
Simon;2 pts.
Jim;0 pts.
Baz;0 pts.
James;0 pts.

With just three months left in 2007 several species have not been caught by anyone. These include Eel, Brown Trout, Sea Trout, Salmon, Burbot, Dace, Chub, Grayling, Cod, Flounder, Ide and Zander amongst others.
A great time of the year for fishing over the next 6-8 weeks. Seatrout start to run in earnest in three weeks, as do Salmon in smaller numbers in Stockholm Strom. Perch, Pike and Zander are all feeding heavily in deeper water and the next 6 weeks are the best chance of a monster fish. Bottom baits are by far the best, though perch may come to lures and jigs too.

Vaxholm; 23rd September 2007

2007-09-23T12:23:00.000-07:00

Vaxholm Sunset

Perch for the table...

1lb 2oz. Perch

Harry with a Perch of around 12oz.

2lb 3oz. Bream

A very enjoyable day today at Vaxholm fishing for Perch. Ran into a good friend, Harry Byrne, who had popped out to do a little fishing for the day with Marika. Karl soon followed us and we had a cracker of an evening fishing away in glorious indian summer weather.

First good fish was a suprise in the form of a .99kilo(2lb 3oz.) Bream on the legered worm.(1 point) Soon after we were all catching Perch with plenty of bites coming on the rods. Karl and I got one Perch each weighing 1lb 2oz. which gave us 2 points each. Soon after lost what felt like a very good perch which took a livebait off the bottom. The evening closed out with a glorious sunset over the water before we left, taking a few fish with us for the table...

Vaxholm; 19th September 2007 2007

2007-09-19T12:29:00.000-07:00

9oz. Perch

15oz. Perch

Superb three and a half hours fishing today in deep water. Ledgered worm was the method, though I was sorry I did not carry some livebaiting tackle out after two very large Perch snapped on to smaller Perch while I was playing them. About 40 Perch caught altogether, many of them over a half pound, several went very close to a pound, though none did manage! A lot of feeding fish attacking baitfish at the surface towards dusk and live bait may well be the way forward for some very large fish...

Äldalalven; September 2007

2007-09-19T12:23:00.000-07:00

... a few days out with the lads up north. The fishing was a little dissapointing to be honest, but all but six of the eight present managed to catch Perch on the second day. Beautiful area to spend time in and another day would of been very welcome.

Tyresta Slott; 30th August 2007

2007-08-30T13:13:00.000-07:00

3.10 Kilo Pike

.75 Kilo Perch

.96 Kilo Pike

1.46 Kilo Bream

1.46 Kilo Bream

A great evening out at the Slott with Simon today. Simon took his fist Pike of the season on Sunday and was hoping to add to his point today. Shortly after arriving he hooked a nice Pike on a Zalt plug, unfortunatly the hookhold gave just as it was about to be taken from the water and he lost it, somewhere around 4lb..

After a small Perch on the legered worm I was then really suprised to land a really good Bream of 1.46kilo(3lb 3oz.) The fish is worth 3 points on the table.These fish are obviously in the area and perhaps a large amount of ground bait might bring some more large fish to the net.

More action soon followed when my Perch livebait was taken by a super 3.10kilo(6lb 13oz.)Pike which gave me a great scrap before it was banked. This gave me another 2 points. Another Perch livebait went back out and was taken soon later, this time by a cracking cannibal Perch which weighed in at .75kilo(1lb 10oz.) This was worth 4 points to me and was perhaps the best fish of the day. It also gave a really good account of itself and battled all the way to the bank. Simon then wrapped up a super evening with a lovely .96kilo(2lb 2oz.) Pike which also fell to the Zalt plug and gave him a point for the day..

The fishing seems to be picking up as the water cools and the fish begin to feed hard to build up tone for the winter months.

Tyresö Slott

Tyresö Sunset

Apart from the wonderful fishing at the site the scenery here is stunning. The sunset that brought the curtain down on the evening was stunning....

Drevviken, 23rd August 2007

2007-08-23T14:04:00.000-07:00

.38kilo Bream

Kevin with Bream

Roach

Went down to the lake for the afternoon with Linda, joining with Kevin, Sandy and young Ciara. Fishing was fairly slow though a few Bream were taken, the best weighed in at .38kilo. Kevin took a nice .24kilo(1/2lb) Rudd and also had a Roach. Linda had decent sized perch of around the half pound mark. Though there was a bait out for Pike no runs resulted.

Drevviken, 17th August 2007

2007-08-17T07:02:00.000-07:00

Dragged myself out of bed and got to the swim at 09.30. The first bite led to a Tench of 1.18kilo(2lb 80z.) at 10.20am. The fish is the smallest to date at the site and will easily be identified if taken again due to a scar on the flank of the fish, presumably from a pike attack at some stage in the past. It is interesting that to date the five Tench I have managed to land here have all been different individuals, I would of thought that that perhaps one or two fish might have been caught repeatedly from the swim, assuming they are territorial and faithful to one feeding area.

Other fish did follow with 3 Bream between 10.50am and 11.00am up to 130z. in quick succession. Sporadic small Rudd followed for the next 90 minutes before anothr 15 minute spell brought 2 more Bream and an 8oz from 12.15pm to 12.30pm. Rudd. After this feeding speel things really died off with small rudd the only fish to come to hand. These feeding spells are remarkably predictable. Moon Rise this morning was at 10.50am, so feeding would be expected between 09.20 and 12.20 with noticable peaks at the these precise times and at 10.50am, when the rise occurs. It is uncanny how the bigger fish react on cue to these times!

Drevviken, 14th August 2007

2007-08-14T14:20:00.001-07:00

A rather quiet day with the notable exception of a 1.67kilo(3lb 11oz.) Tench that fell to my rod at 17.50. The fish falls short of 4lbs, but still gives 3 points for the tableThe fish took a red worm, despite the fact I also had a boilie in the same area. Linda and Rafa also fish through to the dusk with me, but apart from modest Rudd and Bream no other good fish came to hand, in fact as the day grew later the fishing got noticably slacker, a trend that has beeen noted before at this swim. Rafal visited the swim earlier in the morning, cleared the weed by draaging the fishing swims and prebaited it.

Making Boilies; Step by Step

2007-07-31T09:51:00.001-07:00

1. Ingredients; Eggs, Breadcrumbs, Soya Flour, Plain Flour, Fresh Calf Liver, Red Food Dye, Semolina and Sugar. Crushed Dried Cat Pellets were also added though not photographed. The Calf Liver may seem suprising but Carp and in particular Tench are well known to be hugely attracted to Oxblood and Liver. Oxblood is regarded as the top Tench attractant when added to ground bait.

2. Wet Mix; I beat the five eggs first with the sugar, then added the partially liquidised liver, semolina and a few drops of red food colouring.

3. Dry Mix; Next, in a seperate bowl, I mixed the Plain and Soya Flour, before adding the breadcrumbs and crushed dry cat food.

4. Forming the Dough; The dry mix is added to the wet mix gradually a couple of table spoons at a time. I found as more dry mix was added it became hard work the mixture as it becomes very heavy and rather sticky. Good idea to do this when your girlfriend is far away from home as it is really messy and the kitchen was in bits in no time, not to mention me being covered in flour from head to toe! I had to make up more dry mix as I did not have enough to get the dough to a dry consistence where it could be kneaded easily. A lot of thorough mixing was needed but in the end a really nice dough did result.

5. Rolling the Boilies; Found the best way by far to do this was to roll the dough into long sausages and cut them with scissors before rolling them individually. Rolled the sausages into different diameters to get various sizes of boilie.

6. Preboiled Boilies; At this point transfered them to a sieve. Quickly became apparent that too many together would result in them sticking together, so boiled about 25 at a time.

7. Boiling; Really simple, just threw them into a pot of boiling water for about two minutes. They sink at first but pop to the top after 90 seconds or so and I removed them with a ladle and strained them over the pot with the sieve. The egg in the mix comes into its own here and seals the boiles in a thin skin. The longer they are left in the tougher they become.

8. Drying; After draining them, the boilies are placed on towel of news paper and left to dry out on a level surface over night. This is how they looked a day later.

All in all it took me about two hours for the whole process, which was really fairly simple. There is no real limit to the flavours and experiments you could carry out making these baits.

Boilies freeze well and can be used for weeks fresh. After adding liver I decided the best thing to do was freeze them in portions of 20 baits in small freezer bags. The batch I made produced about 400 baits which is probably enough for the rest of the season! Have kept a few in the fridge and am looking forward to trying them out at Drevviken later this week, will be a great buzz to get any good fish on these homemade baits. Hoping that Tench will find them to their taste and am really curious as to results with other species as well, in particular large Rudd and Bream. In theory these baits are able to withstand the attention of smaller fish for long periods due to the tough skin, while being very attractive to larger fish which have no problems taking these baits. So goes the theory! Will have to wait and see how things pan out...

Top Pike Lures

2007-07-29T08:52:00.000-07:00

Buster Jerk

Belly Buster

Salmo Fatso

Salmo Slider

Salmo Skinner

Pike will be moving into deeper water now that the summer is moving on and it is a great time to catch the larger fish with lures. Over the last few years bigger lures and jerk baits have been developed and are now accounting for a lot of really big fish upwards from 20lbs. A few lures in particular are catching a lot of these bigger fish and some of the top ones are those above. All these lures are available in different sizes and finishes, though for Pike larger sizes are recomended for the bigger fish. They are expensive unfortunatly, so are best used in deep water in conjuction with strong line and sturdy tackle.

Salmo Skinner is a fairly shallow diving lure with a really strong side to side wobbling action and is a devastating lure. It is known to draw pike up from very deep water. It is hard work to fish with as the action puts a lot of strain on the rod tip due to the strong action of the lure.

Salmo Slider is a top Pike jerk bait. The rod is pointed down on the retrieve and is constantly twitched back. The lure reacts by darting to one side and rolling slightly off balance, only to dart immediatly to the other side on the next twitch and flashing its belly again. This simulates an injured fish and has devastating catching rates for pike. As with most of these lures there is an internal rattle to help attract fish. This lure comes in floating and sinking models, with sinking being the most useful as it can fish at any depth depending on how deep it is allowed to sink before the retrieve.

Salmo Fatso is another jerkbait and is usually fished in the same way as the Salmo Slider. It can also be straight retrieved and is a very good caster. It flashes and wobbles and moves to the sides and is widely regarded as one of the top Pike lures. Very popular at the moment and not always available as it is being snapped up in the shops very quickly.

Belly Buster is another jerk bait, is hugely popular and is catching a lot of big pike. Another lure that simulates an injured fish and is retrieved with sharp twitches and short bursts of reeling.

Buster Jerk is the top lure by far for the last few years. It was found in a survey last year by a top fishing magazine that over 75% of 2olb plus lure caught Pike in Sweden last year were taken on this bait. The very high percentage may reflect the lures popularity here slightly, but there is no doubting is effectiveness nonetheless. It is a large bait and hard work to fish with due to that but is devastatingly effective for big fish.

Updated Points

2007-07-29T06:49:00.000-07:00

Quite a lot of fish caught in July, proved a great month to be out. Kevin had a jack Pike at Drevviken, Ian also had a jack Pike at the same site. Rafal had his huge Roach and I had several fish, a pair of Tench, several Rudd and a Pike. Worth noting that several species have yet to be caught at all such as Zander, Eel, Crucian Carp, Flounder, Rainbow Trout, Brown trout, Seatrout, Salmon, Chub and Grayling among others. Others such as Perch, Bream and Silver Bream have not been caught at any really good weights and are still wide open for end of the year bonus points.
If anyone has other fish to be added that I do not know about let me know and I will take them into account.

Updated Table as follows...

Al; 40 points
Rafal; 18 points
Karl; 9 points
Linda; 6 points
Kevin; 2 points
Ian; 1point
Baz; 0 points
Jim; 0 points
James; 0 points
Simon; 0 points

Rafa's Monster Roach;Dalarna

2007-07-29T04:51:00.000-07:00

Here is a photo of the enormous 2lb 8oz. Roach that Rafal took in Dalarna on July 17th. As Roach go this is an abslolute monster. The fish gives Rafal 12 points on the table and is the first 12 point fish to be taken since the league started. It took a sweetcorn oil flavoured boilie legered on the bottom. I am sure this will be the largest Roach caught by anyone this year and will also take the 12 bonus points for largest of the species, a great fish...

Drevviken, 27th July 2007

2007-07-26T15:04:00.000-07:00

1.91 kilo Tench

.41 kilo Rudd

Arived at the lake at 16.40 and immediatly found Rudd feeding heavily. Had groundbaited with pellets first thing and as soon as the worm baited leger hit the water it was taken. The second fish, also a Rudd, weighed in at .41kilo(14.5oz.) and gave me 1 point. Things remained hectic until 17.45 when a twitchy bite led to a powerhouse struggle as I battled with a terrific Tench that was clearly bigger than the last one I caught here. Eventually the fish came to hand and the scales tipped at 1.91kilo(4lb 3oz.) and gave me 5 points on the table. To be honest I thought it might go heavier, but was delighted with the fish.

Things went fairly quiet after that with ocassional flurries of activity with Perch, Bream and more Rudd taken. Another Tench rolled on the surface several times but did not fall to my rods before I left at 22.30.

Drevviken, 22nd July 2007

2007-07-22T15:08:00.001-07:00

A very poor evenings fishing today. Karl, Ian, Rafa and myself struggled to catch. Only one half decent Rudd of .23 kilo on the worm, which was very poor. A 1.96kilo(4lb 5oz.) Pike saved the day somewhat on a float paternastered rudd bait. Ian the chipped in with perheps the smalest Pike ever seen on a spinner! A point each nevertheless!

Drevviken, 20th July 2007

2007-07-20T12:47:00.000-07:00

1.47kilo Tench(3lb 4oz.)

.47 kilo Rudd(1lb 1/2oz.)

.36kilo Rudd(12.5oz.)

.46kilo Bream(1lb)

.34kilo Bream(12oz.)

A great day at Dreviken with fish coming to the bank throughout the day. Arrived at 09.30am and groundbaited with pellets, sweetcorn and breadcrumb mix. Several Bream came straight away up to a pound in weight before a thumping bite saw me land a strong fighting Rudd that went just over one pound in weight.(2points) More Rudd, Bream, Perch and Roach followed before a slow pull on the rod saw me hook into a powerhouse fish on the swingtip rod, and the next few minutes saw me enjoy a fabulous fight from my first swedish Tench, a real surprise. The fish was a male and weighed 1,47kilo(3lb 4oz.)(3 points)

The day continued with Bream and Rudd, one Rudd going over 12oz. and gaining me an additional 1 point. Fishing was quieter in the evening as it turned out, nevertheless a really enjoyable day...

Making Boilies

2007-07-19T12:24:00.000-07:00

One of many recipes to make your own boilie baits, which are expensive to buy ready made. Better fun to catch on your own anyhow. You can experiment with all kinds of flavourings like Vanilla, Strawberry, Curry or whatever. Also might be worth adding Sweetcorn Oil. Great baits for Carp and Tench. In smaller size could be super for big Rudd, Roach, Chub, Bream etc.

INGREDIENTS; 2 dl. Plain Flour(vetemjöl), 2 dl. Soya Flour(soyamjöl), 1.5 dl. Breadcrumb(Skorpmjöl), 150g crushed dry dog food, 150g Cottage Cheese(kessala), 20g Sugar, I packet Sodium Bensoate preservative(natriumbensoate), % Eggs, Red Caramael Flavouring(karamellfärg)

Whip the eggs and add the Sugar, Kessala and a few drops of the flavouring. Seperately blend the flours, breadcrumbs, dog food, Sodium bensoate etc. Then gradually add the dry mix to the liquid mix until you have a dough. Roll this into long sausages and cut into small pieces before rolling into balls. Then drop the balls into boiling water for 30 seconds to 3 minutes depending on how hard you want them to be. Remove from water and dry on flat surface or rack for a few hours and they are then ready. The boilies can be frozen or stored dry. The Sodium Bensoate helps to preseve the bait for long periods...

Långsjön; 18th July 2007

2007-07-18T12:52:00.000-07:00

Went out to Långsjön for a few hours to check it out. The wind was extremely strong today and made fishing extremely hard and at times almost impossible as it gusted. However, the lake is very much worth a second look as it contains Tench, Carp and Crucian Carp as well as Zander, Pike, Perch and Roach. No sign of any feeding fish today though the habitat seems good in places. Not overly deep at about 6 feet around the margins. The water is coloured and seems rich with life. Expect that biggish baits will be required to help catch Carp and Tench, not that they wont take the smaller baits, but to avoid the nuisance of the numerous Roach in the lake. Despite very tough conditions still caught plenty of small Roach on sweetcorn. Switching to worm brought Perch to half a pound or so.