SPORTFISHING IN SWEDEN 1995



© Jan Olsson

Sweden covers 450 000 square km (175 000 square miles) which is approximately the size of California or twice the size of the United Kingdom. It´s water boundaries are on the east coast, the Gulf of Bothnia and the Baltic Sea (brackish water) and on the west coast the North Sea. With 60 000 km (38 000 miles) of rivers and streams, 100 000 lakes and with a coastline of more than 7 500 km (4 600 miles), Sweden offers an incredibly wide variety of fishing experiences. The world-record chart of the International Game Fish Association and their annual worldwide fishing contest tells the story of the unique and impressive fishing for such high-ranked game fish as salmon, trout and northern pike in Swedish waters.

The Swedish Record Chart includes 31 fresh water species and 44 saltwater species. During 1995 ten new Swedish records were broken. The most outstanding recordcatch was a giant Atlantic mackerel (Scomber scombrus) which tipped the scale to 3.074 kg (6lb 13 oz). It is the biggest Atlantic mackerel ever caught on rod and reel anywhere. The following information covers a few of Sweden´s most popular species with commentary on last years catches. Special thanks go to Swedish Record Registrar Benkt Hanefors, SPORTFISKE´s Editor-in-chief, Olof Johansson and Granvik´s Peter Prag for cooperation and supplying of statistic information.

ATLANTIC SALMON (Salmo salar)
Sw. Rec. 28.72 kg (approx.63 lb). Fishingplace: Sound of Hanö, Province of Blekinge. History will record 1995 as the year of giant salmon. 27 rodcaught Atlantic salmon weighing more than 20 kg (45 lb) were registered in 1995 by fly fishermen, spin fishermen and trollers. The biggest (27.48 kg / 60 lb 10 oz) was caught in the Bay of Puka by a troller. The heaviest river caught (26.62 kg /59 lb) came from Dalälven (river). Best river for fly fishermen is River Mörrum, where the topfish weighed 23.9 kg / 52 lb 10 oz. Best fishingtime is late spring and summer.

Many landlocked Atlantic salmon tipped the scale at 10 kg / 22 lb or more. Some of them were caught while fishing from the rocky shores of Lake Vättern. The heaviest (12.485 kg /27 lb 10 oz.) was trolled in Lake Silen. Close to that fish came some landlocked fighters from Lake Hornavan in Swedish Lappland. Klarälven (river) produced the best fly fished landlocked (9.6 kg / 21 lb).The biggest rodcaught landlocked Atlantic salmon (17.65 kg) up to date was caught in Lake Vättern out of Granvik in 1991. Best fishing time for landlocks is autumn and winter.

BROWN TROUT (Salmo trutta )
Sw. rec. (Lake-run brown trout, 17 kg (37lb), Lake Storsjön, Province of Lappland) and (Sea-going browntrout,15.26 kg (34 lb), River Em, Province of Småland) . Regarding sea-going trout 10 fish weighing more than 10 kg / 22 lb were caught in rivers by fly and spin fishermen. River Mörrum produced most of them but the heaviest one (13.45 kg /30 lb ) was caught in Ångemanälven (river). In the Bay of Hanö trollers caught six sea-trout weighing between 10 kg and 11.8 kg. The toptrio of the lake-run brown trout list weighed 11.13 kg , 10.78 kg, and 10.20 kg. Lake Vänern in southern Sweden, as well as rivers and lakes in the northern part of the country, produced the heavyweights. Best fishing time is spring and autumn.

RAINBOW TROUT (Oncorhynchus mykiss)
Sw. rec. 9.45 kg (21 lb), Lake Börtnan, Province of Jämtland. The rainbow trout is not a native fish to Swedish waters but has been released in many rivers, lakes, and the Baltic Sea. In 1995 a Baltic sea-run steelhead was rodcaught in River Ronneby weighing 12.3 kg / 27 lb. However, since the fisherman had no fishing license, the fish ( although correctly weighed ) was not accepted as a recordfish. Second best fish ( 8.5 kg / 19 lb) last year came from the same river. Best fishing time is spring and autumn.

ARTIC CHAR (Salvelinus alpinus)
Sw rec. 8.986 kg (20 lb), Lake Sommen, Province of Småland. All Swedish char are landlocked fish. The recordfish was caught last year in the Lake Sommen from where most monsterchars come. Other good lakes are Lake Vättern and in Lappland, Lake Hornavan and Lake Tjeggelvas. Second biggest char ( 8.4 kg / 19 lb) last year was caught in Lake Tjeggelvas, which is also famous for its hybrid char, called splake and "kröding". The splake is a fertile cross between the lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush ) and the brook trout (S.fontinalis). The lake trout (S.namaycush ) crossed with the landlockedarctic char (Salvelinus alpinus) produce the offspring "kröding". Once crossed this hybrid can reproduce itself in nature. So far splake of 10.7 kg / 23 lb 10 oz and "kröding" of 13.62 kg / 30 lb have been caught in the very beautiful Lake Tjeggelvas. Summer and autumn is best.

EUROPEAN GRAYLING (Thymallus thymallus)
Sw. rec. 2.74 kg (6 lb), Lake Harraure, Province of Lappland. No really BIG grayling were caught during 1995. The top-ten-list starts with a 1.983 kg / 4 lb 6 oz fish and ends with a 1.525 kg grayling. Most of the fish listed, including the No.1 were caught while fly fishing. The best fishing for this specie is in northern rivers or lakes although natural populations exist in the southern and central part of Sweden, i e Lake Vättern and Klarälven. Summer is best fishing time.

WHITEFISH (Coregonus nasus)
Sw. rec. 5.394 kg (12 lb), Skräbeån (river), Province of Skåne. A favorite fish among coarse fishermen. The top-ten-list of 1995 shows whitefish weighing between 3 kg and 5.394 kg. The record fish was hooked and landed in Swedens best whitefish river named´the Skrabeån (Southern Sweden) on December 15. However most of the fish were caught during March-April in the archipelagos of the Baltic Sea on the east coast. The most popular fishing method is bottomfishing with worms (nightcrawlers).

NORTHERN PIKE (Esox lucius)
Sw. rec. 22.5 kg (50 lb), Lake Mälaren, Province of Västmanland . Stockholm is the capital city of Sweden - and probably the Northern Pike capital of the world. Several IGFA world record have been set here. However fishing for pike was poor last year. Heaviest pike in the Stockholm area weighed 16.5 kg. Topping the Pikelist was a fish from River Lödde weighing 19.1 kg. Second best fish weighed 16.9 kg. Seven fish in the top ten list were boarded in different archipelagos of the Baltic Sea. Spring is best fishing time and heavy plugs best baits.

ZANDER (Lucioperca lucioperca)
Sw. rec. 12.007 kg (approx.27 lb), Bråviken (Baltic Sea), Province of Östergötland. Zander, even called pikeperch is the European cousin to the American walleye. Three zanders passed the 10-kilo mark during 1995. Heaviest 10.4 kg was caught in the Stockholm archipelago, which is the No. 1 hot spot in Sweden for Zander fishing. Late spring and summer is best fishing time. Plugs and Jigs pay off best.

YELLOW PERCH (Perca fluviatilis)
Sw. rec 3.150 kg.(7 lb) Lake Hällermyr, Province of Bohuslän. Yellow perch grow big in Sweden and is a year round popular fish. For instance the Swedish Record perch was caught when icejigging. Last years best fishing time was September and October and best water the Baltic Sea, close to the City of Oskarshamn. From that area five out of ten heavyweights were reported. Four weighed over 2 kg; best was 2.24 kg.

CARP (Cyprinus carpio)
Sw. rec.19.3 kg (43 lb) Storedamm / Perstorp, Province of Skåne. 1995 was the best carp year ever in Swedish waters.The average weight in the top-ten-list was 17.72 kg. The heaviest carp weighed 19.6 kg. It was caught by a danish specimen angler fishing Storedamm in July. Here, and in Mölledamm, double figure specimens are regurlarly taken by Scandinavian coarse fishermen. The favourite carp bait is boilie (HP bait).

ASP (Aspius aspius)
Sw. rec. 7.682 kg (17 lb), Hedströmmen, Province ofVästmanland. The beautiful Asp is concentrated in the Great Lakes district of Sweden. Swedish anglers are flyfishing, spinning or trolling for the asp. In 1995 ten asp weighing more than 4.18 kg were caught. The heaviest one (6.8 kg) struck a Rapala plug in Lake Vänern in August. Best fishing is late April for river fishermen in River Nossan.

TENCH (Tinca tinca)
Sw. rec. 4.805 kg (11 lb). Lake Antorpa, Province of Halland. Tenchfishing was excellent in the southern part of Sweden last year. Best fishing time is June and July. A new record (4.805 kg) was set. Bait: sweetcorn and maggot. Top ten list include ten fish weighing more than 3.68 kg. Average weight: 3.90 kg.

CHUB (Leuciscus cephalus)
Sw. rec. 3.0 kg (approx. 7 lb) Heligå (river), Province of Småland. The average weight last year on the top ten list was 2.8 kg. Best river was Heligå producing number one and two on the list weighing 2.992 kg and 2.975 kg. Coarse anglers use bread, cheese and sweetcorn as bait and are especially succesful during April and May.

IDE (Leuciscus idus)
Sw. rec. 3.57 kg ( 8 lb) . Bay of Puka, Province of Blekinge. River Ström close to the city of Örnsköldsvik in the northern part of Sweden totally dominate the top ten list in 1995. The listed ides weighed from 2.8 kg up to 3.125 kg. Maggots and night crawlers were best baits. Best fishingtime: May.

BREAM (Abramis brama)
Sw. rec. 6.3 kg (14 lb) Lake Häckeberga, Province of Skåne. Coarse anglers fish for the bream in both brackish (Baltic Sea) and fresh water( lakes, rivers). River Hagby was the No 1 river last year producing both No. 1 (5.72 kg) and No. 2 (5.65 kg) on the list. Best baits were a cocktail of sweetcorn and maggot. One of the 10 on the list was flyfished and weighed 4.05 kg.

BURBOT (Lota lota)
Sw. rec. 7.822 kg (17 lb), Channel in Ströms Vattudal, Province of Jämtland. Wintertime and nighttime is Burbottime. Best fish (7.3 kg) last year was caught by a coarse angler using squidand night crawlers as bait while fishing River Indalsälven in the northern part of Sweden. Otherwise, very many burbot were caught in the archipelagos of the Baltic Sea, where herring is a good bait.

SALT WATER SPECIES

MULLET (Mugil chelo)
Sw. rec. 4.262 kg (10 lb). Bay of Lomma, Öresund, Province of Skåne Hot spot no. 1 is Lomma / Öresund. Top-Ten-List last year saw nine mullets weighing between 3.3 kg and 4.08 kg from these inshore waters. All fish were caught from shore. Best bait: bread. However, topping the list in 1995 was a mullet weighing 4,65 kg. That fish hit a spoon in the harbour of Stenungsund, north of Gothenburg. Late summer is peak of the season.

WOLFFISH (Anarhichas lupus)
Sw. rec. 10.0 kg (22 lb). Kummelbank /Kattegatt, Sw. Westcoast. Nine out of ten Wolffish on the list were caught over Kummelbank and from the Swedish charterboat "Daisy", which has an outstanding reputation Wolffishing. The heaviest one weighed 9.35kg. Seven other fish on the list weighed more than 6 kg. Mussel is topbait and late May, beginning of June best time.

COD (Gadus morrhua)
Sw. rec 32.42 kg (72 lb), Baltic Sea, Province of Skåne. The heaviest cod last year tipped the scale at 29.7 kg. Nine cod weighed more than 21 kg. Best fishingspots were situated on the west and south side of the Province of Skåne, but also out of Marstrand north of Gothenburg. Normally, late winter is superior. However last year very many big ones were caught during summertime. Jigging is best fishing method.

European Pollack (Pollachius pollachius)
Sw. rec. 8.69 kg (19 lb),Wreck, S. Kattegatt. Province of Halland. Pollack fishing in 1995 was poor. Top weight was 6.67 kg. The top trio were caught over "37:an", a wellknown reef, west Orust, in Skagerrak. Pirking rig is the bestterminal tackle.

Even fishing for COALFISH / POLLOCK (Pollachius virens) was poor in 1995. Just one double figured coalfish weighing 11.1 kg was caught. That fish was hooked in Öresund. Sw. rec for coalfish is 13.9 kg (30 lb). Fishingplace: "37:an", Skagerrak / Province of Bohuslän, where most heavyweights normally are caught in spring and late autumn.

LING (Molva molva)
Sw. rec. 24.35 kg (54 lb). Lubbegrund / Marstrand, S.Skagerrak / Bohuslän. Last year just three lings weighing more than 11 kg were registered along the Swedish westcoast. Best month was August and best bait: baited pirk. Heaviest ling was caught in northern Skagerrak and weighed 12.2 kg.

Angler Fish (Lophius piscatorius)
Sw rec. 20.76 kg (46 lb), Wreck / Bonden, Skagerrak / Bohuslän. The record fish took a pirk over sandy bottom close to a wreck laying on 50 meters depth. The fish was caught in May. Second best Angler Fish on the list weighed 9.0 kg and was caught in August. Also that fish took a pirk presented over a rocky ground named "52:an".

MACKEREL (Scomber scombrus)
Sw. rec. 3.074 kg (6 lb 13 oz), Svaberget / Smögen, Skagerrak / Bohuslän. Ten fishes weighing between 1.43 kg and 3.074 kg were registered last year. Swedish angler Jonas Lind tops the list with his Mega Mackerel (3.074 kg). He also caught fish no.2 on the list (1.86 kg) using his favourite terminal tackle, a three-hook Paternoster rig. Jonas fished from "Wadsö", a famous charterboat, baseded in Kungshamn, in the Province of Bohuslän.

BALLAN WRASSE (Labrus berggylta)
Sw. rec. 2.3 kg (5 lb) West Skärhamn, Skagerrak / Bohuslän. Best wrasse in 1995 weighed 1.907 kg and was caught from the Isle of Vinga, west of Gothenburg. Most of the ten fish last year weighing more than 1 kg were caught using shrimp as bait. Summer and autumn are best fishing times. Topping the Cuckoo Wrasse (Labrus ossifragus) list last year is a fish weighing 0.72 kg (Sw. rec 0.84 kg).

SPURDOG (Squalus acanthias)
Sw. rec. 10.4 kg (23 lb), Fladen / Kattegatt, Province of Halland. Poor fishing: with just five fish over 5 kg registered last year. Two spurdogs weighing 6.2 kg were caught out of Lysekil and Orskär. Late summer is best fishing time.

FLATFISH
Each year Swedish anglers catch plaice, dab, flounders, halibut, brill, turbot and sole out of the Swedish westcoast. Most species are caught when boatfishing. Last year in June a beautiful super Plaice (Pleuronectus platessa) weighing 4,906 kg (11 lb) was caught from a charterboat in Öresund. The unique catch grabbed a pirk presented close to bottom in 17 meters of water. Also worth mention is a shore caught Brill weighing 4.55 kg (10 lb) fished on herring, east of the Isle of Orust. A Sole, weighing 0.75 kg was caught in Byfjorden / Uddevalla. Most flounders are shore caught. Heaviest (1.298 kg) last year was caught south of Gothenburg. Best fishingtime was late autumn.

OTHER SPECIES
A very rare catch - a Wreck fish (Polyprion americanum)- was made last year (Sept.) out of Smögen (Svaberget). The fish, weighing 3.1 kg, (7 lb) swallowed a musselbaited hook. The same fishing ground also produced up a lumpsucker of 2.85 kg (6 lb). The biggest hake last year weighed 5.3 kg (12 lb) (Kummelbank). Biggest garfish, 1.109 kg / 2 lb 7oz (Öresund). Biggest Grey Gurnard, 0.630 kg (Måseskär). No bluefintuna, porbeagle or Common skate were caught.

CENTRAL SKAGERRAK
The very deep waters (200-500 meters) in central Skagerrak can be reached from the Province of Bohuslän (20-50 nautical miles) or from the southern coastline (Langesund) of Norway, which is more common. Last year Swedish anglers caught European ling (Molva molva) up to 24.5 kg / 54 lb, Tusk (Brosme brosme) up to 16.05 kg / 36 lb, Greenland shark (Somniosus microcephalus) up to 105 kg / 232 lb and White skate (Raja lintea) up to 10.85 kg / 24 lb in these area.

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