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IMPORTANT
SITE UPDATE:
Visit the relaunched
Fish & Fly at fishandfly.com
Born Viking, Gone Fishing!
Our August 2004 contribution from Jerome Phillipon
Rich of their long traditions and despite their ancestor’s blood thirst, "Men from the North" demonstrate a strong cosmopolitan inclination and open mindedness. Jerome Philipon meets Roger Öhlund, fly fisherman of experience, and asks him to share some of Lapland's best kept secrets.
JP
- Where do you live?
RO - I live close to the town of Skellefteå on the east coast of Västerbotten County in the north of Sweden.
JP - From England, Scandinavia rhymes with tall blondes, 6 months of uninterrupted night and very expensive beer. Is this a fair summary?
RO - Laughter! If you add to that another 6 months of endless summer nights in which you may drink the expensive beer and get acquainted with them blonds, yes.
JP - Norway, Sweden, Finland: are they all of the same? What does differentiate Scandinavian neighbours?
RO - I'd say that Sweden as a former great power, some hundreds of years ago, has put the country in a "big brother" position. The Finns, Norwegians and us Swedes can't tease or make enough fun of each other. When it comes to the people we are somewhat alike with a few differences, and as far as nature goes Norway has the Atlantic coast with the beautiful fjords and shares the Scandinavian mountain ridge with Sweden. Sweden and Finland are both heavily influenced by the great Taiga that starts in Russia and ends in Norway. The presence of this vast forest area is very evident when travelling through northern Sweden.
JP - When and how did you catch the fly fishing bug?
RO - My great grandfather enjoyed fishing as a pastime and so does my grandfather and his brothers, one might say that this has affected my entire family. In the mid seventies my grandfather (and mentor) gave me a fly rod that my father had used and since then I've been hooked. Add to that the fact that I grew up by one of Sweden’s most famous salmon rivers, River Byske.
JP
- How popular does fishing prove amongst youngster? Is it a major sport
or even an intimate part of the Scandinavian culture?
RO - Fishing is very popular with youngsters, although I suspect the computer age has taken its toll. It has been said that fishing has close to 20% of the Swedish population picking up a fishing rod at least once a year, but the number of people that fish as a hobby exceeds 200,000. Then again, Sweden is vast and there are places that see very little fishermen.
JP - What species can one fish for in Sweden? Which one is your favourite?
RO - You can fish for a large number of species, actually there's close to a hundred of them. I mainly fish for trout, grayling, sea trout, salmon, Arctic char, perch, whitefish and pike. Of those the grayling has a special place in my heart as this was the fish that taught me the basics. Today I enjoy the Arctic char more than any other specie, this is due to the difficulty in catching them.
JP - Where should one start to organise a successful trip to Lapland?
RO - On the map! You see, the Public Access laws of Sweden are based upon freedom under responsibility and there's a good chance that the water you found or heard of is available for fishing as most are. Try to find information from the local web sites, there's quite a few of them in English. I'd start by looking at the oldest and perhaps most extensive link selection there is about fishing in Sweden: http://www.acc.umu.se/~widmark/lwfishxl.html. And also use the link selection on my own web site. I have tried to find pages that are in English
JP - What seasons and regions do you recommend?
RO - The early season, in the beginning of June, in order to catch that elusive salmon and sea trout, but also for the big pike after spawning. The late season, from the beginning of August to the midst of September for trout, grayling and then Arctic char.
JP
- You seem invariably drawn to the mountains and favour back-packing with
your tent and fly rod? Tell us all about it?
RO - I wish I could show the entire world this place. I normally hike north of the Arctic Circle and the barren beauty of the place has put a scar on my soul. I choose the word scar as I'm about to tell you the only remedy for the longing I always carry with me. Go there and find your life changed forever, once there and you'll have to go there every year (I know I do). The fishing can at times seem on the verge of being incredible but at times so frustrating that it'll drive you mad. Grayling in the 2-3 lb range are very common and at times there's the occasional 4lb+ grayling caught, not to mention large trout and Arctic char.
The solitude is what makes the strongest impression though. For a couple of years I studied at the ESA space range, Esrange, in the vicinity of Kiruna, every now and then I spent weekends in the wild and even if there isn't the kind of wildlife that may be found in the northern part of Canada it's still spectacular. The region is located, to give you some reference, north of most of Canada and equally north as the northern part of Alaska. In the summer the sun stays up for something like fifty days and nights in a row and gives you plenty of time to fish. The only negative thing is the mosquitoes. I have made pancakes over my propane-butane burner only to have them spiced with so many mosquitoes that they instantly became meat-pancakes You'll get used to them, or go mad...
With the sun being up all the time, 24 hour daylight can play tricks on your mind and you will eventually end up exhausted due to lack of sleep. What the heck, who needs sleep when fishing anyway? The water is crystal clear and pollution not in any case evident. The landscape is mostly untouched by man, disregarding the Saami population and their reindeer.
JP - What is the most memorable trip you have done?
RO – Ouch, I wouldn't even know where to start. The trips made over the years are so many that it is almost impossible to choose one. But still, if I had to choose one, it was high up a mountain river, way beyond the nearest road, that I had a summer night of fishing that is forever imprinted in memory. Trout everywhere, feeding from the surface with a persistence that made my eyes tear. I caught that evening, on dry fly, one wild brown trout weighing 7lb, one weighing 3lb, one weighing 2lb and several around the 1lb mark.
JP
- ROFF, your website, is a rich source of information to fish in the north.
How did it all start?
RO - It started with me finding and reading the Usenet newsgroup rec.outdoors.fishing.fly for about half a year before taking the courage to post about northern Sweden. The post got such an immediate and positive response that I took upon myself to organize a meeting in Sweden with fly-fishermen from all over the world. Planning for this conclave I started a web page in order to simplify the choice of destination. The web site lists all major mountain and coastal rivers in the two northernmost counties of Sweden and today the web site has had more than 28,000 visitors from more than 80 countries and all continents.
JP - More than just a keen angler, you are a skilled organiser of fishing expeditions? What have you learnt from them?
RO - I have learnt that meeting with people from other parts of the world and sharing their experiences about fly fishing will inevitably teach me new things about my hobby but also allow me to make new friends. When it comes to the more practical issues one must realize that with a large party of fishermen there is no way that you're going to manage to satisfy everyone's wish and as such accept that and make the best of what is to be had.
JP – Anglers might want to start preparing for their fishing party this summer. Where should they start?
RO - In finding good, local information about the different waters and how to get there, I would start with the tourist information offices in the municipalities of Kiruna, Gallivare, Jokkmokk, Arjeplog, Sorsele or Vilhelmina (from north to south). All the municipalities have web sites starting with "www.", ending with ".se" and the municipality name in the middle. Pick a water from the ROFF - Sweden web site and then find it on a map, locate the closest of the mentioned towns (municipalities) and give the tourist information a call. Most Swedes born since the late 50’s speak English and will most likely be able to answer your questions. From the tourist information, you will probably find out what you need about permits and transportation. One thing worth mentioning is that most of the named municipalities have each introduced a single permit covering all state owned waters within the municipality.
JP - Your last piece of advice when visiting Sweden?
RO - Come prepared. What I mean is that if you're not relying on a guide or have accommodation on a proper camp then you need to have camping experience and good equipment. Why do I say this? Well, a fishing trip should be relaxing, enjoyable and not a struggle. With knowledge and good gear you have the chance of an experience that will be remembered for the rest of your life.