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Our Swedish correspondent and long-time member of the Swedish fly fishing team, Harry Salmgren, has sent us some background information on the area where this year's Fly Fishing World Championship is being held.

The Lycksele region is perhaps one of Swedish Southern Lapland's premier trout fisheries. A myriad of streams, rivers, lakes and man made water reservoirs offer the fly fisher almost every conceivable challenge associated with the sport, writes Harry Salmgren.

From tumbling the "Swedish alp's" charr painted in the colour of the setting sun that move at any passing surface offering, to the cruising Atlantic salmon that leap any falls to swim through the river pools still higher to spawn, or to the frantic evening rises on sometimes mirror calm Lappish lakes, there is something for everyone.

Situated just 120 kilometers west of Umeå, the Lycksele/Bjurholm area provides a perfect playground for the outdoor enthusiast. Renowned for skiing and fishing, the area also offer a variety of other activities including trekking, kayaking, river rafting, horse riding, not to mention picking mushrooms!

Host town for the XXI World Fly Fishing Championships and in the heart of the Swedish Lapland is its main city of Lycksele, a smallish town with a variety of shops, services and restaurants, including a zoo filled with the local wild animals you normally find: bear, wolf, lynx and others. The town's multicultural character and activity-based lifestyle compliments the surrounding rugged scenery. Close to Lycksele lies the famed Elk Farm in Bjurholm, the popular home for wild moose where you can taste the unique and delicious Elk-cheese, developed by the former world cross country skiing champion Christer Johansson.

Adjacent to the Bjurholm area is the Kärringberget, an area with a wealth of streams and lakes so rich in aquatic life that sustains a wild population of brown trout, grayling, Atlantic salmon and sea trout. Also hard-fighting pike are found here, ready to take your fly. This is also an area suitable for the anglers preparing for the championships.

Across from there, to the other side of Lycksele, up the densely forested roads, lies the competition waters in Malå with some of the best streams in Scandinavia for panning for gold. Here within a 120 km area of Lycksele the streams offer relief from the competition, putting recreational anglers in touch with the dream of yellow nuggets if fish are not found.

However these rugged woods are really a sports fisher's paradise, they offer the very best in fishing within an easily accessible area and are a worthy host to the 2001- XXIth World Fly Fishing Championships. Competitors staying at the Hotel Lapland in Lycksele will find themselves well looked after and situated to take full advantage of this exceptional fishing location.

Harry Salmgren, Nicke Romanenko, Calle Holmqvist APGAI/Southern Lapland River Guides