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A Man-Made Stream?

Our March 2000 contribution from Terry Lawton

Last July I spent a very enjoyable, but hot, day fishing a short river in the south of Sweden called Flugströmmen, the fly stream. Sadly I did not catch anything.

The omens on arrival were not good. The previous days had seen the sun beat down from a cloudless blue sky from sunrise to sunset at nearly 11 o'clock at night, although there had been some light drizzle on the two-hour drive to Harasjömåla where I was to fish Flugströmmen. The man in the reception office said the best time to fish would be the last two hours before dark: this would have meant leaving at about midnight which I did not fancy. So it was a question of making the best of the prevailing conditions.

Kronofiske Harasjömåla is a large area of semi-wilderness with 23 lakes, holiday cabins and Flugströmmen, an unique river. It is owned by a Swedish timber operation, AssiDomän, that produces timber products, packaging and paper and cardboard products. Access to the river and lakes is on traditional Swedish unmetalled country roads through forests and past numerous lakes.

When I arrived at the parking area there was one man getting ready to start fishing. He told me that he was a regular on the river and while he preferred to fish it either early or late in the season - the best times - he was there that day because he had to fish when he was on holiday. He also told me that he liked to start at a favourite pool, fishing a streamer downstream, before moving downstream and fishing his way back up. I met him later in the day when he was packing up. He had hooked a good fish on his favourite fly but unfortunately that fly had a rusty hook and had not proved up to the job.

As there were no fish rising or flies hatching, I started fishing an attractive pool with a nymph. Flugströmmen consists of a series of pools, waterfalls and runs. This gives you the chance to fish faster, more oxygenated water or the stiller pools and glides. All though the river runs through the forest - how often have you caught a Christmas tree on your back cast? - access is good as there is a hard track running along one bank. For those who catch fish, there are barbecues and a log cabin in a delightful little streamside meadow. Yes it is a commercial operation, but with a difference that is hard to believe.

Flugströmmen is a man-made stream!

Flugströmmen was built between January and April 1988. The grand opening was on 20 May1988 by the King of Sweden. Although there are rivers in this part of Sweden - the Mörrum is world famous for its massive sea trout - not many offer trout fishing. As Harasjömåla did not have any running water and there was a demand for river trout fishing. all "that it took was that someone with this wild idea had the finances to make it come true". Flugströmmen was built out of nothing. The builders tried to follow the natural contours of the hillside as much as possible. It was dug with a big bucket over a two-month period and cost SEK1.3 million - that is 1 million.

One cubic meter of water per second is pumped up the hillside from lake Tuesjön into the top of the stream. The stream runs for 1.1 km in a half-circle down to another lake - Mjöldrängen. From Mjöldrängen the water flows back to Tuesjön and completes the circle. The river is stocked regularly with a range of different sizes of trout including monsters up to three or four kilos. I spoke to a man who was stocking the river towards the end of my day and he said that the fish that they stock are bigger than he would like - he would prefer fish of a size more likely to be found in the river - but that there is a demand for big fish which has to be met. He also told me that there is very good sedge fishing to be had as it starts to get dark, towards midnight in high summer.

As I had the river to myself, I was able to fish where I wanted and when I wanted. Where the river is narrow and flows between rocky outcrops, the water is quite deep and turbulent. For those who prefer flat, slower water there are plenty of smooth runs. The water temperature in the river was very high and as the day got hotter my concentration started to lapse. I did get the odd pluck to a deep nymph but sadly the only fish to oblige me all day was a little roach!

I can recommend thoroughly a day on Flugströmmen for any fly fisherman who is going to visit this part of Sweden. Karlshamn is the nearest big town and Flugströmmen is within reach of Malmö. Although it would be quite a long drive, there is not much traffic on the roads. You will need a decent map to find Harasjömåla itself as it is well off the nearest main road.

As tickets are limited each day it is worth booking in advance at popular times of the season. Tickets that have been booked but not collected by 0930 can be bought on the day. I booked via e-mail and collected and paid for my ticket on the day by credit card. Fishing is permitted from 0400 to midnight between May and September so you can have your money's worth! There is a catch limit of three fish per day.

Brochures (in Swedish, English and German) are available, and for the Mörrum, by e-mail: harasjomala.sot@asdo.se

Terry Lawton is a passionate nymph fisherman who caught a wild 4lb 2oz brown trout (his biggest to date) on a home-tied variant of a goldhead, Sawyer-style pheasant tail nymph. You can contact him direct at: t.lawton@fishandfly.co.uk