Fly Fishing Jämtland (Part 3): Fjäll around Åre

After Part 1: Skit Fiske Hårkan River and Part 2: Långan at Risk, Jan and I explored the Fjäll around Åre.


The Story continues…

The following day, I felt slightly better and was able to eat an apple again. We packed our bags and left our beautiful camping spot at the Långan. The rule for freedom camping in Sweden is that you can stay up to 3 nights in a row at the same spot. Our next stop was Åre. Åre is close to the border to Norway and its terrain is pretty mountainous. On the way there, we made a quick spot to the Ristafallet waterfall.

From the Långan river we drove to Åre. During the drive we came by the Ristafallet waterfall.
From the Långan river we drove to Åre. During the drive we came by the Ristafallet waterfall.

After resupplying on food in Åre and enjoying free Wifi at the ICA supermarket, the Swiss fishing squad visited the Fjällsport store in Duved for information about the fishing. Our aim was to find Char to final having caught all three salmonid species: trout, grayling and char. The store owner recommended to look for higher elevated lakes where one usually finds arctic char. So we decided to hike to a remote mountain lake and camp there.

Next to the Fjällsport store in Duved is a great Restaurant, where I was finally able to eat an entire meal after the stomachache
Next to the Fjällsport store in Duved is a great Restaurant, where I was finally able to eat an entire meal after the stomach ache

Preparation for camping in the Fjäll around Åre

Given that Jan froze his balls off the first few nights due to a cold bridge of his Mammut sleeping bag along the zipper, he bought some more long underpants. In contrast to his equipment, my Sea to Summit Spark II sleeping bag did a great job in keeping me warm. The temperatures plummeted to about 0 degrees Celsius in the night. This at the end of June!

After a strenuous hike through thick swamp, we arrived at a first lake. On the way, a local informed us about a nice hut to stay at the upper lake. However, according to him we were much to early in the season to find any fish that feed on insects. It was just too cold.

Consternation

Slightly disappointed we continued our hike. At one point while circling the lake, we stopped and Jan tried to catch our dinner. It was when I joked about the fishing in Sweden, when Jan hooked into a pan sized fish. Our dinner was safe. I just taped an open blister at my heels and then we continued our hike uphill.

Dinner caught in the first mountain lake we hiked to from Åre.
Dinner caught in the first mountain lake we hiked to from Åre.

Our hike brought us across small snow fields and eventually to the lake with the wooden hut. Strong winds followed us at every turn. Nevertheless, I set up an indicator nymph rig a fellow angler successfully used on another mountain lake. Not expecting any fish, I casted a few times and striped in the pink bead nymph. All of a sudden, I felt movements on the other end of the line. A short drill later, I released a decent brown trout in the long-range distance. The striped indicator nymph rig works!

The Fishing sucked

Jan and I enjoyed the solitude we found up in the fjäll around Åre. Yet, the fishing did not improve. We fished until 12 o’clock in the night without any fish contact.

The second mountain lake we visited was pretty remote, but the fishing did not improve.
The second mountain lake we visited was pretty remote, but the fishing did not improve.

Although, the hut was tiny we still slept very comfortable. My only concern was that the wooden floor might pierce the inflatable Thermarest sleeping mattress. Therefore, we put the rain fly of the tent on the ground in order to have further protection.

Tiny but comfy, the small, remote hut in the fjäll around Åre
Tiny but comfy, the small, remote hut in the fjäll around Åre
We cooked the trout in the fire - delicious!
We cooked the trout in the fire – delicious!
Tiny but comfy, the small, remote hut in the fjäll around Åre
Tiny but comfy, the small, remote hut in the fjäll around Åre
The small hut we slept in.
#wokeuplikethis

A New Hope

Given, that the fishing was not getting better the next day as well, we returned back to Åre. Our next stop was the Gevsjön lake. The outflow of the river is called Gevsjöstrommen and is a famous go to place for fishing. It soon became apparent why.

As we drove there, we were pretty tired nevertheless we straight went fishing. As we approached the lake, there was a hatch of large yellow mayflies going on. All over the place fish were eagerly rising. However, the larger fish happily rose further away than 50m from the banks. Nonetheless, I went into the water until it reached almost to my chest and waited. As soon as a fish rose twice in casting distance I imagined what route it might take and offered the fly. This way of still water fishing was thrilling and brought a few small fish to the net.

We then drove to the outflow of the lake where Jan managed to catch this beauty here.

Finally a decent fish caught in the outflow of lake Gevsjöstrommen
Finally a decent fish caught in the outflow of lake Gevsjöstrommen: on the dry!

In a Nutshell

The rest of our travel was not that spectacular anymore. We slept two more nights in the car and stayed once in a beautiful little “hotel” called Dalens Gård. The first time after 8 days in Sweden we enjoyed a shower and the cozy feeling of a sauna. What a blessing!

We then headed back South with the last night spent at the Steiner Lodge in Mora where we chased some pikes.

During our return flight, our fellow passengers had to endure strong smells.


 

Other Parts about fly fishing in Jämtland, Sweden

Part 1:Skit Fiske Hårkan River

Part 2: Långan at Risk

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