Text & Photos: Charlie Hall
Some trips begin long before you step onto the train. They start in your mind months earlier, when plans are made, maps are studied, and dreams of new waters grow stronger and stronger. This journey was exactly like that.
After an intense spring filled with work, family life, and as much fishing as the calendar allowed, it was finally time. The destination was northern Sweden and a few days of fly fishing together with my good friend Serkan.
As usual, I had plenty of time to prepare in theory. In reality, it ended with the classic last-minute packing stress the evening before departure.
One of the best feelings there is; when everything is still ahead!
Four species – and far too much gear
The hardest part wasn’t fitting everything into the backpack. The hardest part was deciding what to bring.
Pike, grayling, trout, and lake trout were all on the menu, which meant I needed to be ready for everything from technical dry fly fishing in running water to heavy streamer sessions in cold mountain rivers.
In the end, I settled on four rods:
- Class 5 for grayling and dry flies
- Class 7 for trout and light streamer fishing
- Class 8 for lake trout
- Class 9 for pike fishing
On top of that, a small mountain of reels, lines, leaders, and fly boxes. The most important requirement was to fit the rod tubes inside the backpack. I didn’t want them hanging on the outside during the train journey.
Even though the gear covered every possible scenario, I still felt most at home with the pike equipment. Pike fly fishing is something I truly love.
Grayling feast under the midnight sun
The train journey north went exactly as you hope: calm, comfortable, and on schedule.
The original plan for the first fishing day was to split the time between grayling and lake trout. But once we saw the conditions in the river, the decision was easy.
We went all in on grayling.
And what a decision that turned out to be.
The river was boiling with rising fish. Everywhere you looked, rings appeared on the surface as grayling rose to take insects. It was one of those evenings you dream about during long winter months.
The fish were active from the very start, and almost all fishing was done on dry flies. Klinkhammers and various emerger patterns became the obvious choice of the day. With a light class 5 rod and long upstream presentations, we experienced fantastic technical fishing where precision and drag-free drift were crucial.
When the fly landed correctly, it often took only a few seconds before the surface broke.
Grayling after grayling was hooked, many between 35 and 50 centimeters.
Serkan had planned the day perfectly based on the weather forecast. As a photographer, he regularly leads photo trips and workshops where light dictates the entire setup. He brought the same thinking into the fishing, and it proved to be a brilliant move.
During the night, the midnight sun provided magical light. Soft pastel colors reflected in the water while the grayling continued to rise. The combination of bent rods, rising fish, and golden light created memories that will last a long time.
One of the highlights was when Johan managed to land a truly large grayling measuring exactly 50 centimeters.
Sometime around three in the morning, we were back at the accommodation.
Tired.
But very satisfied.
Pike fishing in summer heat
The next day was dedicated to pike and lake trout.
The conditions for pike fishing were far from ideal.
25 degrees Celsius.
No wind.
Low water.
Bright sunshine.
Conditions that often make pike much more reluctant.
We waded slowly across large shallow areas where the water barely reached above the knees. Despite the heat, we found fish, although the larger individuals seemed to stay away.
After a few fish, I got a strong feeling to switch to a surface fly with high buoyancy. I chose a large Pusher.
I’ve always had a soft spot for topwater pike fishing. There’s something special about seeing the entire attack the explosion on the surface, the swirl behind the fly, the strike coming out of nowhere.
It’s hard to beat.
The fly turned out to be the right choice for the day and gave me the best pike of the session. Not a record fish, but a well fed and beautifully marked pike that put up a great fight.
For the pike fishing, I brought both a Vision Pikemaniac and a Vision Merisuola Predator in class 9. Both are fantastic pike rods, but with slightly different characteristics.
That day, I chose the Pikemaniac together with a Grand Daddy floating+ line. The combination worked perfectly for the shallow water and large, wind-resistant flies.
After a few hours of fishing, coffee breaks in the sun, and plenty of laughter, we headed back to the car.
The next species was waiting.
Finally time for lake trout
Lake trout had long been on my bucket list.
There’s something special about fish that live in cold, clear mountain waters. The combination of environment and mystery makes them especially appealing.
When Serkan told me he had planned a session for lake trout, expectations immediately rose.
For the fishing, I rigged my Meri class 8 together with a reel loaded with a sink 7 line. In front of the line, I used a 0.35 mm fluorocarbon leader and at the end a large black Wolly Bugger.
A fly that has caught fish all over the world and feels just as natural in the mountains as at home in southern Sweden.
But the mountains have their own rules.
Just as we arrived, dark clouds rolled in and the sky opened up. Rain poured down and the wind increased quickly.
We had to wait.
Moments like these are also part of the charm of mountain fishing. Nature always sets the terms.
We stayed in the car, drank coffee, ate biscuits, and watched the weather through the windshield.
Just three weeks earlier, ice still covered several of the waters up here. Now we were sitting out a summer storm instead.
That contrast is exactly what makes fishing in the north so fascinating.
Nothing is guaranteed.
Nothing can be taken for granted.
And perhaps that’s exactly why every fish feels a little more valuable up here.
When the storm finally passed, we took our rods and walked down to the water. While waiting, I had spotted a promising spot a small point creating a calmer backwater along the river.
I started fishing higher up in the system but quickly realized it was too shallow for what I had planned. Instead, I moved down to the place I had noted earlier.
Cast after cast, the Woolly Bugger searched the deeper edges without success. In the distance, I heard Serkan calling out that he had had contact with a nice brown trout that rose from the depths to his fly.
I continued methodically covering the water. The river was deep, and along the bank there were steep rock walls eager to claim my flies. It became technical fishing, constantly balancing between getting deep enough and avoiding snags.
On one of the casts, I let the fly sink a few seconds longer than before.
The line angle pointed almost straight down when suddenly it hit.
The rod bent immediately and the fish responded with heavy head shakes.
I quickly retrieved slack line and tried to maintain contact while the fish stayed deep. Thoughts immediately started racing.
Could this be the fish I had been dreaming about?
When I first saw the fish in the water, I wasn’t much wiser. Its pale markings made it almost resemble a pike.
But as it came closer to the surface, I saw the light spots and the characteristic body.
Lake trout.
My first lake trout.
Seconds later it slid into the net, and the feeling of joy was complete.
It wasn’t a record fish, but it didn’t matter. After many years of thoughts and dreams, it was finally there in front of me.
A fish that had long held a place on my bucket list.
Fishing smaller waters
The remaining days were spent on smaller streams. The brown trout unfortunately stayed absent, but the grayling were far more cooperative and provided several great moments on dry flies.
We also managed a very fun pike session in a lake setting, where the Meri in class 8 proved to be a perfect choice. After trying a few different flies, it quickly became clear that the pike preferred surface presentations.
The standout fly of the day was a Crease Fly.
There were no monster fish, but several times we saw pike tracking the fly before attacking with full force. The explosive strikes made the fishing just as exciting as if the fish had been much larger.
A trip to remember
When I summarize the days in the north, I don’t first think about the number of fish or their size.
I think about rising grayling under the midnight sun.
About pike exploding behind a surface fly.
About the feeling when my first lake trout slid into the net.
But above all, I think about the time spent with a good friend.
Sometimes a fishing trip doesn’t need to be long to become memorable. A few days are enough when nature, fishing, and company are exactly as good as you hoped.
This was exactly such a trip.
Tight lines
-Charlie
Charlie Hall is Vision ambassador and a dedicated fly angler.
You should follow Charlie's journey with a fly rod at:
https://www.instagram.com/hall.charlie/?hl=fi
