Denmark report - Salmon Season April 2011

By Jesper havshoi - Fish & Outdoor - Fredericia, Denmark

The 1st of April is the date a lot of fishermen have been looking forward to for the most of the long cold winter we had here in Denmark. It is the day all the rivers here in Denmark are opening up again. Hundreds of fishermen were already along the riverbanks early in the morning. Everybody with the hope and dream to get a fresh fat salmon to take the bait, either the flie, the wobbler, the spinner or the worm.

This year I was not fishing the first day of the season. I had to take care of the shop, so I had to wait to the following day. But still it is always great to go to the river one of the first days of the season. You never know what is waiting in the river and still, it is just great to go to the river with the two handed fly rod again.

I was fishing the upper part of Skjern å. It is just a beautiful stretch of the river with a lot of bends and turns. I am fishing with a 13 feet rood class 8/9 mounted with a sink 3 line. Fly patterns are mainly orange and black colors in different sizes. I didn´t experience anything the day I was fishing in Skjern å, but just to be back at the river again is great.

The first four days of the season there have been caught 95 salmon in Skjern å. But only 14 fish were taken home, the rest of the fish was put safely back again. This early in the season there are a lot of fish in the river in very bad condition, the salmon spent all winter in the rivers, and they are just on the way back to the sea.

Most of these fish are in poor condition, will be gone from the rivers within the first 2-4 weeks of the season and then the fat fresh salmon will return to the rivers. So the top season in the river will start in the end of April and then continue towards May and June. In July the smaller fish will arrive in the rivers and this will continue until the end of the season.

I will return with more news from the rivers in 2-3 weeks. In the meanwhile here are some useful links with information:

• http://skjernaasam.dk
• http://www.varde-sportsfiskerforening.dk/
• http://www.svstoraa.dk

Tight lines!

Jesper - Fish & Outdoor, Fredericia - Denmark

- terug -