Brown trout fishing

To catch a brown trout is not the easiest thing but it will offer you adventurous moments. If you discuss with some elderly local people from the countryside or from the fells outside Rovaniemi city they can tell you how excited they were in their childhood when they learned how to get to the rivers in the wilderness to angel the brown touts.

Brown trout is found in fast flowing, oxygen-rich, cool clear waters with gravel or sandy riverbeds. They occur across almost all of Europe and as far north as Lapland.

First of all, the brown trout is a very sensitive fish. If you arrive to the riverside speaking load and running close to the river side you can be sure the brown trout disappeares for a long time. Then your chances to catch these rare spotted fish in the wilderness of Lapland have gone for a while.

The right way to start the fishing of a brown trout is to sneak quietly onto the river side and not talk load. You also have to take into consideration where your shadows are, so that not your shadow or the shadow of the rod are showed in the water. The best day to go brown trout fishing is on a cloudy day in the end of the summer in Lapland.

The latin name of the brown trout is Salmo trutta fario. It is also sometimes called the river trout. The size of the brown trout is about 25-30 cm in length and weights around 1 kilo at the most. In small rivers they do not grow that big. Their back is olive-dark brown and silvery blue, red spots occur towards the belly, the belly itself is whitish yellow. The brown trout can live for up to 18 years in the small rivers.

Brown trout are very faithful to their habitat i.e. they live only at one spot and do not migrate. Even after being disturbed they will return to their traditional sites. The adult brown trout requires its own territory. During the day it is hidden in the shadows of the river bank, facing upstream and that is where you start fishing. You throw your fishing rod with the worm on the hook into the water near the bank and wait for the brown trout to attack. Usually it does not take long time until you get the catch. The brown trout attacks very quickly and unexpectedly.

That is one thing that makes the angling of brown trout so adventures. It differs a lot from catching perch.
As the brown trout belongs to the family of salmons, the taste is more like the salmon’s.
The tradition of angeling brown trout is about to end, because at the moment the habit to fish brown trout is mostly omited by elderly men, who teach the skills only to their children.
I have had the opportunity to learn how to angel brown trout and I am so happy that I got that chance.

By a river in the wilderness of Lapland to catch the river trout

Did you think I am not fishing this time of the year? Actually, this year I am not summer fishing in Lapland, but I want to tell you about earlier years as I have fished in Lapland in the beginning of summer. In Lapland there are a lot of small rivers and really tiny rivers in the wilderness, not much bigger than a ditch, where there is a lot of fish.

IMG_9474You can get greyling (harjus) from the rivers near the rapids also in summer, not only when ice-fishing. In summer you catch greylings standing on the shore of the rapids or you could stand in the rapid yourself, if you want. I never did that, though.

 

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If you are out camping you can fry your catches on a trangia spiritburner right away. Delicious!

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Another peculiar fish in the tiny rivers is the little brown trout or river trout (tammukka, purotaimen) as it is also called.

tammukka

The river trout is related to the common trout, but it does not really grow big. The river trout stays in the river where it was born. Normally trouts migrate from the birth place to bigger rivers and rapids and at times they grow really big; they could even be about 15 kg. But the trouts that stay in the little river where they were born never grow big, to not even 1 kg. The river trout is found all over Finland but specially in Lapland it is really small; about 25 cm. The government of Finland has decided the minimum of all fish you are allowed to catch, and the minimum length they have put on a river trout is 40 cm, but the fact is, they never grow that big in Lapland! So you could say the river trout every little boy in Lapland uses to catch does not even exist in the eyes of the government. Read more about fishing licenses and restrictions here.

IMG_4139 IMG_4132Even small children can go angling river trouts in the small rivers. It is easy to catch, But one thing is important; you should keep quiet when angling! The river trout does not like voices and noise. It is easily frightened away. You should sneak quietly into your place on the shore before you start angling.

I love to walk along these small rivers in the absolute wilderness. The forest is so quiet around you. Sometimes you meet some reindeer and sometimes a beaver. I have also seen poo-poos of bears, but I never saw a bear, luckily. Even if I am very keen on fishing I also often just admire the nature and try to enjoy every minute of my stay in the wilderness. A foot bath in the ice-cold, clear river-water is a lovely experience after a long walk into the wilderness and refreshes your feet .

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Enjoy these photos of the wilderness of Lapland!

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In Lapland during summer season the main trouble is the mosquitoes. You should never forget to put on some insect repellent when going angling by the river. The mosquitoes could ruin the pleasure about angling for you. 

 

 

The time to catch river trouts is at its best in early summer. At the same time the cloud berries are blooming and every Laplander hopes for no night frost or hailstorm that could spoil the opportunities to enjoy a perfect cloud berry crop later in the summer.

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