My stripping basket – Linekurv.dk

 

 

Welcome to my blog where you can read about my fishing and about my stripping basket.

 Read about my stripping basket on Linekurv.dk or in the category “about my stripping basket“

Djursland 15/1 2012

A trip with Thomas, Peter and Niels to Djursland for sea-trout. We started at Kobberhagen where we fished for a couple of hours and the only thing we saw was this curious seal. We stopped when nine more fishermen came to the spot. No one had experienced any luck during the day which I think is typically for a calm, sunny, cold winter day. We then tried an hour in Begtrup Vig with more luck. I got a trout just below the minimum size and Niels got a smaller fish. Here the we fished in a head wind so it soon became too cold. When we drove home we could see ice on the water in the shallow inlets in the inner part of the bay. I definitely prefer to fish in warmer conditions so I look forward to the Los Roques trip in three weeks time

Cape Cod week 43 2011

Last year a kind Linekurv.dk user from USA wrote that if I ever wanted to fish striped bass on Cape Cod he would be glad to help. As I have wanted to fly fish for stripers for many years I wrote back that I would very much like to try that and so this year Thomas and I went to Cape Cod for a week. Scott (the kind man) told us that we were a bit late but as the flight tickets were bought we would come anyway.

We rented this 4WD Kia which in our world is a quite big car but many times it actually looked small parked next to the standard 4WD here in the States.

The first place we visited together with Scott I got this hook-up….

soon after I cold land this striper on the beach

and present it before the release. I think that Scott was more relieved  than we were after this catch because due to the late season he was afraid that we wouldn´t catch anything at all on our trip.

Later there was a small blitz outside Scott and he got this mackerel which was his first ever on a fly rod.

In the evening we also got a couple of very small pollacks which was nice as the stripers feed on those.

Scott and his friends Dick and Bruce really helped us a lot as they both fished with us and gave us tips on where to fish and when to do it. As the tidal difference was up to 12 feet the fishing is very tide depending and therefore local help is crucial. Besides the help they were all very nice people as almost all fellow fly fishers are and they also supplied us with some very nice flies (flat wings) which we now try to duplicate here in Denmark. We fished in very different environments as we fished in estuaries, rivers, sand beaches, sand bars, canals, jetties etc.

One day we came to some sea gulls that dived and we could see that there fish chasing in the shallow water as well. Here Thomas started to hook this fish.

Which he also landed. As you can see the fish are nice but not that big, they are what the locals call schoolies but still good fun especially when you’re on your first trip for stripers.

The action was pretty intense and several times we were both hooked up simultaneously.

Here I got the biggest fish on our trip a fish around the 26 inches mark but it has to be 28 inches to be a keeper.

We fished early in the mornings and during the day and late in the evening. Due to the tide many times each trip was only a few hours but this gives a lot of variations.

This morning Scott got a schoolie as well.

I can´t remember the name of these ancient creatures but you found them on all beaches.

On one of the trips I got two bluefish. They were not big ones but I was surprised that they did not bite the line as I have heard that they normally do that when you do not fish with a wire leader. Thomas lost one due to this.

If you wade out at low tide you shall remember to come back in time. This time we were a bit late and Scott had to swim while Thomas and I just made it with only a bit of water in our waders.

When you are on a fishing holiday you fish in weather that no normal person would leave the house in. we did that one evening with heavy rain and more or less a storm.  This is one of the fish we got that evening and we thought that we really deserved those fish.

At the hotel we every night had a beer with the fly tying and the talk of the day to come and we tried different american micro brewed stuff. Some were quite disappointing but these two which Thomas grabbed because of their fish motives were actually very much to be recommended. Later we checked on ratebeer.com and found that we were not the only ones that found them very good.

Despite the fog in Frankfurt that delayed us 24 hours and the storm that prevented us from going in kayaks and that we never got a keeper we had a terrific trip. We got fish on every trip we made except one morning trip when two duck hunters had taken our hot spot and some times we got more than just one or two (up to 8 fish). We met some new fishing friends and tried some interesting fishing and had a wonderful dinner at Scott and Grace´s place so as the Terminator says: ” I will be back”.

Tange Sø 13/11 2011

A 3 hour trip to Tange Sø fishing for pike on my own. Almost no wind and sunny when I started it was a nice trip. But as clouds came it really got cold. The water is contrary to earlier years very clear but there was not much action.

After a couple of hours fishing a pike took the fly.

 

this 3 pound pike was all for me today but nice afternoon at the lake despite tho cold weather

Mariager Fjord 14/10 2011

Due to a bad casting arm I had not been out for some time, but when Michael asked if I would join him on an afternoon trip and the weather was beautiful I did not hesitate. My casting was still severely hampered but I could fish though my arm tiered quickly and I had to rest it on a regular basis. We went to Mariager and we had a nice afternoon. Often you see many fish in Mariager but this day it took quite some time to see fish but that is OK if you catch them.

Michael started with a small blank trout and that was his destiny of the day as he ended up with five trouts but all were too small.

After 30 minutes I got this 50 cm trout, It was well conditioned but coloured so it was released like all the fish today. Apparently we were not in the killing mode.

 

After a break I spotted some activity a new place,  moved there and after three casts I got this +50 cm trout that gave a very good fight before its release. I could only be pleased with three nice trouts on a sunny, cold afternoon despite my casting problems.

Just before the sun set there was no wind and you can see why Mariager Fjord is called the mots beautiful fjord in Denmark

Michael Hedensted with a +60 cm sea trout from Fyn

Udbyhøj 24/9 2011

Back in Udbyhøj alone in the pontoon boat. Due to a severe twist of my neck Tuesday evening I have had problems with my right arm both with controlling the muscles and with the strength. So I was afraid that it would harm my flycasting and it definitely did. I could cast but only with difficulty and not far. That is very depressing and I hope that my arm will improve especially when I in 4 weeks head for Cape cod fishing for stripers.

Despite the casting problems I managed to catch 10 trouts this day but only one was big enough to keep.

It was a 44 cm trout in the fall suit.

A couple of times a seal followed me. This is not good for the fishing but a nice experience. In the shallow water many mullets showed but as all my mullet fly had been exposed to salt water the hooks broke easily so I have to tie some new ones.

Udbyhøj 10/9 2011

A pontoon boat trip at Udbyhøj with Søren and Claus. We started out at 9 AM with a heavy outgoing current, and this current continued until we stopped around 3 PM. The current made it quite difficult to fish as we drawn far away very quickly. We were fortunate that Claus had brought his outboard engine so he could pull us back at times. We also tried to anchor but the anchor could not hold us. The weather turned out fine and we saw both seals and porpoises and some jumping fish as well. I caught two trouts but they needed an extra inch to be big enough to keep. Søren also got two small trouts and a small garfish. But it was nice to be  on the water again after a long break without a flyrod in the hand.

Søren Nielsen with nice perch from Randers

Skagen, 3/8 2011

Wind from east for some days made the North Sea calm so a trip for sea bass was possible. I was on my own which can be a bit dull but the weather was nice and this was my first and maybe only trip for sea bass this year. I started really bad with sand in the valves to the pontoons which made it impossible to put the correct amount og air into the pontoons and then I also have to deal with this when I return home. furthermore I brought the wrong reel so I started up with #4 floating line on a #6 rod – not a nice combination. Then I had a spare spool with a 150 grain sinking line but the spare spool was for another reel so I had to change the lines on the reel and the spare spool but in the end I could fish.

After ½ hour I hooked this bass so I was very pleased as the mission wa accomplished even if it was a smaller fish.

Later I got two mackerels, both good-sized, so despite the long journey I was content. I also lost a garfish but despite the calm sea I did not se any surface action at all.

 

Jernhatten, 27/7 2011

A pontoon trip with Henrik , Kaspar, Jonas, Kent and Peter fishing for mackerel. The weather was fantastic almost no wind and 20 degrees.

 We did not see any mackerels at the surface but once in a while some were hooked by blind fishing with sinking lines. Here Kent is hooked up nicely.

 This was the result, probably the biggest of the day

It was nice to fish under such calm conditions and actually we as a group cautght six different species: mackerel, sea trout (a nice 45 cm), garfish, cod, saith and weever.

Simon with a 6 pound sea trout

Æbelø, 8-9/7 2011

I have been on Æbelø with Michael before and sometimes with very good results so I was not hard to talk into another trip to this very beautiful island.

Preparing for the boat trip. The british fleet destroyed the Danish fleet app. 200 years ago but now we are back in business. We are now focusing on inflatable boats: a Creek SUB, an Anderson pontoon boat and the mothership: a rubber boat

The first evening Michael got this 55 cm trout so he was very content.

 

 Later that night he got a 50 cm trout.

 

We also got some small cods and several small trouts. I only caught one trout above the minimum size – a 44 cm fish but as we had cooling opportunities everything was released.

 

When we returned to our camp this little fellow was caught in our gravy from our dinner.

 

The next morning started with a beautiful dawn.

 

We met two fellow fishermen in kayaks and they really had something to brag about. This fantastic trout was just above 10 pounds and was caught on a wobbler the night before.

 

and a closer look.

 

This morning we wanted a fish for lunch and I got this nice 43 cm trout which was perfect for this purpose.

 

Here  the same fish after 10 minutes in the fire – maybe not as beautiful as before but way better to eat than canned food. Michael also got a fish just above the minimum size which was released.

 

In the evening the rain came but we also had some sun so this rainbow which was full but too big for the camera was produced. In the evening I got a nice 60 cm trout but unfortunately I did not get a photo when it was released.

 

Turning our backs to Æbelø when going home. The last morning I got another nice trout for a dinner for two – a 42 cm trout. So to conclude we got fish above the minimum size every morning and evening and we even got some good-sized fish and more fish below the minimum size and we saw a fantastic trout so our expectations were more or less fulfilled. We will come back later and then we hope that we will get the big one.

Upprämmen, week 25-2011

Originally we wanted to flyfish in Glomma i Norway for grayling and brown trout but as there had been heavy rain and lots of snow melting there was a flood and it was impossible to fish and plans had to be changed. Instead we went to Dalarne in Sweden where we headed for Upprämmen a lake situated app. 500 meters above sea level. Here we have fished before in this week where you may have some nice dry-fly fishing for trout and arctic char when the Vulgata is hatching.

I picked up Inge in Oslo and Inge and Agosta served a nice dinner with this special Cava. Inge made the decoration with the skin form one of his sea-trouts.

We were 8 fishermen about half of them were fly-fisher and the rest used bombarda, worms and lures. This year we could only rent one boat but that was not a big problem as we had brought 5 pontoon boats and one belly-boat.

The view from the small cabin is like always beautiful.

 

This is the may fly Vulgata that we hope to hatch while we are here.

 

Inge in his new pontoon boat with his fins. I have to admit that he controlled the boat well with these fins and he could speed up the pontoon boat in a way I have never seen before.

 

Preben got this nice trout from the shore the first day with a fly fished on bombarda, so you do need to leave the bank to catch fish.

 

The first day I got 3 trouts on the classic Rockan dry-fly and I kept this 41 cm trout which later was served as graved.

 

 

Waiting in the boat for some action

One day Inge and I went to Veasterdalselven to fish for grayling as Inge had never caught one. We did not have big success as I got only one and Inge still has to catch his first grayling, but he had several fish to hit on the fly and he found out that you need to be quick to hook them.

 

Flemming one day found some wild orchids near the cabin. I had never seen them here before and they are very beautiful.

 

Kim with the largest trout on the trip a 3 pound 52 cm fish. It was caught on a wobbler. Actually four of the bigger fish had perch up to 20 cm in their stomach – if you want to be big then eat fish.

 

Inge has just netted a dry-fly trout from his “new” pontoon boat.

 

The next generation of seagulls was jumping around on the small islands just outside the cabin.

 

This is as you may have guessed two tails from trouts fixed for drying. What you may not have guessed is that they are intended for Inges next fishrelated thing: a bow tie

 

In a pontoon boat you may feel as part of the nature

Inge and I went back to Oslo and fished for one day in Østmarken. We only got some small trouts but the weather was nice and on our way back we saw a couple of beavers unfortunately I did not get any good photos.

To sum up the trip: like many other times we have mixed feelings as we love the lake and the cabin but we were not lucky with the hatching af the may flies. We did get fish and also nice fish but some days were very slow.

Los Roques video 2010

Michael has made a video from last years trip to Los Roques. The speak is in danish but there is not much speaking

 

Gudenåen, 28+29/5-2011

Saturday drifting from Fladbro to Randers with Henrik and Allan. I forgot my camera, so no photos. I got four pikes and lost several. Among the lost ones a really big one, that went into some weed. My best pike was around 10 pounds and I got two in Nørreåen where I untill this day never have had any success.

Sunday we (six pontoon boats) started at Kongensbro to drift to Ans.

The weather was fantastic in the early morning – sunny and almost no wind. In the river part I did see several fish that took flies from the surface. This really made me long for some dry-fly fishing. This was more or less my sixth pike trip in a row, next time I will go for something different for the variation.

Untill lunch break I only got one 7 pounder and the action was very slow. Actually the action was slow all day and meny of the fish were small like the one Kaspar is presenting here. I ended up getting four and losing four, this weekend I have lost much more that normal but as everything is released it is not that important – I have to say

 

Tange sø, 21/5-2011

A drift trip for pikes from Kongensbro to Tange sø with Thomas. The weather was very nice and this was Thomas´s first pike trip this year.

Thomas started with this very nicely coloured pike after just 10 minutes.

The pike had a nasty wound in the belly. How this happened I have no idea.

Later but still in the river I got this one. It seemed like the pikes in the river had a more green colour. During the fight with this pike the tip of my rod broke, so most of the time I fished without a top guide – this is not recommendable.

I mentioned to Thomas that I really like this trip as you feel you are in the middle of nowhere. two minutes later seven motor boats came cruising upstream – something I have never seen before

In the lake I got this 11 pounder the biggest fish of the day

Soon after this perch took the fly. I can still be surprised when a fish this size attacks an 8 inch pike fly.

Here Thomas has hooked one more pike,

and it is almost ready for landing,

and for presentation (his biggest fish of the day),

and finally for the release.

I ended up landing 7 pikes and one perch and Thomas got almost the same number so we were very satisfied with this day on the lake.

Bredningen, 17/5-2011

An pontoon boat trip for pikes starting late afternoon with Henrik. It was VERY windy so you needed to work hard just to hold your position with the boat. Furthermore the water was very muddy so no visibility – not the optimum conditions for pike fishing.

I had what I expected to be a very good-sized pike on the fly but it turned out to be a bream that was hooked in the dorsal fin. But a 6 pound bream hooked like that can put up a good fight. You may be able to see the spawning warts in the photo.

Later I got this pike and this one is missing the upper part of the tail and had some wounds on the side as well – it can be a hassle to reproduce.

We ended in the channels where the wind did not get to us as much where we both landed a pike, so we both got two pikes and got a lot of fresh air in a short while.

Tange sø, 14/5-2011

A trip to Tange sø in the small boat of Bjerringbro sportfishing club with Jeppe. Jeppe is the son of my colleague and has fished many times in Gudenåen but without luck so I promised to bring him on a pike trip to Tange sø as he had never caught a pike before. we started in the upper part of the lake where I last time saw a couple of fishermen catch a lot of pikes. It was much shallower than I had expected so it was a bit difficult to avoid getting stuck many times. Many fish showed at the surface but I think it was breams getting ready to spawn. I had one fish to hit my fly twice but I did not succeed in getting it to stick on the fly.

Later we went even further up the lake and here I got a nice fish around the 9 pound mark.

As the main purpose was that Jeppe got a pike and is the wind increased in power I grabbed the oars to put Jeppe in a good position as the wind pushed us to the bank all the time. After a while Jeppe had something and it turned out to be something that really could drag line from his reel.

He was quite cool and let the fish drag line when needed so we successfully landed the pike and it was a proud Jeppe that could present his first pike ever – congratulation to him. The pike was then released and we hope that he will catch it again when it has grown even bigger

Vrinners, 10/5-2011

I hoped for an evening trip in the pontoon boat fishing for sea-trout. The weather was beautiful – sunny and almost no wind. Maybe not the best conditions for fishing but I hoped that some fish might show when the sun set.

as you may se on the photo I did forget my waders. I found out after I had inflated and assembled the pontoon boat and the fly rod and as there was more than ½ an hour back home I decided to give it a shot without waders. As there were no waves it actually was possible to fish without waders, but I realized how much I normally use the fins to move and to position the boat. Furthermore it is not relaxing to hold the feet high constantly so I stopped early as the real fishing was about to start.

To top the start I had company of a curious seal in the beginning but it disappeared after a while.

The garfish has arrived and they showed at the surface in their typically way.

I had many hits on the fly from garfish but I only landed this one. In the coming time I will have to focus on the time after sunset as I am not very happy about these guys.

Gudenåen 1/5-2011

First day after the closing period for pikes, so I drifted with Caspar and Jan down Gudenåen in our pontoon boats. It was quite windy but also sunny and temperatures were good for this time of the year, so we could not complaint about the conditions,

In the river part  I fished with a copper flash streamer as you can see and I got 3 pikes here before lunch time. The biggest was around 8 lbs, but all were thin as the had spawned recently and several had wounds from the spawning as well.

Jan did not catch or see anything before lunch but soon after he got two in a row. Here he presents his first pike this season. You may be able to see that it had a wound in the back like many of the fish today.

I landed 10 pikes today but no big ones. I had at least just as many hitting the fly. In the lake they today seemed smaller than in the river.  I was once again reminded that fly-fishing for pike is the best way to get a big shock when fishing. Pikes they sometimes appear out of nowhere with incredible speed to grab the fly just in front of you – and that can really make your heart pump.