Bålsjön

Character of the water

Bålsjön lies in central Sweden — a nutrient-rich lowland lake. In summer a thermocline settles around 7 m and splits the lake into two worlds.

The surroundings

The lake sits close to town with a road right up to it — easy to reach, but hard-fished and exposed to nutrient runoff from the buildings and fields all around.

Moderately deep (11 m) — shallow bays, the odd reef and a deeper channel through the middle.

Permits & rules

Fishing permit required — Bålsjön FVOF. Day permit ~140 kr · annual permit ~700 kr.

• Pike: keep at most one over 75 cm per day.
• Handheld tackle only. Respect the protected zones at the inlets and outlets.

Fishing Bålsjön

Bålsjön holds 5 species, with perch and pike at the top of the chain and roach, bream and ruffe schooling beneath them. The modest depth keeps most of the fishing within reach of the bank.

Every session at Bålsjön is fished in whatever conditions hold right then — the same pressure, wind and light as over the real water. What bites today isn't what bit the day before, and those who return learn the water for real.

General rules of thumb for this kind of water

• Stratified, oxygen-poor lakes push the fish up above the thermocline in summer.
• Nutrient-rich lakes hold plenty of baitfish but often murky water.