Gäddtjärnen

Character of the water

Gäddtjärnen lies in central Sweden — a acidified brown forest lake. The tea-stained, humic water hides the bottom within an arm's length. In summer a thermocline settles around 7 m and splits the lake into two worlds. Acidification has thinned life down to the hardiest few.

The surroundings

The lake lies half-remote, a fair way from the nearest road, tucked into woodland.

Moderately deep (10 m) — shallow bays, the odd reef and a deeper channel through the middle.

Permits & rules

Fishing permit required — Gäddtjärnen FVOF. Day permit ~100 kr · annual permit ~500 kr.

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

Fishing Gäddtjärnen

perch and pike sit at the top of the food chain in Gäddtjärnen. The brown, humic water keeps visibility short — the fishing is more about vibration than sight.

Whoever fishes Gäddtjärnen regularly builds something of their own: a log of what took, where and when. That's how the water gives up its patterns — cast by cast, never all at once.

General rules of thumb for this kind of water

• Brown, humic water dampens the light — fishing can be good even in the middle of the day.
• Stratified, oxygen-poor lakes push the fish up above the thermocline in summer.
• Acidified water yields few, hardy species.