Gårtjärnen

Character of the water

Gårtjärnen 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 — Gårtjärnen FVOF. Day permit ~60 kr · annual permit ~300 kr.

• Handheld tackle only. Respect the protected zones at the inlets and outlets.

Fishing Gårtjärnen

The species list of Gårtjärnen runs to 1. The predators — perch — hunt where the baitfish gather, and on a water this size you soon learn where it holds its fish.

Whoever fishes Gårtjärnen 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.
• Nutrient-rich lakes hold plenty of baitfish but often murky water.