Gåstjärnen

Character of the water

Gåstjärnen lies in central Sweden — a humic 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.

The surroundings

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

A small but surprisingly deep pocket (14 m) with steep drops straight down from shore — the bottom falls away fast.

Permits & rules

Fishing permit required — Gåstjärnen 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 Gåstjärnen

Gåstjärnen holds 7 species, with perch, pike and burbot at the top of the chain and ål, karp and roach schooling beneath them. The modest depth keeps most of the fishing within reach of the bank.

Whoever fishes Gåstjärnen 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.