Gillbergstjärnarna

Character of the water

Gillbergstjärnarna 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 5 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.

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

Permits & rules

Fishing permit required — Gillbergstjärnarna 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 Gillbergstjärnarna

The species list of Gillbergstjärnarna runs to 6. The predators — perch, pike and burbot — hunt where the baitfish gather, and on a water this size you soon learn where it holds its fish.

The fishing here follows the water's own rhythm: dawn and dusk have their windows, fronts close and open them, and the season moves the fish. No two sessions at Gillbergstjärnarna are alike.

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