Hällsjön

Character of the water

Hällsjön 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 8 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 (17 m) — shallow bays, the odd reef and a deeper channel through the middle.

Permits & rules

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

• Pike: keep at most one over 75 cm per day.
• Trout & Arctic char: protected during the autumn spawn · catch-and-release on certain stretches.
• Handheld tackle only. Respect the protected zones at the inlets and outlets.

Fishing Hällsjön

Hällsjön holds 11 species, with perch, pike and grayling at the top of the chain and ål, bream and roach schooling beneath them. The depth gives the water two storeys — and the fish move between them with the season.

Whoever fishes Hällsjön 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.
• In deep, oxygenated lakes the predators seek cool depth in summer, shallower in spring and autumn.