Hästtjärnarna

Character of the water

Hästtjärnarna lies in central Sweden — a acidified forest lake. In summer a thermocline settles around 8 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.

A small but surprisingly deep pocket (16 m) with steep drops straight down from shore — the bottom falls away fast.

Permits & rules

Fishing permit required — Hästtjärnarna FVOF. Day permit ~60 kr · annual permit ~300 kr.

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

Fishing Hästtjärnarna

perch and pike sit at the top of the food chain in Hästtjärnarna, carried by vendace. The clearer water makes the fish wary — and rewards a careful presentation.

Whoever fishes Hästtjärnarna 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

• Stratified, oxygen-poor lakes push the fish up above the thermocline in summer.
• Acidified water yields few, hardy species.