Hålldammen

Character of the water

Hålldammen 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.

A small but surprisingly deep pocket (20 m) with steep drops straight down from shore — the bottom falls away fast.

Permits & rules

Fishing permit required — Hålldammen 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 Hålldammen

perch, pike and burbot sit at the top of the food chain in Hålldammen, carried by roach. The brown, humic water keeps visibility short — the fishing is more about vibration than sight.

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 Hålldammen 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.