Håvtjärnen

Character of the water

Håvtjärnen lies in central Sweden — a acidified 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. 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 — Håvtjärnen 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 Håvtjärnen

Håvtjärnen holds 2 species, with perch and pike at the top of the chain. The depth gives the water two storeys — and the fish move between them with the season.

Whoever fishes Håvtjärnen 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.
• Acidified water yields few, hardy species.