Maejärvi

Character of the water

Maejärvi lies in the cold north — a northern acidified 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. Acidification has thinned life down to the hardiest few.

The surroundings

The lake sits close to town with a road right up to it — easy to reach, but hard-fished and exposed to nutrient runoff from the buildings and fields all around.

A small but surprisingly deep pocket (17 m) with steep drops straight down from shore — the bottom falls away fast.

Permits & rules

Fishing permit required — Maejärvi 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 Maejärvi

Maejärvi 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.

Every session at Maejärvi is fished in whatever conditions hold right then — the same pressure, wind and light as over the real water. What bites today isn't what bit the day before, and those who return learn the water for real.

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.
• Acidified water yields few, hardy species.