Mellanåstjärnen

Character of the water

Mellanåstjärnen 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 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.

Moderately deep (9 m) — shallow bays, the odd reef and a deeper channel through the middle.

Permits & rules

Fishing permit required — Mellanåstjärnen FVOF. Day permit ~100 kr · annual permit ~500 kr.

• Handheld tackle only. Respect the protected zones at the inlets and outlets.

Fishing Mellanåstjärnen

Mellanåstjärnen holds 1 species, with perch at the top of the chain. The modest depth keeps most of the fishing within reach of the bank.

Every session at Mellanåstjärnen 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.
• Stratified, oxygen-poor lakes push the fish up above the thermocline in summer.
• Acidified water yields few, hardy species.
• Nutrient-rich lakes hold plenty of baitfish but often murky water.