Nässmälingen
Character of the water
Nässmälingen lies in central Sweden — a humic brown tarn. The tea-stained, humic water hides the bottom within an arm's length. In summer a thermocline settles around 6 m and splits the lake into two worlds.
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.
Moderately deep (5 m) — shallow bays, the odd reef and a deeper channel through the middle.
Permits & rules
Fishing permit required — Nässmälingen FVOF. Day permit ~100 kr · annual permit ~500 kr.
- Zander: minimum size 45 cm · protected during the spawn (Apr–May).
- Pike: keep at most one over 75 cm per day.
- Trout & Arctic char: protected during the autumn spawn · catch-and-release on certain stretches.
- Handheld tackle only. Respect the protected zones at the inlets and outlets.
Species in Nässmälingen
Fishing Nässmälingen
The species list of Nässmälingen runs to 12. The predators — perch, pike and zander — hunt where the baitfish gather, and on a water this size you soon learn where it holds its fish.
Every session at Nässmälingen 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.
The catch board
- 1Per Häggpike59 cm
- 2Maria Holmpike49 cm
- 3Lars Johansenburbot38 cm
- 4Stefan Karlssonburbot37 cm
- 5Eva Bakkebream30 cm
- 6Björn Strandperch19 cm