Stora Böckeln

Character of the water

Stora Böckeln 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 4 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.

Moderately deep (11 m) — shallow bays, the odd reef and a deeper channel through the middle.

Permits & rules

Fishing permit required — Stora Böckeln 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 Stora Böckeln

The species list of Stora Böckeln runs to 7. The predators — perch and pike — hunt where the baitfish gather, and on a water this size you soon learn where it holds its fish.

Every session at Stora Böckeln 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.