Tröstenstjärnen

Character of the water

Tröstenstjärnen 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 5 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 — Tröstenstjärnen 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.
• Handheld tackle only. Respect the protected zones at the inlets and outlets.

Fishing Tröstenstjärnen

perch, pike and zander sit at the top of the food chain in Tröstenstjärnen, carried by roach and bream. The brown, humic water keeps visibility short — the fishing is more about vibration than sight.

Every session at Tröstenstjärnen 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.