Words by Robin Andersson, Guideline PowerTeam Sweden.
Images by Robin Andersson & Christoffer Nilsson.
We were tired, hungry and exhausted. After 14 hours of fishing without result, we both fell asleep along the small path that surrounded the lake. We put our faces towards the wind, to avoid being completely eaten by the mosquitoes. We really gave the lake an honest chance but now our energy was gone. Totally gone.
A few hours later later we sat on the shore having coffe and everything became quiet… The wind that had been blowing hard during the day ceased. The sun looked through the grey clouds and suddenly the lake began to…. boil. There were raising fish everywhere. In a hurry we got on our feet to quickly get around to the part of the lake where the fish were most active.
We quickly understood what the fish was feeding on. BIBIO! But without any good imitation in our fly boxes, they were not easy to fool. Add to that, the whole lake was full of these insects. We saw the trout cruising around and “vacuuming” large areas with Bibios. Then we finally found some decent flies in our boxes, and the dream fights were not far away. We crawled to the edge and tried to keep as low as possible not to scare the selective fish in the crystal clear water.
Suddenly, the fly disappears underneath the surface, I raise my rod and the fish rush away. It was a beautiful fish in excellent condition but not one of the largest individuals in the lake. We had found a winning concept and from now on, there was no time to waste. The evening went fast and we could not have wished for better fishing. But despite much activity, it was not easy. After about an hour, the frenzy quit and there was now only a couple of active fish on the other side of the lake.
When we get around we quickly get our eyes on a small pod of fish feeding in the surface some 10-15 meters from the beach. Immediately Chris hooks into a fish, but after a short fight the hook slips… I have to make several casts before my fly lands in the right path in front of a fish. But the fly barely floats and is difficult to see it as it lies deep in the surface. But suddenly I think I see a slight swirl under the fly and I wait a second before I raise my rod.
BAM! The feeling is just amazing, indescribable, overwhelming. I see the line go away and it doesn´t take long before the backing disappears. You see turn after turn disappear from the reel and there is nothing you can do to stop it! The brake is almost at the max, but despite this, the fish still go farther away. Suddenly, it turns around and swims towards me instead.
Now it´s important to keep the concentration up. I don´t want to lose this fish. After the hard initial runs I´m starting to relax and really enjoy the fight. When the fish finally get into reach and Chris take the tail, it feels like a relief. 70 cm wild mountain brown trout on a dryfly with a #5 rod!!! What a feeling!!! A feeling you’ll never forget and another amazing trout to keep in your memory. This trip ended in the best possible way, but knowing that the lake keeps even bigger fish, it will not take long before I come here again…
Full gallery below, just click the first image, then swipe/click.
