The Fish Camp August 11-12, 2006
August 11, 2006
We picked up the rental car in Ostersund this morning and headed north on highway 45 but not before I made a stop at the outdoor store and bought a few necessaries for the fishing expedition. Just the basics to get me on the water but as anyone who has bought fishing equipment lately it will make you cringe when they tell you the total.
We drove 160 kilometers to a lake just north of Hoting. The countryside here is rolling hills, pine and birch forest with lakes and rivers everywhere. It is a sportsman’s paradise with fishing and hunting being a large part of life.
We pulled into the camp around 3 PM and were met by Gunnar and Sui Persson the owners of the camp and two of the nicest people that you will ever meet. In minutes we were set up with a cabin. The cabin was small but had two single beds, a kitchenette and a bathroom. The bedroom was about the same size as the compartment we had on the Siberian Express but was comfortable and with a private shower and bathroom more than adequate for our needs.
We drove back to Hoting to pick up some groceries for breakfast and lunch and were back and ready to fish by 5PM.
After Gunnar set us up with an aluminum boat and a 2HP motor we shoved off and started trolling 100 meters from the bank. The first fish, a perch, hit about five minutes later and another almost as soon as I got the line back in the water we caught another. These were small fish, but as I was using ultra-light tackle good fun to catch. After reaching a somewhat sheltered bank we drifted along as I cast various lures toward weed beds and other bits of structure. The net was too many perch to count and two northern pike that had too many teeth to count. Holly stayed occupied with her puzzles and taking pictures of me with multiple fish and seemed to have a good time. She had declined fishing but said she was happy to ride in the boat and make sure that I didn’t drown. After three hours or so we did a bit of cruising around the lake before calling it a night and heading in.
Laundry waited for us back at camp and without going into detail it was not the perfect end to the perfect day’ but I think we came out ahead. The front of our cabin looked like a laundry with the clothes hanging everywhere.
August 12, 2006
No need to get up early as we were told that the chilly northern nights stop the fish from biting until the sun warms the water. We took advantage and didn’t push the boat into the water until 9AM. We followed Sui’s suggestion and went to a railroad bridge where she said that 2.5 kilo fish were sometime caught. This wasn’t sometime but I did continue to catch the smaller perch. After a while I decided we would try trolling and seeing more of the lake at the same time. I couldn’t keep the lure in the water! Within minutes of starting the motor and letting out the line another fish would hit. These were a little bigger and one or two came in around one kilo. We reached the end of this arm of the lake and it turned into a narrow channel that round its way through the woods. Several small neat cabins dotted the banks. These cabins can only be reached by boat and do not have electricity, but they are well kept and I’m sure a peaceful get-a-way for their owners.
We were back at our cabin around noon and after lunch decided to take the car for some land based exploring. We had read about 5000 year old cave paintings just outside of Dorotea, a town just north of the lake. We were also hoping for a moose sighting as we have heard that there are quite a few in this area. The guide books warn drivers to be watchful for them, but mostly in early and late hours. We ended up driving miles over gravel roads and seeing a lot of country and a few grouse. These are large birds that would sit in the dust of the road. It appeared to us to be a mother and her chicks although the chicks by this time of the year are about ¾ of their mother’s size. They took their time getting off the road and we managed to get some good pictures. We didn’t get to see the cave paintings but did enjoy the drive as this was the first time we have a car to ourselves since Australia.
Back to the cabin where we watched the parade of camping trailers and motor homes come in for the night. It seems that most are heading south and we believe that this means that vacation time is almost over and people are going back to their normal lives.
Even though it’s almost two months since the longest day of the year, it is still light until almost 11PM. We missed the midnight sun by about a month but it gets light between 3 and 4 AM so there is still plenty of daylight should you choose to use it.
We picked up the rental car in Ostersund this morning and headed north on highway 45 but not before I made a stop at the outdoor store and bought a few necessaries for the fishing expedition. Just the basics to get me on the water but as anyone who has bought fishing equipment lately it will make you cringe when they tell you the total.
We drove 160 kilometers to a lake just north of Hoting. The countryside here is rolling hills, pine and birch forest with lakes and rivers everywhere. It is a sportsman’s paradise with fishing and hunting being a large part of life.
We pulled into the camp around 3 PM and were met by Gunnar and Sui Persson the owners of the camp and two of the nicest people that you will ever meet. In minutes we were set up with a cabin. The cabin was small but had two single beds, a kitchenette and a bathroom. The bedroom was about the same size as the compartment we had on the Siberian Express but was comfortable and with a private shower and bathroom more than adequate for our needs.
We drove back to Hoting to pick up some groceries for breakfast and lunch and were back and ready to fish by 5PM.
After Gunnar set us up with an aluminum boat and a 2HP motor we shoved off and started trolling 100 meters from the bank. The first fish, a perch, hit about five minutes later and another almost as soon as I got the line back in the water we caught another. These were small fish, but as I was using ultra-light tackle good fun to catch. After reaching a somewhat sheltered bank we drifted along as I cast various lures toward weed beds and other bits of structure. The net was too many perch to count and two northern pike that had too many teeth to count. Holly stayed occupied with her puzzles and taking pictures of me with multiple fish and seemed to have a good time. She had declined fishing but said she was happy to ride in the boat and make sure that I didn’t drown. After three hours or so we did a bit of cruising around the lake before calling it a night and heading in.
Laundry waited for us back at camp and without going into detail it was not the perfect end to the perfect day’ but I think we came out ahead. The front of our cabin looked like a laundry with the clothes hanging everywhere.
August 12, 2006
No need to get up early as we were told that the chilly northern nights stop the fish from biting until the sun warms the water. We took advantage and didn’t push the boat into the water until 9AM. We followed Sui’s suggestion and went to a railroad bridge where she said that 2.5 kilo fish were sometime caught. This wasn’t sometime but I did continue to catch the smaller perch. After a while I decided we would try trolling and seeing more of the lake at the same time. I couldn’t keep the lure in the water! Within minutes of starting the motor and letting out the line another fish would hit. These were a little bigger and one or two came in around one kilo. We reached the end of this arm of the lake and it turned into a narrow channel that round its way through the woods. Several small neat cabins dotted the banks. These cabins can only be reached by boat and do not have electricity, but they are well kept and I’m sure a peaceful get-a-way for their owners.
We were back at our cabin around noon and after lunch decided to take the car for some land based exploring. We had read about 5000 year old cave paintings just outside of Dorotea, a town just north of the lake. We were also hoping for a moose sighting as we have heard that there are quite a few in this area. The guide books warn drivers to be watchful for them, but mostly in early and late hours. We ended up driving miles over gravel roads and seeing a lot of country and a few grouse. These are large birds that would sit in the dust of the road. It appeared to us to be a mother and her chicks although the chicks by this time of the year are about ¾ of their mother’s size. They took their time getting off the road and we managed to get some good pictures. We didn’t get to see the cave paintings but did enjoy the drive as this was the first time we have a car to ourselves since Australia.
Back to the cabin where we watched the parade of camping trailers and motor homes come in for the night. It seems that most are heading south and we believe that this means that vacation time is almost over and people are going back to their normal lives.
Even though it’s almost two months since the longest day of the year, it is still light until almost 11PM. We missed the midnight sun by about a month but it gets light between 3 and 4 AM so there is still plenty of daylight should you choose to use it.
posted by Gary and Holly Davis @ 12:33 PM
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