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In this part of the series on different coastal conditions, we look at a common situation: water clear as gin and maybe even calm as a mirror. Not the easiest of fishing conditions, but adapting gear and flies to the situation helps.

A great looking and very catchy Danish sea trout fly, useful all year round in spite of the name.

Fishing Baltic sea trout in the surface with waking foam flies can be a lot of fun. Here’s how to do it – and a pattern that works.

In principle there's free and unlimited access to all coasts in Denmark. That's what the law says. But in many places reality is different.

A small gallery of images from November and December on the Baltic coast, showing the ambiance during these last months of the year

I just returned from a week-long fishing trip with my wife and a bunch of good friends – and I didn’t make a single cast.

This is a report from a productive early morning coastal trip in Denmark. I was forced to get up early to be able to be home in time to watch Formula 1 on TV

This is a 10 year old trip report that I happened to read again and decided to make into a small article.

It has been brought to my attention that my post about not postponing your fishing trips has caused a bit of friction in some relationships. I need to set a few things straight.

The Baltic garfish or needlefish appears in colossal numbers each spring and is a great joy to target with a fly - and a delicacy to eat.

The spring gallery this year is a simple collection of pictures of Danish coastlines. It might be simple, but the variation is amazing and almost endless.

Just a week ago my good friend Jens caught what can rightfully be called the fish of a lifetime. Here's the story - and the fly that did it.

For many years I went sea trout fishing on the Danish island Bornholm every spring with a group of friends. It's a great place to fish.

As the summer progresses and the days get brighter and the water gets warmer, Baltic sea trout fishing becomes a nighttime activity.

This was one of those fish that staid glued to my inner eye for a long time. The largest pike I ever caught gave up a very good and pretty harrowing fight.

This particular fishing trip was ignited by a photo. Or actually by a handful of photos.

I usually don't take much pride in catching kelts, but ... they are fun to catch!

This is about a steelhead - a sea run rainbow trout

Due to health reasons my fishing has been severely on the backburner for some years. Inability to walk far, wade, fatigue and general lack of energy has reduced my annual fishing days from 70, 80 and even 90 to maybe 5-10, which includes longer trips together with friends.

Before I was ill, I'd go on any hunch several times a week, and if the family situation and weather permitted it, I'd generally be on my way out.

Scientific reports about fish and environment might not seem to be the most exciting to us anglers, but the work done by scientists is extremely important in keeping and eye on and improving our fishing waters.

Yesterday I went and saw a preview of the new videos on coastal sea trout fishing by Danish Niels Vestergaard, and they are pretty exiting to put it mildly

I've had a dog for close to ten years now, and he has been with me on almost every single fishing trip I've been on since I got him.

When the water reaches a comfortable temperature to go swimming, fishing gets slower. However, some species like the tropical feel and may surprice you now and then. Tie some small gammarus and dry beetles and get out in the calm August evenings.

The coming week I will be off fishing a bit. This year's first trip for me. My fishing sure isn`t what it used to be.

Things have been different the last couple of years. September and October used to be some of my busiest fishing months. Not so any more...

I have no idea whether oarless is a word, but being on a week long fishing trip, depending on a pontoon boat and having no oars sucks!

This book has been underway for more than 6 months, and I have worked on and off on it for a long time.

It has become almost a tradition for Martin to do a small gallery of images from the different seasons in his own fishing, especially the spring, and this year he has done it again in keeping with this tradition.

A set of very good Danish DVD's have been translated into English.

I'll be leaving for the first real spring fishing tomorrow - four days on German Rügen

The follow up to the "Early Morning" pocasts - with evening and morning fishing and an extra fishing day thrown in.

A beautiful but cold day in February.

I managed to squeeze in one more trip before 2008

A good angler has patience

A few thoughts about killing fish - or letting them live...

Anticipation and disappointment is a part of fishing - looking forward to the catch that never comes

A bit about the flies that we use for fishing for sea run browns in the salt

I managed to get my hands on a new recorder and immediately made the first podcast in months

Now here's something which you don't see that often: fishing for roosterfish from the beach. No boat, no guide, no poling. Just a sand buggy, some rods and a couple of crazy guys literally running up and down the Baja Mexico in the pursuit of some grande roosterfish - like in big.

That's why it's called fishing and not catching

Ways to fight the cold and ways to catch fish in freezing water

How to avoid getting wet when you fall.

How to avoid stepping on each other's toes when fishing

The long beaked fighter

The sound of catching a large sea trout

A bit about wading, wading boots, wading staffs -- and what to do when you fall

Join GFF partner Martin Joergensen on the Danish coast on a cold January day

Pike in the salt is something else

This year has started off very promising on the Danish coast

Always remember that January can surprise!

No doubt that Ed Mitchell is an authority on coastal fishing. Judging from his book titles alone makes him one of the top experts on the subject.

His 2002 title "Fly Rodding the Coast" is a large volume on the art of fishing from the shoreline. It covers close to all aspects of this type of fishing with the limitations that is forced by the fact that he concentrates on US shores and striped bass.

Mad dogs and Englishmen go fishing in Denmark in October

Ken Hanley has done it again - and beat himself at it: made a book about the less traditional fly fishing in the salt. Compared to his previous Fly Fishing Afoot in the Surf Zone, this book has a lot more volume and a lot more content. Built along the same lines: instructive, insightful and well written, the new title manages to get around more types of fly fishing for traditional as well as almost unknown species.

Archive of reports, AKA /blog/earlier.htm

Few trout... and many

I've been fishing quite a lot for sea trout lately. I've had a couple of weekends almost fully dedicated for fishing and a few odd days on top of that. Most of these trips have been succesful and only a few of them have been totally blank. Generally the fish are small - less that 2 lbs. - but on the other hand there have been many at times.

Trout!

So it happened... I have just been browsing the earlier reports in this section, and have read my own stories about the miserable trout fishing the last two years. It seems that things have taken a turn to the better at last.
The fish have been taking flies consistently. They are not big. The largest in the company of friends I fish with being a 4.5 kilo fish. Most have been less than 1 kilo, but on the other hand: there has been many.

Spring at last!

This spring has brought some hope for a season that will look like a normal one. Both 1996 and 1997 have been more than dissapointing to most sea trout fishers. i've had great days and great fun with both garfish and cod, but there are people who go for sea trout only, and they will probably have e good time this spring.
My own outings have been fine until now. We've had trips with more than 20 sea trout per man - not big ones, but still.

Many small fish

The autumn still seems to hold strong. Lots of reports are coming in, and there seems to be at least the normal abundance of sea trout - if not more.
The spin fishers seem to be loosing luck compared to fly fishers - either on a fly rod or on a bubble float.
The fish seem to be fairly small, though. Many reports mentions dozens of smaller fish in the 30-35 centimeters range. These will probably be very good fish in the spring, if they survive the winter.

The trout have returned

After a terrible 1996, a dissapointing spring this year and an extremely hot summer, it seems that the sea trout are now returning to the Danish coasts.
There are consistent reports from all our coasts and both fly and spin fishers are catching fish in a respectable number and in good sizes too.

Sea trout and garfish

Spring is reluctant to take over completely, and the weather is still somewhat cold and windy. But the season has taken speed, and there are frequent reports of sea trout. The garfish have certainly arrived - to an extent where most fishers actually are tired of them. They can still be great fun though. Fish them on a light rod and small flies.

A normal season

Everything indicates that this season will be far better than the last one - which was catastrophic.
The spring fishing has been moderately good until now, but it seems that there's a fairly good day time fishing right now. I hear regular reports of good catches - unfortunately I haven't participated myself - too little time and too much to do... you know the story.

The sea trout season has started...

...and then again hasn't. The Bonanza from last year hasn't really repeated, and the fishing in the well known fjord areas is not as excellent as some Danish fishing media want us to think.
This particular kind of spring fishing takes place almost each spring in the deepest parts of the fjords where the sea trout have been tucking away during the coldest part of the winter.

The ice is gone...

After a couple of long months - November and December - with very nice but very cold weather - it seems to be back to the usual Danish winter: dark, moist, not really cold but certainly not warm either.
This means that the ice on the open coasts has gone, but that the fjords are still somewhat covered. The fishing is still slow, even though sporadic stories about good winter days are heard.

A couple of questions from Germany

I recieved an e-mail today and will let that be the first 'Right now' section for a long time:

The first autumn storm

The first autumn storm is sweeping the nation. High velocity winds, rising water and falling leaves mark the move from kind indian summer to rough autumn.
Normally this weather will stimulate fishing. While fishing is almost impossible while it's storming, the storm will leave the water stirred, freshly oxygenated and with lots of life and activity. A classical advice has always been: fish just before or after a storm.

Water is warming up fast

It is a strange spring

There's still no trout worth mentioning in sight. Amazing! We will soon be half way through the year and the days will be getting shorter, and noone I know has experienced any spring fishing worth mentioning.

The garfish are here

Well, the header says it all. As usual in late April and early May, the Danish seas are invaded by garfish. i haven't had any myself, but I had a few very garfish like strikes this weekend - garfish are notoriously hard to hook on large hooks like sea trout flies or lures - and I know people who have caught their first garfish already.

Fish early and late

This has been a strange spring. All March was icy and cold, and the usual daytime fishing was almost non-existent. The spring broke with a bang, and fishing exploded yielding dozens and dozens of fish the the fishers on the right spot at the right time. That lasted for one week or so, and the all the suddenly it was over. The best spots in the fjords were overrun by people, and a good time was had by most.

Winter pictures are from the island of Als.

We at GFF wish that more people made books like this: small and affordable and right on the target. Ken Hanley's small classic has been reprinted

The fish in the Danish sea are in no way endangered by rodfishers. Nets are another story, though, but still fish are abundant, and therefore we Danes almost always bring home fish. Small fish are illegal to catch, but many fishermen release a lot of their catch. But no-kill and pure C&R is not common on the Danish shores.

There are laws and written rules, but for the benefit of all of us, there are some unwritten common sense and social rules too:

The bottom is a main factor in the ocean. We have no trees, no meandering, no overhanging banks (almost none at least). The water covers it all and above that... the sky.

The bottom is like the beach. This is not always true, but generally the beach can be used to judge the bottom below the surface.

Fish are where they feel good. That is where one or several factors are present: food, shelter, optimum water conditions, other fish ...and more.

This should actually be rule number 4, but it's still a bit too vague to be so. It is based on my own and a lot of other fishers experiences, but still... Fishing is best when water is going out - and please notice, that this doesn't only refer to tidal movement.

There are laws in Denmark too, and some of the deal with fishing. The most important ones are these

A few tips of efficiently covering the water when fishing for Baltic sea trout

Denmark is a small country; the size of Pensylvania, and can by no means be compared to the other and far larger Scandinavian countries; Norway, Sweden, Finland and Iceland.

Certain spots provide many positive factors for the fish: exposed coast with mixed bottom, sand and weed covered stones. Variation, shelter and food is here in plenty.