Estonia: Wild Brown Trout of the Baltics

Estonian nature is unspoilt and diverse; deep forests, picturesque lakes and rivers are just some of its abundant treasures. Estonia comprises an area of 45,215 km²—almost as large as Denmark and the Netherlands, but with a population of less than a 1.4 million. The small population density has enabled the country to preserve the natural environment better than in the densely populated Western European areas.

By Vahur Mae

Estonia is known for its beautiful Nordic nature, for Tallinn’s medieval old-town or, perhaps, as the country where Skype was invented. But few people are aware that Estonia is home to numerous beautiful, clean, and undisturbed rivers with wild, endemic brown trout and grayling.

It takes only an hour’s drive from the centre of the capital, Tallinn, to get to some of the best fishing waters; small, hidden-away gems where you will find wild brown trout, bear trails, and rarely see any other fishermen. This is one of the most unique aspects of Estonia: The fact that wild nature and beautiful rivers with a trophy trout are just a short drive from the biggest towns. Overall, you can find brown trout in more than one hundred Estonian rivers, and in most of them, the trout are wild – and submitted to very limited fishing pressure.

Because Estonia’s trout rivers flow through the wildest parts of the country, it’s very common to spot a moose, beaver, or roe deer while fishing. Even if you don’t see the animal itself, you can find moose droppings, beaver-chewed logs, and even fresh bear trails, which are all tell-tale signs of a wild and healthy environment.

Estonia isn’t a widely known fly fishing destination yet, but every year more travelling fly fisherman visits the country. Still, due to the multiplicity of rivers to choose from, you rarely meet other fisherman while fishing.

The Rivers

By European standards, Estonian rivers are small to mid-sized. Although the landscape across Estonia is relatively flat, there are beautiful, fast-running rapids that flow through virgin coniferous forests, which are often referred to as an extension of the Siberian taiga in Estonia. The fast-running stretches hold a good amount of fish, but the biggest trout tend to be in the slower and deeper stretches of these rivers. Therefore, the typical fishing water is slow- to medium-flowing chalk streams surrounded by meadows, old forests, and marshes. Generally speaking, Estonia has suitable water for most fly fisherman; whatever their particular tastes and fancies.

There are spots with easy access – spots within walking range from a parked car, where you don’t need to cover more than a few hundred meters to have a good and productive fly fishing session. However, there are also plenty of spots for the adventures fly fisherman who likes to hike for hours in order to get to wild and untouched rivers, or for those who like to push further upstream for days without seeing any signs of civilization.

What to catch?

Estonian rivers are home to wild brown trout and grayling. Estonian brown trout are generally very healthy, fat and with beautiful patterns and colourations. They are strong fighters and can be rather selective at times. The average size of our brown trout is between 35 - 40 cm.

Although brown trout and grayling are typically what interest visiting fishermen the most, Estonia also has good seatrout- and salmon runs

A good-sized brown trout in Estonia is around 50 – 55 cm. Although catching fish in this size range can be challenging, it isn’t uncommon at all, and from time to time even bigger fish are caught. A trophy-sized Estonian brown trout in is somewhere between 55 and 65 cm. Trout that big aren’t rare, but catching them requires skills, timing, and a bit of that good-old quintessential luck.

Grayling are present only in a handful of rivers, but in these particular rivers, they are thriving. They thrive to the point where they compete with the brown trout over both habitat and food – and in certain rivers the average size of the grayling is even bigger than that of the average brown trout. They often range in size from 35 to 40 cm, but 45 cm+ grayling are actually rather common. You can even find grayling up to 50 cm.

Although brown trout and grayling are typically what interest visiting fishermen the most, Estonia also has good seatrout- and salmon runs. The stocks of salmon and seatrout are growing and improving every year, but it is rather hard to plan a fishing trip for these two species nowadays.

It’s down to the saddening fact that our weather is becoming more and more unpredictable, and because both our salmon and seatrout tend to migrate into our rivers only when the water is both high and suitably cold. In recent years, with the increased instability of the local weather, suitable migratory conditions could arrive as early as September or as late as November.

The Fishing season

The peak season begins in May. At this time of year, the waters flows are steady, the lush meadows and forests are in bloom, the weather is warm, and both brown trout and grayling feed actively.

The highlight is when the mayflies hatch, which – despite their name, is typically in early June. This is the most eagerly awaited period of the season.

Different species of mayflies hatch throughout the season, but what Estonian fly fishermen refer to as THE mayfly hatch, is when the biggest mayfly, the Danica, is hatching. The mayfly hatches in Estonia are very intense and the biggest trout are typically caught during this time.

The mayfly hatch triggers behaviour in the local trout and grayling that sets the standard for the rest of the summer. Prior to June, the trout and grayling mostly feed underwater but as soon as the first mayflies hatch, the rivers come alive. And even after the mayfly hatch is over – right till the end of summer, the fish will continue to look towards the surface.

July and August are the warmest months and offer the most stable weather. These months are the most convenient for fly fishers and they offer exceptional fishing. The small- to mid-sized trout are very active in the rapids where they feed on smaller mayflies that hatch all throughout the summer.

The big fish will be holding in the deeper stretches and pockets, and surprisingly often they are ready to rise to a juicy terrestrial. Their most active feeding period, however, starts in the late evening when the large caddis flies are hatching. And the always the chance of catching a big fish in the last light of day. The great fishing continues until mid-September when the trout season ends.

The biggest brown trout caught in Estonia weighed 6,3 kilos. It was caught in one of the country’s small spring creeks

Where to fish in Estonia

You can find trout rivers and streams all over Estonia, but the best rivers are mostly located in the middle of Estonia and along the north coast. The rivers are rather different in these two regions. The middle-Estonia rivers are spring creeks with extremely clear water. Most of these are chalk stream-type waters where the current is fairly slow, and the water is deep. These rivers mostly flow through meadows and wetlands and support a thriving insect life that again sustains trophy-sized brown trout. The biggest brown trout caught in Estonia weighed 6,3 kilos. It was caught in one of these small spring creeks.

Catching a brown trout in one of Estonia’s small creeks and rivers isn’t exactly easy. There is very little current, the water is extremely clear, and the trout are wary and selective. These small rivers will truly test a fly fisherman’s skills and careful stalking and perfect presentations are required in order to achieve success.

When you succeed, however, and get a bite, you will be in for a fight to remember. These wild and large fish don’t give up easily – and playing them at close range in secluded, overgrown rivers is a remarkable experience. The north-Estonian rivers offer more variety. The upper parts of these rivers offer similar conditions to those in central-Estonia, but the middle and lower stretches feature beautiful and wide rapids and meandering courses through large coniferous forests. Besides brown trout, these rivers also boast grayling and autumn-runs of Atlantic salmon.

Come Fish Estonia

Most Estonian fly fisherman like to keep their fishing spots secret and because of it, it’s almost impossible to find any local fly fishing destination information online. The reason for that is that the rivers are rather small and they don’t handle crowds to well.

It also has to do with the fact that Estonians, by nature, generally like to spend their time outdoors in solitude rather than bumping into other people. However, like mentioned before, Estonia offers plenty of elbow room and lots of beautiful and rather untouched wilderness and no matter how private the locals might be, they’re also very friendly and inviting.

So do not hesitate to plan in some fishing if you ever touch base in Estonia. Or how about planning a trip with the sole purpose of fly fishing for trout and grayling – you won’t be disappointed!

To get to the best rivers as a visiting DIY-fly fisherman, you need to have plenty of time for exploring. Another solution would be to hire an experienced fly fishing guide who knows all the secret spots. The most experienced fly fishing guide in Estonia is Vahur Mäe who represents the fly fishing tour operator called Estfly -

www.estfly.com