The river of gaint sea trout - Terkel Broe Christensen The River Karup

The River of the Giant Sea Trout: The River Karup

Terkel Broe Christensen

Denmark’s River Karup is probably one of the best fishing waters for trophy sea trout. In the world! Sea trout weighing more than 10 kilos (22 lb) are not common anywhere in the world. Not even on the River Karup. All the same, this river offers the chance of hooking large ‘specimen’ fish of that calibre. The river is definitely also worth a visit if sea trout in the 4-8 kilos (8-17 lb) range are enough to fulfil your wildest fishing dreams.

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The River Karup meanders, free-flowing and undammed, nearly 80 kilometres through some of Denmark’s most beautiful and unspoilt countryside. Its valley has been protected since the 1960s to prevent any harmful exploitation.

In other words, this is an idyllic place. It is when you take a closer look at the river’s stock of sea trout that your pulse really begins to race: the average weight is a stunning 4 kilos (8 lb), and every year quite a It was in this river that a local angler had his wildest fishing dreams come true, nearly 100 years ago. The fish he hooked and ultimately landed turned out to be a monster and an all-time record for sea trout caught in Denmark. Weighing in at 14.4 kilos (31 lb), this mighty fish beat the world record at the time it was caught back in 1929.

Although the angling season opens on March 1, it is not until April-May that the first sea trout start their migration up the river. This early in the season, the fish are few and far between, making it a challenge to hook an early ‘springer’.

From about June 1, there will be fish on most beats, on both the lower and upper sections of the river. The sea trout continue to run during summer and autumn until the season ends on October 31.

The key to success

The River Karup has a reputation as a difficult place to lure sea. Numerous factors have to be in place to do so. Having the right tackle, obviously, is one of them. Most important, though, is knowing the river well. Visiting anglers will soon realise that ‘river craft’ is so much more important here than in most other rivers. This is because most sea trout fishing takes place in the evening, at night and in the early morning. In other words, you’ll be out there fishing for big fish in pitch darkness.

Even with the right gear and a good knowledge of the river, you must be prepared to invest a lot of hours. Not because there’s a shortage of sea trout, but because these fish are so difficult to outwit.

During a normal season, anglers land some 6 to 9 tonnes of sea trout in the river. This number translates into somewhere between 1,500 and 2,250 fish.

Although you are allowed to kill sea trout you catch in River Karup, an increasing number of anglers are practising catch & release: today, about one in three sea trout landed in the river are released.

In the darkness

The best fishing is done at night because sea trout migrate under cover of darkness and early in the morning. You will typically start fishing just before the sun goes down and continue into the dark.

Quite often you will witness how the river comes alive as a huge fish passes, creating an impressive bulge in the water.

During the day, the fish hide away under the banks and in the deeper parts of the pools. As the light begins to fade after sunset, the fish become alert and active. Some trout will migrate further upstream whilst stationary fish move to the middle of the river and become particularly aware of what is moving near the surface of the water.

What really sets night fishing for sea trout apart, are the wake flies used. Most anglers use black or dark-coloured tube flies to achieve maximum contrast against the surface.

These semi-buoyant flies wobble in a lifelike way across the surface, causing a big wake so attractive to this species.

To get the most out of night-time fishing, you should take the time to familiarize yourself with the location that you’re fishing while it’s still daylight. It’s much easier to fish a place you know well than one that is unfamiliar to you. Make a note of the obstacles that might get in your way, perhaps even sketch a map.

Pharyngeal teeth of a grass carp

Another important thing to remember is that you’ll have to turn out day and night and start living an inverted fish-at-night, sleep-by-day routine.

Fishing for information

As most anglers will know, fishing for information is one of the best ways to shorten your learning curve. In line with this, I cast my line and hooked up with one of the local sea trout experts, Kenneth Nielsen, who knows all about fishing the River Karup.

During a normal season, Kenneth will be ‘on the beat’ for up to 50 days or nights in his search for the river’s silver bars.

I asked Kenneth if there were any hints and shortcuts he might have for night time sea trout anglers.

Robust gear

“One key to successful night fishing is to simplify your gear, although it must be robust enough to cope with any large sea trout in the river. You will be penalised for fishing with equipment that is too flimsy. Your leader must be at least 0.35-0.40 millimetres, otherwise it

will be no match for these strong fish.” Kenneth explains and continues:

“My line is a floater and I use a 10-foot single-handed fly rod or a short double-

handed rod".

Short shooting heads

The choice of floating fly line is worth a few thoughts, Kenneth explains:

“On a narrow and deep river like this, it can be advantageous to use an ultra-short shooting head. My favourite, a Zhort Zhooter from Zpey, measures only 6.6 metres and is designed by local fishermen for this type of fishing".

In the autumn, when the water is colder, it can be worthwhile to fish the fly slightly deeper. There is a simple way to do so without having to change to a sinking line, Kenneth says:

“I use a sinking poly-leader, sinking speed 3, which I connect to my floating line. This setup is also worth trying in the period after the weed in the river has been cut".

Make the fly swim

After casting his line downstream at close to a 45-degree angle, Kenneth lets the fly sink for half a second and then accelerates it:

“I’m convinced that the sea trout’s feeding response is triggered by a fly moving surprisingly and at good speed. To achieve this, I raise the rod after the initial pause and retrieve a metre of line to make the fly accelerate.

After the initial ‘sprint’, it is mainly left to the current to make the fly swing towards his own bank, though Kenneth will sometimes retrieve his line with a slow figure-of-eight. Then, as the fly nears the end of its drift, I slowly lift the rod in order to make the fly move attractively, right into the undercut bank.

No false casting

across the river, it is time for a new cast. This is when a short shooting head turns out to be an advantage:

“It’s piece of cake to lift a short shooting head free of the water and to make a new cast without any false casting, which is important.

Just think what a fly line will do when it is whipped back and forth in the air just above the lie of a big a wary sea trout – with disturbing water droplets “raining” down from the line onto the water…

Cover the lies slowly

According to Kenneth, another key to success is the speed at which you move:

“I often see anglers moving forward with two metres between each cast. The problem is that if you cover the water that fast there is a risk that the sea trout will only see the fly once or not see it at all".

“Experience has taught me that the fish are teased by flies that repeatedly sweep over their lie.

So when fishing at night, it’s better to take it easy than try to hustle all over the place. Nevertheless, Kenneth does acknowledge appropriate when fishing early in the season:

“In April and May, when there are not many fish around, it is important to cover a lot of water. But as soon as I spot a fish, or when I know that there are fish in a certain place, I invariably slow down to half a metre at most between each cast.

“I would like to stress the importance of moving cautiously, walking softly and that two metres between each cast can be

avoiding making noises that can spook the fish,” says Kenneth before concluding with a warning about the use of light at night:

“Using a flashlight, or even the glow of a cigarette, can ruin your chances of catching a fish. And I can guarantee you, that even though you may not understand a word of Danish, you will have no difficulty understanding the shouts coming from upstream or downstream if you forget this and flash a torch about along the river!"

The average size of the fish is impressive in the River Karup. This sublime summer sea trout, caught by Kenneth Nielsen, weighed 7.3 kilos (16 lb).

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Sea trout during the day Night owls and early birds

The pursuit of sea trout is not restricted to morning hours are the favoured time of day

the twilight hours, it can continue during the day: with stealth and good presentation you can catch sea trout in even the brightest sunlight.

Though catching sea trout during the day is considered very challenging, anglers fishing during daylight have demonstrated year after year that doing so can be most rewarding.

For the fly fisher, the only difference when it comes to tackle is that the fly has to be presented deeper – be that with a fully sinking line or a sinking poly-leader in

In the early morning hours, when ‘night owl’ sea trout fly-fishermen head home after a night’s concentrated effort, they’ll often meet ‘early birds’, because the quiet early combination with a floating line.

for some anglers. Morning is a peaceful time of day, as midnight blue slowly turns to lighter blue before the sun finally rises.

A local daytime expert

Allan Bells is one of the local anglers who fishes during the day. He starts fishing around 5 o’clock in the morning and continues for three or four hours.

I asked Allan how his strategies differ from those that apply when fishing at night:

“First of all, I use a sinking line, sink rate 3, in order to present the fly temptingly close to the sea trout,” Allan explains and continues:

“The fish I target are the morning fish that haven’t yet returned to their daytime shelter in the deepest holes and under the banks. lb). spawning run. that magic 10 kilo (22 lb) limit.

Book a fishing guide

Danish, English and German:

These can be tempted by a fly provided you don’t spook them.”

Allan will usually call it a day around 9 or 10 o’clock in the morning but not always:

“Some days fish are active until 12 midday, and under those favourable circumstances, I

Many anglers wonder why the River Karup is home to so many and such big fish. The answer lies in the fishes’ genes. In this river, a larger percentage than normal have a genetic predisposition for staying longer at sea before returning to spawn.

In any sea trout fishery, a code in the genes determines when the fish will become sexually mature. In most rivers, fish return to spawn after only 1 or 2 years at sea. Such fish will measure anything between 30 and 60 centimetres and weigh up to about 2.5 kilos (5.5

In the River Karup, a large percentage of the sea trout are genetically programmed to stay 3 or 4 years at sea before their

The ocean can be compared to a vast pantry, and it is the extra year or two spent here that makes the big difference. A sea trout returning after four years in the ocean will measure anything from 60 to 110 centimetres. It is in this group you’ll find the ones that exceed

Remember that on the River Karup most fishing is done in pitch darkness. Having a guide by your side, you will not only learn where and how to cast your fly. You will also avoid stumbling into that water-filled ditch you weren’t aware of!

You can book your local angling guide at the Riverfisher website. Here you will also find plenty of interesting fishing tips and info on buying day tickets and how to become a member of one of the local angler’s associations. All the information is presented in both will keep fishing for another couple of hours,”

A day ticket costs DKK 150-200 (EUR 20-27) and can be purchased at the grocery store in the town of Hagebro.

Or buy your ticket on the internet at: www.danskfiskekort.dk

If you plan to fish for several days, you can save money by joining one of the local angler’s associations. Find a list of the angler’s associations here:

www.karupaa.dk www.riverfisher.dk

In addition to day tickets, anglers must purchase a national fishing licence:

www.fisketegn.dk

Accommodation

The following suggested accommodations are accustomed to welcoming anglers and their owners possess considerable knowledge of the river and its fishing:

Camping • Hessellund Camping

Bed & Breakfast • Torp Annexe • Højbo Pension

Self catering