Fly fishing in river Karup

Spring is the time of year when I start longing for those mild summer evenings spent along the River Karup.

I have spent some of my time during the winter months cleaning my rod and reel, lubricating my fly lines and making a few other preparations for the upcoming season, such as filling my fly boxes with newly tied flies. I have also been keeping an eye on YouTube for each and every new video about the river.

To me, March 1st is a very special day as it marks the start of the River Karup fishing season. Although I do look forward to the fishing, it actually takes second place on this, the first day of the season. That is because the bright fish haven’t entered the river yet. Going down to the river on the day the season opens is more about traditions and meeting my angling friends, many of whom I won’t have seen since last season. The first bright sea trout are usually caught in early May, although hook-ups with sea trout fresh from the sea might happen as early as in late April. At this time of year, the sea trout’s favourite holding lies are in the river bends. Trying to find and hook one of the forerunners isn’t for the faint of heart. Since the fish are so few and far between, my tactic is to fish my way downstream relatively quickly and not to concentrate entirely on the bends. The whole idea of this rather targeted approach is to cover as much ‘promising’ water as possible. In April and May, most of the fishing for the fabled May jumper is done during the day and most anglers chose to fish with a spinner, wobbler, spoon or worm. That said, however, a well-presented fly can also do the trick in the spring.

As the days get lighter and warmer, and the first reports circulate of May jumpers being caught in the river, more anglers find their way to the river. Fly fishing is my favoured method in River Karup. I use a 10-foot single handed rod and an intermediate line weighing 16-18 grams. It can either be a shooting head or a weight forward fly line with a short, compact head of approximately 7-7.5 meters. The advantage of the weight forward tapered line is that it is a one-piece design with a smooth, integrated transition from the shooting line to the weight forward head. A shooting head, on the other hand, is attached using a loop-to-loop connection that tends to be a bit annoying when running in and out of the top ring during fights with heavy fish. You can use a 10-foot fly rod wherever you may be fishing on the River Karup – on the upper and lower beats alike. Fish your fly actively Most of the time, I fish my fly actively, constantly giving the fly movement and speed. The easiest way to do this is with a single-handed rod. Due to the scarcity of the coveted first sea trout of the season, fishing actively will increase your chances of finding one because you will cover more water than if you use a more traditional one cast one step approach. For me, this active approach has resulted in quite a few memorable moments – with fish hooked or at least raised to the fly.