River Karup is a long river with marked differences between the upper and the lower course. For convenience, we describe the course of the river as:

• Upper river.
• Middle river.
• Lower river.

Upper River Karup

The upper part of the river is the stretch from the fishfarm at Agerskov down to the town of Karup. Here a series of bends create both a scenic landscape and perfect pools for the sea trout.

The following angler’s associations sell fishing licenses to this part of the river:

• Herning-Ikast angler association.
• Silkeborg angler association.
• AROS angler association
• Viborg angler association.

Middle River Karup

The Middle part of the river’s course is the stretch from the town of Karup and downstream to Hagebro Bridge. Many deep bends and interesting pools await the angler here. Single handed fly rods or short 11-12 feet double handed rods will do the job on this part of the river. There is plenty of fishing room but the closer you get to Hagebro Bridge, the more anglers there will be.

 The following angler’s associations sell fishing licenses to this part of the river:

• Herning-Ikast angler association.
• Aulum-Haderup angler association.
• Sønder-Resen angler consortium.
• The angler association for Skive and surrounding area.
• The angler association of 1926.

Add to this, that several local landowners along River Karup sell fishing licenses to anglers.

River Haderis is an important tributary. The two rivers meet a little upstream of the town of Hagebro. River Haderis is not as big as the River Karup and is thus ideal for fishing with shorter rods. But not lighter tippet material! Make no mistake, as the sea trout in River Haderis are just as big as the ones in River Karup!

The following angler’s associations sell fishing licenses to River Haderis:

• Aulum-Haderup angler association.
• The angler association for Skive and surrounding area.

Lower River Karup

The Lower part of is the stretch from Hagebro Bridge to the river’s outlet in the Skive Fjord. Here, the river is broader than upstream Hagebro Bridge, and there is a little farther between the bends and turns – not least downstream the town of Vridsted. The lower part of the river offers a great variety. Near Hagebro the river’s course is characterized by large, big bends and more straight stretches in-between. Further downstream, and closer to the city of Skive, there are fewer bends. The sea trout don’t seem to care and you can even get a hook-up in the middle of the city of Skive! Down here, the river is so wide that the obvious choice is a two-handed rod. At times, you’ll meet quite a few many anglers on the lower beats, especially in the Hagebro area.

The following angler’s associations sell fishing licenses to this part of the river:

• The angler association for Skive and surrounding area.
• Aulum-Haderup angler association.
• The angler association of 1926.

The map shows some of the bridges on the river. Bridges can be useful in more than one way, as they also serve as distinctive landmarks to orient yourself along the river.
Our River Karup-folder helps you get an overview of all the pools and fishing spots in the river.

As early as the 16th century, disagreements about net fishing rights were recorded and these types of quarrels continued until around 1850.

The first angling associations in the River Karup area were formed at the end of the 19th century. From this early period, we have records of two monster sea trouts. Both were netted in the river – one weighing 16 kilos (35lb), the other fish weighing 17 kilos (38lb).

The rod fishermen also battled with the river’s big fish although it was usually the fish that won. But not always! One summer’s day at the end of July 1939, Mr. Christian Plejdrup hooked a very large and powerful sea trout, and only after a prolonged fight did he finally manage to land what turned out to be a world record.

The sea trout moved in as the ice receded and formed the River Karup valley. In other words, the sea trout’s history goes back more than 10,000 years in time.

That the sea trout still thrive there is not a given thing. Like most rivers in Denmark, and in the rest of the world, the River Karup and its many smaller tributaries have survived against all odds, and throughout most of the 20th century, the river’s stock of sea trout went from poor to terrible. As early as 1918, a hydro power plant was established in the village of Karup. This effectively barred the way for migrating sea trout to reach the spawning beds in the upper reaches of the river system.

In the 1930s, pollution from a potato starch factory destroyed a large part of the spawning grounds, from the village of Karup and 20 kilometers downstream. This and other polluting factories, like an industrial slaughterhouse and an intestinal cleaning factory, were built with complete disregard to wildlife. Though the local anglers struggled to change the tide, it took more than an angler’s patience until things finally changed: The potato starch pollution in the river, for instance, had devastating effects for all life in the river and it continued for nearly 45 years! Stocking of sea trout fry from other rivers were tried as a means to rebuild and strengthen the fish stocks. Later it became clear that this was only a short-term solution. Biologists proved that local strains by far outperform hatchery strains of trout. As a matter of fact, the success of wild trout in surviving and reproducing in the wild is much superior. As a consequence, stocking of young fish changed completely to fry from incubated eggs derived from mature wild sea trout caught within the River system by electro-fishing in the autumn. Today, the population of sea trout in the River Karup is self-sustaining and the stocking of fry has stopped. Over the years, many, many volunteers from the local angler’s associations have worked for countless hours to improve the physical conditions in the river system. In the main river as well as in the tributaries, barriers have been removed: previously, people built dams and stream crossings for roads prevented fish from migrating upstream. Where it had been straightened out, natural bends in the river were restored, its meanders given back and new spawning beds of gravel were established.

Bigger than average fish
The River Karup sea trout stay longer in the sea before returning to spawn compared to most sea trout found in other rivers. Fish tagging has shown that after having left the river as smolts, the majority of the sea trout from the River Karup leave the fjord and migrate to feeding areas as far away as the northern part of the Baltic Sea. This may be part of the explanation for the river’s truly unique type of sea trout which is known for being short, fat, and heavy. Many of the very big sea trout caught in River Karup have returned several times to spawn in the river.

Record sea trout
Denmark's biggest rod caught sea trout weighed 14.4 kilos (31½lbs) and was caught in River Karup by Kristian Plejdrup in 1939. It stood as a world record for decades. Mr. Plejdrup’s majestic fish was stuffed and it is displayed at the Trevad Trout Park Hatchery.

In 1991, a sea trout of 16.3 kilos (almost 36lbs!) measuring 108 centimeters was found dead in the River Karup. This giant fish had left the river as a smolt when it was two years old. It had spawned once prior to its final run up the river and had spent a total of 6-7 years in the sea.