Angling in
April
April is the month when the
first salmon traditionally move up the rivers in Western Jutland
after a long and nourishing stay in the great larder of the North
Atlantic.
They may even have been as far
as the Davis Strait between Greenland and Canada. They may have
been en route for two or three years, which means a few extra
kilos in the luggage by the time they return home!
Silvery seatrout caught
at dusk in saltwater.
© photo: Steen Ulnits
Rivers
These "Easter salmon"
lure salmon fishermen to rivers like the Storå, the Skjernå
and the Varde Å year after year - maybe to a visit to the
classical salmon bends near Borris. However, most of them are
severely disappointed, which is a real confirmation of the meaning
of "April Fools"!
Do not forget the new preservation
of the Skjern Å and the Storå. This means that salmon
fishing cannot commence until the second half of April.
The first May flies of the year
- the fly-fisher's "Large Dark Olives" and the Baëtis
rhodani of the entomologist - typically hatch on warm days in
April. This becomes the first surface meal of the year for the
trout and grayling of the river - the latter in its spawning
season and consequently preserved.
So now is the time to get the
first dry flies out of the fly box. Old steadies that have been
there for years, and which may have been given a touch-up over
a steaming kettle in the kitchen. Or completely fresh ones that
were tied during the long winter evenings. Flies that have fed
the imagination of the dry fly angler, who by now has had to
do without the river for months.
Lakes
April is also the month when
perch, heavy with roe, arrive at the spawning grounds. Here they
spawn in long chains on the water plants, which will later provide
good protection to the young, unless the tenant of the lake wants
to thin out the stock. If so, he may have thrown a number of
rice vases or old Christmas trees into the water and anchored
them there.
The lake perch finds such artificial
spawning grounds absolutely enticing and will immediately spawn
there - almost to order - with the desired result that the tenant
of the lake can then pull the roe-covered rice vases or Christmas
trees out of the water again.
Ocean
The long-billed garfish typically
arrives towards the end of April. The first ones are always the
biggest - about a metre long and as thick as a wrist before the
breeding that will really do something to the weight they gained
during their winter stay in the North Sea. The first catches
are usually reported from the island of Læsø, after
which the fish will spread throughout the Danish waters.
Along the coast, the silvery
sea trout is truly in its element. Those that were breeding in
winter are gradually regaining their lost weight. At any rate,
the water temperature is now so high that the fish can hunt actively
all day. And the water is now full of all kinds of small fry,
crustaceans and bristle worms.
And the sea trout that have spent
the winter in the rivers or the bracken fjords can now move out
to more open and salty water. Here in April there is a massive
movement of sea trout from many closed fjord areas to the open
coastal areas, where the fish will later spread out all through
the summer.
Out here on the open coast they
can stuff themselves with the shoals of sand eel, sprat and herring.
In no time they can grow much bigger than they would have been
able to do in the fjords, where the majority of the feed is made
up of sticklebacks, gobies, shrimps and sand-hoppers.
The coastal waters now have a
temperature that really suits the cod and it can be seen very
close to the shore, where it hunts for its favourite food - crunchy
crabs. The best time for spotting it is the hours just before
and just after sunset.
© Steen Ulnits
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