Fishing in Denmark

Whenever I talk to English anglers, the famous Skanderborg Lake, Silkeborg Lakes, the River Guden and Viborg lakes are all famous with them for past fishing trips in Denmark. Indeed these waters have some of the best Roach and Bream fishing in Europe yet there not fished for by Danes. Why?, well an estimated figure of Coarse anglers in Denmark is about 300 in total whilst the rest fish for Trout,

So, what do anglers need to know about fishing in Denmark if they want to have a go? Well, there are a few things that you should know about licenses etc so here is a guide to preparing your trip.

Licenses

Just like in England, Danish anglers have to purchase a rod licence to fish with a rod and line in Danish rivers and lakes and even sea anglers.

However this does not apply to the popular put and take waters, which in my eyes is the Danish commercial fisheries, except they are filled with Trout instead of Carp.

Licenses are to be purchased by anyone between 18 and 67 and can be bought in a few ways:

12 months from date stamped - price 100,- kroners

1 week from date stamped - price 75,- kroners

One-day license covering the date stamped - price 25,- kroners.

As you can see the prices are fair and prove excellent value considering the quality of the fishing and waters. However, just like the UK, this is NOT a permit and permission in form of a Day ticket or membership is still required to fish a lot of waters.

The license can be purchased from any post office, tourist bureau. Some tackle shops and camping sites sell them but don't count on it!

Closed Season

There is no closed season stopping anglers from fishing; however there are times of the year that you cannot take certain species home to eat. This to most Dane means no fishing for that species as they can't take it home, however Coarse fish species such as Bream, Roach, and Rudd etc are not affected under any closed season. If you catch a fish that currently has a closed season, the fish is to be safely returned to the water as quickly as possible.

There are occasionly some lake owners or clubs which enforce an closed season, but this is no different to what its like in the UK, its completely up to the owner that that water.

Here is the species that have a closed season:

Closed season in salt water and fresh water:

Salmon and trout: 16th November - 15th January

Pike: 1st April - 30th April

Pike-Perch (Zander): 1st May - 31st May

Essential equipment for Coarse fishing in Denmark

I feel this is important to mention as recently I have seen a few people come unprepared with the wrong or too little equipment.

The essential are as follows:

Medium/Heavy feeder rod 12ft or 13ft in length

Good strong, light pole which can be held for long periods and at least number 8 elastics. White hyrdro is perfect!!!!

Reasonably powerful float rod (Carp float rods are ideal)

Good strong reels (3000 or bigger) with at least 4lb reel line for float fishing and 5lb (Min) for feeder fishing. Braid is very good options for feeder fishing as often bites are small movements and the low stretch properties are an advantage.

A platform with legs of about 110 cm in length

Chest waders: although you won’t need to fish right up to the top of your chest waders unless you are fishing some spots like the lakes in Viborg, these will give you the option. Thigh waders are okay too, but not the most ideal.

Big wagglers and slider floats are essential as a lot of lakes here in DK are deep and have a strong undertow.

Feeders and plenty of them just in case you lose them. Remember that DK has only a very small amount of tackle shops that actually sell coarse gear, and the shops that do, charge a small fortune for the limited selection available.

Ground bait: Needn’t be anything special, Breadcrumb is cheap and very good holding bait that will keep large shoals of Bream happy no problem. Buying in bulk is the only option, you should expect to use a minimum of 4 kilo of ground bait per day so bringing at least 2 sacks (One weeks fishing) of breadcrumb per person is the absolute minimum. If you did want to use some other ground baits in your mix, bring ground baits that have a very high feed content and are not too fine. Ideal mixes are Sensas Bream 3000 and Sensas Carp 3000.

Finally a trolley, there are a few lakes that sometimes will require a fair walk to get to the best areas, so an trolley is a great thing to have, so unless you are like Arnie then I would certainly bring one of these along.

The key is not to forget anything, bring everything you have, don’t leave any rods at home or any other equipment. You have paid good money to catch plenty of fish in this wonderful country and it would be a shame to cut corners and forget something!

Finally some safety warnings, you will not need to go further than your knees for most places, Viborg lakes often requires wading up to your chest, but please make sure that the water you are going into is safe and make SLOW CAREFUL steps into the water. Take a bank stick or platform legs with you into the water to determine the depth before you make your next step.

Remember that under no circumstances is catching fish more important than your safety!