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
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
Reasonably powerful float rod (Carp float rods are ideal)
Good strong reels 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!
The River Guden [Jutland}
The River Guden is Denmark's longest river, boasting 145km in length. Its a fast flowing river with various depths and enters various lakes and streams across Jutland and finally the sea at the city Rander's which is about 30km north-east of Aarhus.
Various stretches along the river are membership, day ticket, free or completely private. If you want to fish somewhere you are not too sure of, ask the nearest tackle shop, or even a farm owner. Most will be very happy to point you into "safe" zones.
The stretch in Rander's is a fast flowing tidal, with MASSES of fish. The only fishing pressure that this river gets from the Danish is for Perch, trout and Salmon. There is also a good head of Pike and Zander for the keen predator angler, or an angler just stalking with a few lures.
For the typical English angler its a Roach paradise. There are plenty of PRIME Roach with the small chance of a few Bream, but don’t go there for the Bream fishing!
One of the best areas in Randers for the Roach is the grassy area next to the Regnskov (Rain forest) domes.
Tactics at the Guden (Randers stretch)
The
river is a FAST flowing river, so heavy pole floats! You should not really
attack this stretch of the river with anything less than 4gm river floats when
its slower, and when its really tugging through at least 6 to 8gms floats. The
fish are not generally line or hook shy, in fact I have had non-stop PRIME Roach
bagging on 4lb straight through with a 14 hook and double sweet corn. There is
no need for 0.06mm hook lengths here, in fact no hook length is really needed,
unless it’s really tough and the fish aren't having any of it.
Feeder fishing is tough here and requires tough gear. A medium/heavy feeder rod and heavy feeders are essential if you want to hold bottom. Don't be reluctant to use 40gram+ cage feeders. To be in with a chance of the Bream just keep the feeder going in one place and wait. It may take a few hours, but you should end up with a nice sack full if you are patient. Note: There are better areas of the Guden (closer to Silkeborg) for Bream fishing. Reel lines, 6lb - 8lb braid, its thin diameter can be used to your advantage as there will be less pull on the line. Failing that, use hi tech mono line, 5lb line should be suffice.
Tip: As with all feeder fishing in fast flowing rivers, keep the rod tip high.
Skanderborg Lille Sø (Skanderborg Little Lake)
This fairly shallow lake is connected to the main Skanderborg Lake and holds massive amounts of Bream in the weeks approaching there spawning weeks and shortly after. The fact that they are spawning does not seem to put the fish off feeding. Regular bags of 150lb+ of Bream are a reality during the warm months of the year with some 200lb+ weights also being boasted by some anglers. About mid June is when most of the fish move out into the main lake so after this time the fishing becomes much harder. It’s always worth fishing, but expects it to make you think as the small amount of fish in there will be hard to catch.
Tactics at Little Lake
Top tactics in late April until mid June is 5 to 8 meter pole or whip fishing to hand with float of about 1gm minimum in calm conditions. Do not be afraid to go up to 2 or even 3gm if the wind is strong. Elastics on your poles should be strong but not barbaric, a number 8, 10 or 12 set fairly tight is ideal. I have also been experimenting with power gum but as yet see no reason to suggest this. You can fish straight through to the mainline but I personally prefer the safety of a hook length. Main lines should be no less than 0.14mm up to .20mm, with hook lengths (if you have one) ranging from 0.09mm if the fish are finicky to 0.12 or as heavy as 0.19mm if the fish are really having a good feed and are confident. Hook sizes is difficult for me to tell you about but don’t go lower then a size 14 as lower than this will result in a lot of hook pulls and missed bites. If the fish are not afraid then try using a size 8 or 10. I personally like barb less hooks even though there is no ban on barbed hooks here in DK waters. These allow for better hook hold and as long as you keep the line tight at all times, the fish losses will be absolutely minimum with the easy unhooking of the fish.
There
is a lot of overhanging trees on most of the swims, fishing the waggler will be
difficult unless you can get into the water a meter or so. Depth is generally
about 4 to 5ft 5meters out with it going a little deeper further out.
Feeder fishing is also a winning tactic with huge catches of Bream being caught if they are not close in. Generally casting about 25 meters is all that is needed to get onto the fish. Casting further than this out in little lake you will find that there is a lot of "rubbish" on the bottom such as old leafs etc. Remember one important thing, striking when using the pole should be strong and positive otherwise you will miss a lot of bites.
If you do not have a pole, there is no reason to feel left out, you can easily fish a 13ft or 14ft match rod with a medium size waggler a meter or so beyond the tip. An ideal pattern of waggler is the Drennan loaded crystal waggler. Even though you are not casting far out, don't be fooled into using a float that is too light, its important to get the bait down as quick as possible and to keep it as still as possible - especially when the fish are not so positive feeding.
Pre-baiting is not generally necessary. Try it if you want too, but make sure you get there the next day early (4am or 5 am) otherwise your swim will be taken!
Bait at Little Lake
Sweet corn is very cheap and very effective hook bait in most Danish waters, but like in the UK the fish do want a change. Ground bait need only be plain breadcrumb, and as a general rule do NOT over feed to begin with. I have seen so many people throw in 2 or 3 kg of ground bait in the first hour and a couple of tins sweet corn and the fish have fed and gone.
I find the best initial feed is 3 Tennis ball sized balls and about 20 pieces of corn. Wait until the fish move in on the bait (This is normally very quickly) and when you start getting fish/bites throw in a golf ball sized ball of ground bait after every fish/bait change together with a few grains of sweet corn. If there are a few more anglers around, then maybe double this, but do NOT over do it as this will kill the swim quickly. Hemp is also a good alternative or even betters an addition to ground bait.
If the fishing slows up on sweet corn change to a worm or maggots and this will normally buy you more bites. But be warned, if you do not keep the feed going in when they arrive, they will move on.
For the groundbait tarts
If you are one of those that INSIST on using continental ground baits to give breadcrumb an edge then you could try the following recipe,
50% Brown crumb
50%
Sensas Bream 3000
Small amount of VDE Brasen or vanilla flavouring
Sensas Aromix Bream mixed into mixing water
Black colouring to mix in AFTER you have wet the groundbait, this I have found makes the fish more confident in feeding instead of a brown patch on a dark bottom.
Top Tip: Groundbait should not be of the fine consistencies used in England. They need to be coarse and of high feed value to keep the fish happy here! It’s important to make sure your groundbait gets down to the bottom quickly. Adding PV1 binder or a sticky groundbait such as River 3000 to act as a binder works wonders.
Another mix I have had increasing success with and which will be my chosen mix for coming seasons is the following
50% Trabucco Team Master Supreme
50% Trabucco Super Bremes
A good amount of Trabucco PASTONCINO
Mondial Brasen
Trabucco black colouring
Unfortunately it is not possible to get these ingredients or the many other superb Trabucco ground bait in England, but its very easy in Denmark - cheap too! More information can be found on my links page.
Picture above: 3 hours fishing on the pole 5 meters out on Little Lake.