Improve Your Coarse Fishing (UK)
Brothers Carl & Alex, twotwo ofof thethe biggestbiggest anglingangling starsstars onon YouTube, make a return trip to Sweden where they fish through the ice for pike, and later get stuck into a local UK canal for carp
“Lew noticed some scales which made us think it was a fully-scaled mirror”
Ice fishing in Sweden
Alex – In April last year, we had the opportunity to fish for perch and pike in Sweden. It proved to be a very successful trip where we met up with Tobias Ekvall, a keen Swedish angler, who was kind enough to show us a couple of his favourite fishing spots. The action was incredible. PBs were broken and great memories made. A year later, Tobias kindly invited us to return to Sweden, but this time it was to try something completely different – ice fishing for pike! Due to work commitments, it would have to be a long weekend. Carl and I jumped on a plane at Gatwick and it wasn’t long before we were flying over Sweden. Everywhere was white and beautiful. After landing at Gothenburg where temperatures were well below freezing, we took a bus to Jönköping and met Tobias. From here, he drove us to his house where we rigged up the rods and prepared for an early start the following day. It was interesting to see the tackle used for ice fishing and Tobias explained that because no casting is involved, they use really cheap rods and reels. The rods were particularly interesting as they were only a few feet long; a massive contrast to those that coarse anglers would use. The next morning, the alarm went off at 4am and although it was a struggle to get up, once I was out of bed I was buzzing for the day ahead! Because of the freezing cold conditions, which were as low as -7 degrees C, the clothing we used was very important. Plenty of layers were worn to ensure we would stay comfortable all day long and not get too cold. We drove about 20 minutes to a huge frozen lake. This was just an average sized lake for Tobias but we were once again blown away by the size of it! All the fishing kit, camera gear and food was loaded on to a sled, the easiest way of transporting all the tackle to the spot. A barrow doesn’t work too well in the snow!
It was a huge hike to where we would be fishing for the day. Carl and I felt exhausted and despite the cold, were sweating from the mammoth walk. Tobias’ friend, Freddie, also joined us so we could use more rods and, in turn, catch more fish. The next thing we did was to get all the rods out. This part you could compare to carp fishing, except that we were using 17 rods! These were spread across acres and acres of ice. This would be absolutely illegal in the UK but in Sweden it is the norm and would give us the best chance of catching a pike. Because the ice was only 10cm thick a drill was not needed and instead we used an ice pick to make the holes. We spent the next hour or two dropping little roach into the holes, set at about two metres beneath the surface where apparently the pike would be swimming. Another similarity to carp fishing is that an alarm is attached to each rod, although they are not electric ones. These were little ringing bells that the line clips into. When a pike takes the bait, the line is pulled out of a clip and releases the bell which then rings. Amazingly, one of the bells was already ringing before all of the rods were put out. After a long run I set the hook into one of the most beautiful looking pike I had ever caught. The colours on these Swedish pike are so vivid and they definitely have the best patterns. Eventually all the rods were positioned and it was time so sit back and wait for another bite. To pass the time, and to stay warm, we made a fire and cooked hot dogs over it. Delicious! Why is it that hot food always tastes better when you’re on the bank. Typically, as we tucked into the food one of the rods sprung into life and it was a case of leaving the warm fire and running to the rod. During that first day on the ice, we banked four pike, nothing huge but it was truly special to be out in the middle of a massive frozen lake, catching beautiful through holes in the ice. I absolutely loved it. The following day we returned to the same lake as Tobias reckoned it would be our best chance of a big fish. It turned out to be a slow one with only a few bites between us, so the final morning before our flight on Monday afternoon, we headed to a different lake with mostly small pike. Tobias assured us it would be a hectic morning’s fishing. This lake was a lot smaller than the previous water and sheltered us from the strong winds and snow that were forecast. Once again, it was a 4am start. By this point we were shattered and ready to head home. But we put one last bit of effort into dropping all the rods down the holes and tried our best to get some more fish before we had to leave. From the moment the rigs were placed, to the minute we left the lake, it was nonstop action. Everything Tobias had said was correct, as we were constantly running to rods, catching fish and re-baiting rigs. The action only stopped when we reeled the rods in at the end of the session. Luckily for us the biggest pike of the trip was also the last. A double-figure pike rounded up the short but very worthwhile trip to Sweden. Once again, our thanks to Tobias and it was great to experience another type of fishing.
“The colours on Swedish pike are so vivid and they definitely have the best patterns”
Clear water canal carping!
Carl – The water in Sweden had incredible clarity, so much so that we could see the pike a good few metres beneath the ice. This sort of visual angling is something we don’t experience much in the UK, particularly in Sussex where Alex and I live. Most of our local pools and even rivers have a muddy brown tint, meaning sight fishing opportunities are rare. But there is one location which is an exception to the rule – a shallow, snag-infested canal packed with carp! Most of the time the water is chocolate brown, and the fishing is really tough because locating the carp is tricky. Recently, however, the springs which feed the canal have started running clear due to heavy rain and this has opened up some great opportunities. Two weeks ago, I met up with my friend Lewis Porter for a day pike fishing. We had an early start and fished hard right through to 4pm but with just two small jacks to show for our efforts we decided to quit early and head elsewhere. I considered visiting a small estate lake for some perch and the odd carp, but in the end we drove to the canal just to check if there were any carp showing on the surface. Stepping out of the van, I knew we had made the right decision. The inlet was pumping out crystal clear water and we could see a shoal of carp cruising past. This was going to be good fun! Due to the incredible clarity of the water, location was easy. We scanned the water and groups of carp could be seen hugging any structure, snags and the islands too. Time was tight as sunset was only half an hour away, so we grabbed a loaf of bread, broke it up into small pieces and scattered it on the surface. This attracted a few ducks, but interestingly the carp really woke up when the birdlife got involved. I think these carp are used to following the mallards as they wait for passersby to feed them. The evening was spent casting small chunks of bread in front of the groups of carp, with the odd fish deciding to suck down the hookbait. It was obvious that the clear water made the carp skittish and, after catching one, it was often best to move on and find a new spot.
Although we both caught plenty, Lewis landed the most interesting fish of the evening. I was convinced it was a common, but Lew noticed some interesting scales around its head which made us think it was a fully-scaled mirror. Either way, it was a really cool looking fish. The canal has drawn us back a couple of times since and although no big fish have been landed yet, I have experimented a lot with rigs and bait while recording with a new underwater camera. The results have been really interesting! We have mostly been using standard carp rigs, legered on the bottom because the carp have begun to wise up to the bread on the surface. It has been very interesting observing how they react to different baits and how regularly the fish get away with spitting out your hookbait. See the footage on our YouTube channel soon.