The bream particularly, is a true expert
at hoovering the bottom of the lake. It also breeds in May and
then moves into the rushes and paddock pipes to spawn.
- 86 cm garfish caught
on a green Christmas Tree fly.
- © photo: Steen
Ulnits
At the same time, May is the month for
the traditional pike premiere - after the official preservation
in April. However, this is a close season that is not very precise.
For example, typically, deep lakes do not get warm enough for
spawning until May - which is the start of the season.
Of course, the experienced pike fisherman
knows this, and he puts back any roe-filled female pikes that
might be tempted by a hook in May. Usually, the small males are
the first to appear in the shallow water. Not until the water
temperature is exactly right do the large, roe-filled females
appear.
Spinfishing the coastline
Along the coast, both small and large animals
are very active. For instance, the shallow water along the coast
is full of small fish, fry and various crustaceans. The fish
know this, and at this time of the year they prefer to visit
the coast during the dark hours - which do not, by the way, get
very dark during the light northern nights.
In several places, it will be possible
to hear the first cod come "chomping" towards the coast
at the surface. If there is a little current, it will often be
possible to see them swimming so high that their dorsal fins
are visible.
If the light nights in May belong to the
sea trout and cod, the long-billed garfish have usually taken
possession of the coastal waters during daylight hours.
The first ones are always the biggest -
in the best cases a metre long, as thick as a wrist and weighing
over a kilo. They come as a vanguard and go wildly for any jig
or fly. Later, the smaller but considerably more numerous medium-sized
garfish will arrive - followed by the smallest fish, usually
half a metre long, sometime in early summer.
They only come to spawn and, having come
so far, they have completely lost interest in food. Under favourable
conditions it will be possible to see them spawn as they are
often so absorbed in their breeding that one can get quite close
and witness the spectacle.
Flyfishing the rivers
May is one of the big months for fly fishers,
who are fond of the constantly flowing water in the river. After
a cold spring, the insect life there almost explodes, and the
river is alive with the sound of various water insects.
The mayflies are certainly still there
- as they were last month, albeit less numerous. But in May,
it is often the very small black flies that dominate.
The hatching may be so massive that the
water can be completely covered in newly hatched flies. With
so many flies on the water, it is obvious that the fish are more
active than ever and constantly targeting the little black ones.
The grayling is also very fond of the black
flies, and they are in the process of finishing their breeding
towards the end of May. At least that is what the law says, since
the close season runs from the middle of March until the middle
of May.
© Steen Ulnits
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