July

Where June is the fly-fisher's peak season on Danish rivers, July is usually a somewhat quiet month for the angler who has an inclination towards dry flies and wet nymphs.

Most of the fly-fisher's insects hatched in May and June, which may make the rivers seem relatively dead over the summer. However, the fish are still there, and they certainly still feed. The difference is that this takes place near the bottom instead.

July can be a good month for perch that just love the heat of summer!
© photo: Steen Ulnits

In freshwater

Or the fish focus on the land insects that might fall or be blown into the water by mistake. A fatal mistake, as the fish are usually there like a shot during the summer months, where food is less abundant.

If the summer is wet and cold, July may offer really god sea trout fishing in the rivers. So good that it is not a rare thing for the biggest catch of the year to be made here - newly ascended, bulging and silvery, after a nourishing stay in the plentiful larder of the sea.

This was especially the case in the fantastic summer of 1998. A summer which yielded more and bigger ascending fish than are normally seen. And this was all due to the water that happened to come down at an unusual time.

If you meet these fresh ascending fish, you are almost guaranteed that they will rise to your bait. They are not at all difficult. provided they have been in freshwater for only a few days. Then they still have the reflex to rise, but if they have spent just a week in the river, they become much more difficult to lure.

In saltwater

If you are on holiday by the sea and the beach, there are excellent opportunities of making contact with the cod all through the summer. By July the coastal waters have become a little too warm for them, and they will move out to slightly deeper waters. Here they are usually not difficult to find at depths between 5 and 15 metres - usually where a little current refreshes the water - and usually over a hard bottom.

The flatfish have now also gained some weight after the spring breeding, and this makes them an attractive prey - and a great delicacy in the kitchen. Flounders, dabs and not least plaice will also move to deeper waters as the summer heat increases. If you can find a spot with a purely sandy bottom, you are almost guaranteed a helping of plaice on a hand line.

If you have access to a boat , there is a good chance of encountering mackerel in deeper waters at the end of July - if the weather behaves, that is. Mackerel do not like to get sand in their gills, as their gill rakers are too fine-meshed. However, if you come after a few days of good weather and calm winds, the water is usually clear, and then a shoal of mackerel may come rushing by at any time.

The chances of meeting mackerel increase during the month of July and peak sometime in August. So there is something to look forward to and wait for!

© Steen Ulnits



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