By the time autumn has firmly taken hold of the mountains, most mountain anglers have probably put their gear away for the season. That’s a shame, says Gunnar Ekberg. The fact is, grayling fishing in September and October can be a real highlight, according to Vemdalen’s very own fishing virtuoso.
Gunnar, who you could say makes his living from fishing. For many years, he has run Ekbergs Fiske, which has a shop in the village of Vemdalen. He goes fishing whenever he has a few free hours from work. And autumn fishing is especially close to his heart. The weather is usually quite pleasant, the mosquitoes are gone, and the forest bursts into beautiful colors.
Limited fishing in the fall
As many of you already know, fishing is restricted from September 1 to October 31. This is primarily when trout are in their spawning season. This means that trout fishing is prohibited in flowing waters, as well as in lakes and ponds, within a distance of 200 meters from their respective inflows and outflows during that period. In smaller ponds with inflows/outflows that are not classified asput-and-take, this means a fishing ban. These include the Säter ponds as well as flowing waters such as Norrveman and Sörveman.
Fishing in most put-and-take waters is therefore exempt from these restrictions, and trout fishing is permitted there throughout the entire period. However, always check the fishing regulations for the specific fishing management area before you start.
Grayling fishing
But back to Gunnar Ekberg, who enjoys fishing for grayling on his free days in the fall. That’s because fishing is best during the daytime at this time of year. It’s best if it’s sunny and not too windy, as that’s when the grayling bite best. He says that fishing with dry flies works best in the fall. He himself likes to take a trip to Ljungan, which is one of his absolute favorite spots for fall fishing. There are several easily accessible spots in the area around Börtnan. The big advantage this time of year is that grayling tend to gather in large schools. So if you manage to find the right spot, you can catch some nice grayling all in one place. Often, they’re also roughly the same size. So if you hook a larger fish, you might have a golden opportunity to land a couple more nice ones in the same spot.
In addition to the popular Ljungan, there are several other waters well worth trying! Långå, Vemdalen/Vemhån, and Hede are a few areas with grayling fishing that are worth checking out.