It is now Saturday morning, 9th of June, and we crawl from bed and start to gear up slowly.

After a good breakfast we hit the road towards the first suspicious spot marked on the map, close to our accommodation, in Zone 3. I decided already home that I will not fish the Zone 1, because I hate queuing and hitting the same pools again and again and taking turns, it is just not my idea of a Swedish adventure. I wanted wild places, hidden pools and breathtaking scenery instead of fishing close to driven roads and manmade structures like the famous bridge zone in the center of the village.

Stig also gave us some tips over internet and I was happy to see that it covered to 90% all that I have marked on the map from home.

And after hitting the first marked area on the map and dragging Thorsten through bushes and forest, we gaze upon the first spot. Absolutely lovely. On the same stretch of rivers, you have over ca. 1000m at least 4 different pools with great structure and diversity, you can almost hear the scales of the salmons rubbing the stones in the hot spots. It looks very fishable.

Being very pleased with the spot (not that I have a huge experience with salmon fishing), we get back to the car and drove further towards Zone 4 and 5.

The roads are macadam roads, perfect for rallies, but also curvy and slippery so you have to mind your driving. Also because of the very dry weather that made us wear T-shirts instead of long arm shirts, there is a lot of dust on the roads. Driving decently gives the other drivers behind you the chance to see 5 m in front, so don`t hit the gas pedal to hard.

After finally exploring the hotspots in zone 5 and passing unwillingly through somebodies property (we apologized properly), we spotted at least 4 very exciting places with runs and pools. We also met local fly fisherman that were very kind to share with us some spots so we worked the day out finding and analyzing different locations for the days to come. Thorsten lost another 300 g body weight on this day.

I told you this because Thorsten is a former performance sport guy, who trained regularly for years, and as you know, job etc. made things harder. I made myself a mission to fish as hard as I can and support Thorsten do the same :) so we were a perfect training team ;) and taking care of our slightly overbalanced Body Mass Index.

For the ladies at home: yes, fly fishing for salmon is extremely healthy and better than any fitness. Please provide us with the time and means to do it more often, and we will return slim and fit like in good commercials :)

Time travelled fast and it was already noon when we got home after an exhausting day where we walked at least 12 km over rugged terrain and drove almost  150 km to get to all the locations we wanted. The weather was very atypical for mid June (sunny and very warm, over 24°C). Now we had a pretty good picture about the river, the surroundings and the ways to get to the pools.

Of course our hands were itchy to feel the grip of the DH rods, so we ate with the speed of light and fixed the rods on the rod rack.

Our silver companion was ready to hit the Swedish backcountry, hopefully not with the oil sump :)

It was pretty nerve wrecking driving a luxury limousine over gravel roads and through bushes and managing not to scratch the car or hit some rocks or having a flat tire. The god of masochistic salmon fly fisherman kept a hand upon our shoulders the whole trip.

We decided do fish one spot where we had 3 pools and 2 beautiful runs of fast water in Zone 3, where I also decided that I will spend the night. So I also packed my sleeping bag, camping stuff and the hammock in order to enjoy the midnight sun.

After putting all the gear on at the place we left the car, we still had a walk of ca. 10 min to the pool, but fully loaded we ended up sweating like horses in 2 min and we dragged our stuff slowly until we reached the river.

We decided to fish two different sections of water, one very large right behind a fast run, and another typical pool with a very good drift.

And fished we did. Or at least casted. We cast the hell out of those double handers, getting used again with the feeling, after dealing in the last year with rod weights in 3 and 4wt.

I fished a floating line with a clear tippet in the beginning and managed to my surprise to catch 3 big graylings over 35 cm, hitting the tube flies very decisive and making my heart stop for a moment. Thorsten was fishing below my spot, getting used to the gear after his trip in England.

Very late in the day, (let us call it night, it was 23:00 and full daylight), I decided to fix base camp between two large trees after making sure that no ants have their place in the vicinity.

We fished 6 hours almost non-stop and the lack of experience and training with the DH rods and the long day spent hiking said its word and we decided to call it a day.

Fortunately Thorsten brought some very fine spirit in his Stanley flask so we chatted and watched the river slowly changing color in the midnight sun.

Thorsten decided to pack and I retrieved my tired body in the hammock enjoying the last sip of Whiskey and preparing for the night.

Many of you worry about mosquitoes and sand flies in Sweden. Yes, they are a PITA. But there is a good way to get rid of them, at least one that worked well for me. The new designer fragrance for Men. Pure poison, DEET and stuff, called MYGGA.

Both are extremely efficient. The whole was completed by a mosquito net over the head and nighty night.

I woke up about 3:30am, and forcing my sleepy eyes to open I fixed the coffee.

There is nothing better than this. Sleeping on the side of a salmon pool and enjoying a nice cup of Espresso in the back country.

Fished the morning through and finally got sight of the first salmons running. And god they were big. I spotted 3 fish, one of them over 100 cm fully jumping out of the water in within unreachable distance. Absolutely stunning.

Casted the crap of both rods, with floating, and than with Sink 5, changing flies over flies, but zero.

When the sun came up shining, it was so warm that you could take a bath.

Sunday, 10th of June, Thorsten came around 06:00 and after fishing another 4 hours in the scorching sun we went home to eat.

After dozing like champions we went out for fishing again around noon.

The world looks consistent better while gazing through a windshield with a rod rack in front of your eyes.

We gave our best but managed to see no fish or to have a hit on the flies.

Still happy and with high hopes, we went home for the day and got ready to start again in the evening.

On Sunday evening i slept out again and enjoyed the luxury 5 menu dinner in the back country.

I fished in the evening until around 23:00 and starting 03:30 until 09:00 but blanked.

As Thorsten joined in the morning, we slowly polished our casting skills and managed to achieve respectable distances in order to cover a lot ow water.

Thorsten got along with his gear very well and started pushing very nice D-loops on the double spey.

In the night I saw again some crazy big fish jumping around 4 am, keeping my adrenalin levels high enough to keep on casting and covering water up and down but with no result.

Finally after two full days of fishing the same spot with no result except for some bat shit crazy grayling ripping 7 cm big tube flies, we called 2-0 for Sweden and regrouped for some serious food at the cabin.

Topped with 2 beers each, we raised our moral for the days to come and talked about strategies.

Since we were waiting for Vlad and Silviu to join us on Tuesday, we decided to visit the Salmon Center in Fällfors and explore Zone 5.

Getting to Fallförs and visiting the salmon ladder and the visitors center is one of the things you should not miss while in Byske. (…)

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