Day Three in Swedish Lapland — Perch, Pike and an Unexpected Dry-Fly Surprise 🎣

I woke up around 7 am and started preparing breakfast. The plan for today was completely different from the first two days.

The evening before, we had decided that it was time to leave the rivers behind for a day and explore a nearby lake, about 30 minutes from Sorsele.

There was no reason to rush.

We needed to rent a boat and pick up our fishing licenses from a local shop opening at 10 am, so we had some time for a much-needed relaxed morning.

While the coffee was brewing and breakfast was being prepared, I used the extra time to tie a few more flies for the day ahead.

Understanding the Weather in Swedish Lapland

Weather plays a huge role when deciding where and how to fish.

Before getting into today's fishing adventure, there is something important about Swedish Lapland that is worth mentioning:

Even though we were there in the middle of August, daytime temperatures rarely went above 16°C, while nights were around 11°C — absolutely perfect temperatures for fishing.

But the big variable was the rain.

The first two days had been mostly sunny, but today the forecast was calling for rain, which started around 9 am.

It wasn't a cold, heavy rain. Instead, it was a steady and gentle drizzle, and the temperature remained comfortable.

That was one of the reasons we decided that today would be perfect for a lake adventure.

Our targets were completely different: big perch and pike.

Around 9:45 am, we packed everything we needed and headed to the shop where we had arranged the boat rental.

The people there were extremely kind and gave us all the information we needed — where to find the boat, how to get it started, and how to handle it.

Ten minutes later, we were ready.

I entered the coordinates into the GPS, and to our surprise, the drive to the lake was another 27-minute journey through the wilderness.

The roads were mostly good, allowing us to drive around 60 km/h, but driving through this landscape brought back some great memories.

It reminded me of the time I lived in Canada and participated in lake fly-fishing competitions at Kenauk Nature in Quebec.

A little nostalgia before another adventure.

Our Lake Setup

Around 10:45 am, we arrived. The rain was still falling — light, steady and warm. Perfect lake-fishing weather. About 15 minutes later, we were in the boat and ready to fish.

You might think that starting at almost 11 am is late, but in Swedish Lapland during August, you have plenty of daylight. The sun rises around 3 am and doesn't disappear until around 10 pm. So there were still plenty of hours ahead of us.

For perch, I decided to use my Arcay Otter 10 ft 7 wt rod. I started with a Sink 3 line and a 15-foot leader, fishing two flies approximately 10 feet apart.

I also had several other lines ready: Sink 5, slow intermediate and floating.

For pike, I prepared my Soldarini Hydropsyche Pike 9 ft 10 wt, with Soldarini Pike & Predator 10 wt intermediate and Sink 3 lines.

I used a short leader of about six feet and a medium-sized streamer, about 15 cm.

For my son, we prepared an Arcay Otter 10 ft 7 wt with a fast intermediate line.

He and my friend initially wanted to try spinning, while I stayed loyal to fly fishing.

Finding the Perch

The lake wasn't particularly large, and the wind was calm — just enough of a gentle breeze to create a perfect drift and allow us to cover plenty of water. We started near the banks, targeting the drop-offs and looking for pike. Twenty minutes passed. Nothing. Not even a bite. Not even a chase.

Once again, the fish of Swedish Lapland weren't going to make things easy.

I moved the boat further toward the middle of the lake and started fishing deeper water.

Then my friend got the first bites and attacks. That was the signal. The perch were active.

I switched to the 7 wt rod with the Sink 3 line. Three casts went by without anything. Then, on the hang...Fish on!

My first perch of the day was a solid 35 cm.

I was genuinely happy. I had really missed lake fishing, and catching a good perch on the fly brought back some great memories.

The next cast produced another one of roughly the same size. Then nothing for about ten minutes. I decided to return to the same spot. It proved to be a very good decision. Almost immediately, another fish came to say hello. We had found the pattern.

The Hang Was the Key

We realized that we had located a school of perch holding at a specific depth.

The fish were sitting somewhere in the middle of the water column and, interestingly, they seemed to take the flies almost exclusively on the hang. The most effective retrieve was simple: cast → count about five seconds → two long strips → pause.

The perch would often hit during that pause. Once we figured that out, things became crazy.

My son eventually switched from spinning to fly fishing after having limited success with the spinning gear. Almost immediately, he started catching fish too. The same retrieve worked for him, although he counted slightly longer before starting the retrieve.

The best flies were two leech patterns:

• A black leech with an orange bead

• A salmon-pink leech with a golden bead

For about an hour, the fishing was incredible.

Between the three of us, we were catching perch almost continuously, with roughly 20 fish each.

Then, just as quickly as it had started, the action slowed down.

Time to give the perch a break.

The Pike Appears

We moved back toward the drop-offs near the bank. And then I saw it. A huge dark shadow moved underneath the boat. A big pike. It looked close to a metre long. My friend tried a few casts with spinning lures, but the pike showed absolutely no interest. I couldn't resist. I cast my streamer about a metre in front of the fish. Let it sink. Then I started retrieving slowly. One head movement from the pike...And it was on!

The fight lasted around seven minutes, and eventually I managed to get the fish into the net: 95 cm of Swedish pike.

I was incredibly happy.

But at the same time, I wasn't completely convinced that the pike were in the mood to feed. The way this fish had behaved told me that they weren't particularly active. We continued targeting pike for another hour, but the action never really developed.

Later, we learned from other anglers that pike fishing in August wasn't at its best.

Back to the Perch

We returned to shore for lunch, took a short break, and started thinking about the second half of the day. The plan was simple: focus on perch. This time, however, I wanted to try something completely different. Something I had never tried before. I brought my Euro-nymphing rod into the boat. Why not?

I was there to experience something new. We returned to the deeper water and found another school of perch. This group was holding deeper than the first one. My son switched to a Sink 5 line and started catching them again. Then it was my turn. I decided to try Euro-nymphing for perch from the boat.

The setup was simple: 0.14 mm tippet + two mop flies on size 14 Hanák 460 BL hooks.

First cast. I let the flies sink approximately two metres. And then...BANG! A solid perch over 30 cm took the nymph. A perch on a Euro-nymphing rod from a boat! What a feeling.

For the next hour, I had an absolute blast experimenting with Euro-nymphing for perch. It wasn't something I had ever planned to do, but that's exactly what fishing trips are about — trying something new and seeing what happens.

Another Surprise

Eventually, the fishing slowed down again. We moved toward the middle of the lake, but the action didn't improve much. A few more fish came, but nothing that really changed the story. Then it was around 5 am. The wind almost completely disappeared. The rain became even lighter. And suddenly, at the far end of the lake, I saw something: a rise.

Then another one. My heart started beating faster. I started wondering:

Could there actually be grayling or trout in this lake?

There was only one way to find out. I moved the boat toward the rises and switched to my floating line. Then I tied on the Scruffy Caddis.

The same fly that had already produced some beautiful grayling on the river.

First cast. Nothing. Second cast. Nothing. Then...BANG!

A fish attacked the dry fly. And it was a...Perch!

Suddenly, everything made sense. The perch had moved up in the water column and were feeding on the surface. That explained why the fishing had suddenly become so slow on the deeper presentations. They had changed their feeding behavior. And once again, the water had taught us that you have to adapt.

The Perfect End to the Day

We stayed in that area for another hour, catching perch on the surface with dry flies and poppers.

It was an incredible way to finish the day.

From sinking lines to leeches, from pike streamers to Euro-nymphing, and finally to dry flies and surface feeding perch — this lake had given us almost everything.

By the end of the day, the three of us had caught more than 100 perch combined, plus the beautiful 95 cm pike.

Not a bad lake day at all.

We returned the boat, packed the equipment into the car, and headed back toward the camping ground.

Another day in Swedish Lapland was coming to an end.

Back at the cabin, we prepared dinner, poured ourselves a glass of brandy, and sat together talking about the day's adventures.

Three days in. Three completely different fishing experiences. And already a lifetime of memories. We started planning the next day, telling stories about the fish we'd caught and dreaming about what Swedish Lapland might have waiting for us tomorrow.

Because one thing was becoming very clear: 

Every day here was a completely new adventure. 🎣🇸🇪🏔️