Second Day in Swedish Lapland — Chasing Grayling on Dry Flies 

 

I woke up around 6 AM, made some coffee, and started preparing breakfast for my friend and my son. Bacon and eggs were definitely the best option to get the energy we needed for another long day on the river.

We knew we were going to have to fight those big currents and even bigger fish again.

The night before, over dinner, we had already decided where our next adventure would take us. We had found a promising spot north of Sorsele, about an hour's drive from the camping ground. All we had to go by was the satellite view on Google Maps, but what we could see was enough to get our imagination going.

 

It looked wild.

It looked remote.

And most importantly…

It looked promising.

After breakfast, we prepared sandwiches for lunch, packed our equipment, and were ready to leave around 8 AM. Our plan was to arrive around 9 and hopefully have another full day on the river.

 

Another Wild River

After an hour of driving, we finally arrived.

And I have to admit — the river looked much wilder and more untouched than we had imagined from the satellite images.

Just like the first day, the fishing wasn't easy.

It took about 30 minutes before I finally got the first result: a smaller grayling of around 30 cm.

A good sign.

We were on the right water.

But once again, we quickly realized something important: every river is different.

The way the fish feed, where they hold, how they react to the current — everything changes from one section to another. That's one of the things I love most about fly fishing. You can't simply repeat what worked yesterday and expect the same result.

You have to adapt.

Not long after my first fish, my son Tristan hooked into something much better. After a strong fight, he managed to bring a beautiful grayling over 45 cm to the net.

We knew we were doing something right.

Finding the Deep Water

This river was completely different from the one we had fished on day one.

There were plenty of drop-offs and much deeper pools, and it didn't take long to understand that the bigger fish seemed to prefer the darker, deeper water.

Getting to those places was another story.

The current was powerful, the rocks were slippery, and reaching the best holding spots was a challenge in itself.

But once you got there, the reward was almost always worth the effort — a powerful, hard-fighting wild grayling.

We fished nymphs for about an hour and a half, and between the three of us we had already landed around seven big fish each.

The fishing was incredible.

But then I saw something I had been dreaming about since the moment I arrived in Sweden.

A rise.

A fish feeding on the surface.

That was all I needed to see.

 

My First Swedish Dry-Fly Fish

I went back to the car and decided to set up my dry-fly rod.

Despite what everyone had recommended, I decided to go with my Otter 3/4 wt, 9.5 ft rod, paired with a 3 wt Arcay Precision Spanish Dry Fly Line.For the leader, as always, I went with the Arcay Competition Dry Fly Leader.

The setup was definitely underpowered, but that was exactly what I wanted. I was looking for a softer, more delicate presentation — something that would allow me to present the fly naturally on the surface.

For the fly, I chose a pattern that has been productive almost everywhere I've fished: the caddis.

This time, however, I was using my own variation, made with a new material and a slightly different approach.

I call it the "Scruffy Caddis."

 

It was tied on a size 14 Hanák 130 BL hook.

And now it was time to find out if it would work in Swedish Lapland.

My first dry-fly cast landed on the river.

I was standing there full of excitement, waiting for that first surface take.

And then, just a few seconds later...

BOOM!

A beautiful 35 cm grayling violently attacked the dry fly.

There it was.

My first Swedish grayling on a dry fly.

What an incredible feeling.

Over the years, I've noticed that takes on caddis patterns can be much more aggressive than those on emergers or mayfly patterns. This one certainly didn't disappoint!

The decision to fish such a light setup proved to be the right one. The presentation was delicate, the fly was working, and the fish were willing to take it.

From that slower, deeper pool, I eventually hooked and landed more than 10 nice fish, with the biggest estimated at around 45 cm.

 

By around 12:30 PM, it was time for lunch and a well-deserved rest.

But our day was far from over.

One Kilometre Upstream

After lunch, we checked the map.

One thing that surprised us during our time in Swedish Lapland was how often we still had phone service, even in these incredibly wild places. So we decided to explore further and moved about one kilometre upstream.

That short move completely changed our perspective again.

And once again, the river reminded us of one of the most important rules in fly fishing:

You have to adapt to the water.

The section upstream was completely different.

Instead of deep pools and drop-offs, we found fast, shallow riffles, with much less depth.

As soon as I saw the water, I knew exactly what we needed.

Time to switch back to the Euro-nymphing setup.

 

The Fish of the Trip

We started working the first shallow riffles, probably around one metre deep.

It didn't take long.

I hooked into a big fish.

The fight was intense, but after less than two minutes, the fish managed to escape.

My bad.

Five minutes later, though, I got another chance.

This time, everything went right.

I landed what would probably become my biggest grayling of the entire trip.

52 cm of wild Swedish grayling!

What a fish.

And the best part?

The flies were the same patterns that had worked for us on the first day.

That fish was a perfect reminder that sometimes you don't need something new. You simply need to understand where the fish are and present the right fly in the right place.

 

Four More Hours of Fishing

We continued fishing for another four hours.

The result?

More than 10 big fish each, along with plenty of smaller grayling and trout — the ones we jokingly started calling the "under 30 cm club."

By the end of the day, we were completely exhausted.

But it was the kind of exhaustion that comes with a huge smile on your face.

We packed everything up and headed back to the camping ground.

Another incredible day was behind us.

Back at the cabin, we prepared dinner, poured ourselves a glass of brandy, and sat together talking about the fish we had caught, the places we had discovered, and the memories we were creating together.

And, of course, we were already thinking about tomorrow.

Because the next adventure was going to be completely different.

Tomorrow was lake day. 🎣🏔️🇸🇪

And we had absolutely no idea what Swedish Lapland had waiting for us there.