Fishing in Finland

Summer

Throughout June to September the water is very warm and the nights are bright. Perch and zander are the fish of the season. They congregate on shallow flats and hunt herring in the surrounding depths. Knowing which flats hold fish is key to success.

As dusk turns to dawn incredible moments can be had chasing pike with topwater lures amongst the reeds. These pike are almost exclusively smaller specimens, yet they provide heartstopping moments of excitement.

Autumn

September, October and November spell pike fishing. Inshore bays get packed with baitfish, and the pike follow them in. With winter coming even the largest pike feed aggressively, and big lures are the name of the game. Long days casting huge baits are often rewarded with a fish of a lifetime.

Winter

The best and the worst days fishing occur between December to March. As the sea freezes to ice, big pike settle in for the winter. However, a speciel ice fishing technique, “ismete”, can prove both thrilling and successful. Nothing compares to the sight of an enormous pike appearing in a hole in the ice during a snowstorm. Traditionally burbot arrive with the ice, but due to their declining numbers they are not actively targeted. Ice fishing is per necessity a very social activity. Campfires and grilled sausages keep spirits up when the sea feels void of life and snow is falling horizontally.

Spring

Spring is the season of plenty. During April and May sea trout appear to feed on shallow sandy flats. The experience is similar to that of stalking bonefish in the Bahamas, save the fact that the water is freezing and the trout are scarce. Hooking one is in many ways the pinnacle of Finnish sportfishing. The scarce and wary sea trout are accompanied by huge schools of whitefish, a culinary delight. Besides whitefish, large schools of herring move inshore to spawn, and the pike are waiting. Eager to feed after the winter, pre-spawn pike fishing can be matched only by October in terms number of large fish caught.