Festival and fish

Packed and ready to drive

Arturas Merkevicius

We had heard a long time ago that Denmark is some sort of seatrout fishing paradise within Europe. So the day had come when we made plans to visit the Danish Fly Festival, and said “Why not add few days exploring seatrout fishing in Denmark?”
We decided to kill two birds with one stone and promote the leather goods from Art Merk Studio and get a few days of fishing in too.
The starting point was Lithuania. Going by ship via the Baltic Sea is a common way to go. However, we chose to go by car, as you don’t have to adjust to any ferry schedule this way. The trip basically takes the same time whichever route you choose.
So, we got things prepared and packed and were ready to go!

At the Danish Fly Festival

Arturas Merkevicius

We left at 1 PM at night. I highly recommend passing Poland during the night, trying to avoid traffic. And after 16 hours of quite smooth driving we reached the target destination – the lovely city named Kolding.

The Danish Fly Festival in Kolding

This Festival is organized every two years. We were here for the first time. It is very lovely. Many different things happen here, the tendencies of fly fishing just in the beginning of a the season – what can be better? Therefore, we are definitely going to visit it again. Moreover, it is very good place to meet your friends in real life. We all know how many friends we do have on social media, but meeting them for real is something else.

Well, the weekend passed as a flash of light. We met so many people that it is hard to remember everybody.
Fortunately, all good things have an end and the Festival had as well. I am saying fortunately, because fly fishing was waiting for us next.

Ready to fish

Arturas Merkevicius

Fishing, day 1

Early Monday morning after short and prompt trip to Fyn island we met our friend Jens. As he described Fyn, it is the best place for seatrout. They feed here all year round. Another great reason is that depending on the wind direction you can easily move to opposite side of the island.
We started the fishing with lots of faith and passion, which we gained waiting for it all weekend. Shallow bays and traditional shrimp pattern was the first snack we served for lunch.

Conclusion for day one

We were negatively surprised by the level of water, which was high due to strong eastern winds. However, the fishermen we met told us they had some action, so we weren't as disappointed as it may sound.
We were most positively surprised discovering that Fyn has many camps with small cabins that the Danes call “Shelters”. These cabins are like wooden tents, so you can spend the night by the fire. And they are completely free! Moreover, some of them, surprisingly, have quite contemporary designs as well.

Shelters!

Arturas Merkevicius

Ready to fish

Arturas Merkevicius

Fishing, day 2

The strong eastern wind weakened, and the water level started dropping. However, it was still east wind and at this time of the year, which is the first part of March, it means that we had very low temperatures. We even had snowflakes were falling. We managed to spot some fish and had some very gentle takes. But no fish to take pictures of.

Fishing, day 3

Now, we had good news and bad news.
First, the wind turned to south and it was a bit warmer than the previous days.
Secondly, the wind was strong as hell. Because of that we had to look for places that were sheltered for the wind rather than where fish would be feeding.
And fortunately, we found the fish!
I was very surprised when I spotted movement on the surface of the water in a very shallow area where I was wading.
First cast and a fish could be landed! Not big one, but in that moment, any action was more than welcome.
While I was taking pictures and releasing the first trout, I spotted another one.
I can’t remember when I was last in such a rush to cast my flies back in the water. I had heard that seatrout often feed in groups, bud didn’t expect them to be this close. A few more casts and another seatrout was hooked. Small, but strong and good for pictures!

And fortunately, we found the fish!

Another released... After that I manage to hook one more fish and had some nice takes as well. So this was how the trip ended.
The last chord wasn’t huge but it sounded well!

The fish

Arturas Merkevicius

Honestly, we didn’t expect much that day due to the strong wind and because we had very limited areas to explore.
In conclusion we can say that the Fyn island is perfect for seatrout fishing with many shallow bays, good roads, shelters…
They even have a book with all the fishing spots and other information. And even though you can't choose the weather, I know that next time I visit the Danish Fly Festival, I will definitely dedicate a few days for seatrout fishing in Fyn.

The Danish coast

Arturas Merkevicius