Angling

Gazing at a float bobbing on the surface on a beautiful summer day provides real therapy. In the land of thousands of lakes, hook-and-line anglers can always find a spot where no-one has fished before.

The game species for hook-and-line anglers in the Finnish waters are cyprinids: roach, bream, silver bream, bleak, dace, rudd and ide. In many of the country's waters, roach and bream form the majority of fish stocks, so anglers can expect some easy living.

Cyprinids are everywhere

The most substantial cyprinid stocks can be found in lush waters, but they also live in clear and rugged waters. Thanks to the pure waters, cyprinids can be used to conjure up splendid delicacies. Shallow and reedy bays into which summer winds blow warm water are great bream spots. Once you find the right spot, you can haul in two-kilo bream one after another.

However, the most sought-after game species for many hook-and-line anglers in Finland is perch. As perch can be found in almost all of Finland's waters, it is an infallible game species for holiday anglers.

Photo: Risto Jussila 

There is an unlimited supply of great spots for hook-and-line angling.

Whopper perch from spawning tufts

Anglers in pursuit of big perch will either head to the edges of mid-lake shoals or fish next to spawning tufts set up close to the shore. A spawning tuft is a bunch of conifer twigs sunk into the water, which is a traditional Finnish way of luring perch within the angler's reach. Pike and zander are pursued at the edges of rushes and in fast-flowing sounds, using baitfish.

There is an unlimited supply of great spots for hook-and-line angling on the shores. A jetty is a convenient place providing good odds of catching some fish. The edges of rushes, tips of points and shoals are great spots when you go angling on a boat. Simply drop your anchor, let the float bob on the surface and then just wait it out, taking in the lake scenery.

Photo: Risto Jussila 

Roach is a certain catch for hook-and-line anglers.

The angling season for whitefish, running from March to May in southern and southwestern coastal areas, is brief but productive. Anglers pursue whitefish from sandy and rocky bottoms using rod and reel tackle. What they do is cast a worm bait to a depth of a few metres with the aid of a weight and start waiting for a bite.

Angling with a hook and line is exempt from licences under public rights of access. Angling for whitefish or other species using a rod and reel does not, however, fall within the scope of public rights of access, which means that it requires a state management fee (fishing with one rod). Permit from the owner of the water area in question is needed if you use more rods than one.