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Band of brothers

When companionship born out of a shared passion for flyfishing delivers wonderful learnings and hours of piscatorial pleasure in the wilderness, with or without fish...

Which ever way I look at it, I reach to the same conclusion: our hobby is not just about the fishing. And thank God it is not because after so many blanks, so many hard days and other painful stories, only a masochist would keep on going for that length of time! After all, as the appropriately named Steve Fisher would say, “that’s why our sport is called fishing and not catching!”
 

So there must be other deeper, more meaningful reasons. The close proximity to raw uncompromising nature is the one that scores first with me. The wilderness hits me the hardest when I get to the mountains of Sweden and draws me back each time. Now this is at that point that my usually pretty sound logic seriously gets challenged: how can someone, who at the best of times just hates crowds by the water, relish the thought of going on an expedition with a dozen other blokes for what is effectively his only fishing holiday week of the year?
 

Well, there is a catch and rest assured, it is not safety in numbers! Although bears leave in the “hunting grounds” that tolerate us, the last thing these four legged hairy fellows want is to meet with us! No, it is something else. These conclaves as my Swedish friends call them are about being at one with nature and sharing this intense experience with others. They are an immersion into the wilderness and the fly fishing opportunities that it offers. The added bonus comes with spending quality time with other characterful like-minded individuals. 
 
The environment is pristine and more often than not cleansed by six months of frost. Drinkable gin clear water, unpolluted skies and stunning scenery add to the charm of Lappland. Even in summer, the harshness of the environment sorts the men from the boys and each trip turns into an occasion to learn and sometimes the hard way: from fly fishing to cooking and of course camping. I remember collapsing from exhaustion just as I was attempting to cook our trout dinner by a lakeside. Mosquitoes are yet to eat a full grown man but every year they surely try and test your nerves.
 

A well organised clave delivers a superb combination of fantastic fishing, the right amount of soul-healing solitude, an overdose of awe inspiring sights whilst making for a great social gathering too.

Traditions are not necessarily a bad thing and there is one that is an absolute must amongst our band of brothers: every conclave in Swedish Lappland ends with a customary last dinner of freshly caught wild brown trout cooked in foil over the camp fire.

Friends met for a last satisfying meal to celebrate the fish they love amongst the nature they cherish. Fly fishing companions raise their glasses to propose a toast to the week that has passed and no time is wasted to start planning further adventures for years to come.

Read Roger Ohlund’s recipe of braised trout with red onions in aluminium foil.

Latest articles

  • Bo Lindfors

    Section Links le date 11 March 2009

    Swedish fly angler and very keen photographer Bo Lindfors Visit his photoblog and enjoy some superb pictures of frozen lanscapes and Scandinavian animals

  • A Dream Degree ...

    Section > Shared passion le date 15 February 2009

    Angling writer Graham Mole always wanted a degree – some academic qualification. Now he’s got it – he’s a professor of fly fishing.

  • Rackelhanen Flyfishing Magazine

    Section Links le date 9 February 2009

    a webzine all about fly fishing, on Internet since 1995.

Food For Thought