Saltwater Bay Fishing

Mid-Winter in Sweden. A lone angler fishing from the Horsfjärden bay at Årsta Havsbad just before sunset yesterday. I told him that he probably enjoyed the social side of fishing. He found it very relaxing but hadn't caught any fish on this occasion.

Peace and quiet

He needed some time to reflect. Some peace and quiet. There was trouble at home and he needed to get away from it all. We talked for a few minutes and during that time he caught a rainbow trout. As seen at the Lower Lake at the Rudan Nature Reserve in Handen a few days ago.

A Cold Day For Fishing

A cold day for fishing, but it is just a short walk from central Handen so a warm cafe is only a few minutes away.

Multitasking

This was a bit of a surprise. Normally all the anglers in Handen fish at Lower Lake Rudan, and always from the piers. And as that's where the fishing club plants the fish that's where you are likely to catch it, at the lower lake. These guys were at Upper Lake Rudan. And they were fishing from a boat. They did look very professional with their matching outfits, and the silent going electric out-boarder didnt look cheap. But I have never heard that there are any fish in this lake! I asked them if they had caught any fish and the answer was no. Fishing is supposed to be very relaxing. A chance to get away from it all. At least that is what all the anglers and ice fishers that I have met at Lake Rudan keep telling me, so why was this guy on the phone? Perhaps he called his wife and told her that dinner would be served very late in the day!


I am making a few photo calendars for 2010 in case anyone is interested. The first one is up for sale already. They are not very expensive, and obviously all the photos are fantastic! If you have seen a photo here on the blog, or over at flickr that you think would look good in a calendar, just let me know and I will design one for you.

Where's the fish?

This is Alexander. He was fishing from the board walk at Lower Lake Rudan in Handen when I met him. He is from Upplands Väsby (North of Stockholm). He and his wife (the heavily pregnant woman far away to the right), found out about this fishing lake via a internet forum and decided to give it a go. As we don't have a car, it seemed the perfect place with the commuter station so near Alexander told me. They are both students, have two kids with a third on the way. Alexander studies computer science at the Stockholm University, and will be able to work as a Systems Architect in the future. Unfortunately for Alexander he didn't have any fishing luck, but the wife (a certified nursing assistant studying to be a nurse), had already caught two or three fishes, so we know who the fishing expert is in this family!

Gone Fishing

We have had some amazing weather lately. On such a day I decided to head over to Lake Rudan for some autumn photos. And that's were I met Björne. He was fishing from one of the piers. He wasnt expecting to get any fish, but as the weather was so good he didn't really care. Björne comes from Södermalm in Stockholm, but lives in Haninge these days. He was up until four in the morning playing and recording music at home, so he admitted to be a little tired when we met. What type of music do you play I asked. I play visrock he said. I sing and play the guitar. I'm not in a band now, but I did play in a band called Zombie Zoo many years ago, and we actually played here at Rudan at a festival. But we were more into partying and the bass player couldn't really play at all so I asked if there was a decent bass player in the crowd and this Norwegian dude took over. He was the best bass player I have ever played with! We didn't have any lyrics, so I just made them up as the gig went on. In the end we played for three hours and the crowd seemed to like us! After this funny story we talked some more, and then I took my photos at that was it.

This is my 94th photo for the 100 Strangers project. You can see the rest of my strangers in my Set.

Meet Hector

On my way to Handen yesterday I met Hectorat Lake Rudan. No points for guessing his hobby. He really enjoys his fishing, and gladly posed for a portrait for the 100 Strangers Project. Hector originally comes from Uruguay. He lived in Montevideo for two years when he was very young. His mothers family still lives there, and he plans to visit them next year. Hector lives with his girlfriend in Sköndal. He works as a painter and decorator and drives an old Volvo 240 that has been converted, and now runs on Biofuel. He sold his expensive BMW and paid 6000 SEK for the ethanol powered car after an idea from his brother. He reckons it will save him some money which can be good as he recently bought a boat, a Scandica 440 that he will use for fishing trips on Lake Mälaren. His best fishing story was when he landed a Havsöring, a trout (that weighed six kilo), on the first try when he was fishing with his dad at Dalarö. It took him 25 minutes to catch the trout, at this point in the story Hector got a bit technical, describing rods and reels, but I have no doubt that it was a true story. This is my 17th photo for the project, you can see the rest of my photos here.

Unlucky Anglers

More anglers at the beach. Doesnt look much like winter, I have a photo with the bay frozen, from a year or two ago. HERE it is. More beautiful frozen I guess...

Hooked on angling

Some anglers take their fishing seriously. This guy stood there in the Baltic Sea during my whole visit to the beach. The sea was so calm that the fishes probably saw him so I don't think he got any fish. From my visit to Årsta Havsbad.

The sound of silence

If you know me, you will know that I have a few favorite places that I visit as often as I can. Today it was time for a short visit to the beach again. It was a fantastic spring day. 15 C from a clear blue sky. I took a promenade down at the beach at Årsta Havsbad. Not a sound was heard. Total silence. In all I saw two people. Both fishers. They looked very concentrated. I don't think they got any fish but who cares on a day like this.