Fishing in Sweden

The most popular sport fishing species in Sweden are salmon, brown trout, pike, zander and cod.

The west coast offers good deep sea fishing. The main species caught in the North Sea are cod, pollak, garfish and sea trout. On the east coast, the brackish waters of the Baltic Sea are a great place to fish for pike and sea trout beween the islands. In the deeper waters like for example Hanöbukten and the waters outside Simrishamn in southern Sweden, large salmon are caught trolling artificials or deadbait using downriggers. Vertical jigging can also be successful to fish this species.

Southern Sweden features mostly lowland lakes stocked mainly with pike, zander and perch and coarse species.

Further north, Sweden is more rugged. Surrounded by hills and lush forests, its lakes are teeming with big pike, perch, zander and brown trout.

In the Arctic Circle you can enjoy your fly fishing adventure on the Lainio and Torne river in Swedish Lapland. This is without a doubt a world class destination for salmon, arctic char, grayling and brown trout.

Spring and Autumn, when the waters are cooler, is the best time for pike fishing in Sweden. During the hotter Summer months pike use to stay in deeper waters during the day and get active early morning and towards sunset. Summer is a great time to go perch and zander fishing though.

The Baltic Salmon season starts in Summer and you can troll for Atlantic Salmon through Autumn and Winter.

In Lapland, towards late May, the frozen rivers and lakes break up, sending huge amounts of ice cold water and ice downstream. The summer is the best time to fish for salmon in the Lainio and Torne rivers. Ah... you know what's great about fishing in late spring and summer in the Arctic Circle?: it never gets dark, so you can cast a line 24 hours a day! 

During the winter, you’ll be able to go ice fishing.

Discover Sweden’s capital city, Stockholm. Don't miss the Royal Palace, the old town Gamla Stan, the Rosendals Trädgård or get lost in the stacks at the Stockholm Public Library.

Visit the Kalmar Castle, the Gammelstad Church Town and the Uppsala Domkyrka. Enjoy culture in Malmö like the Moderna Museet Malmö.

Learn all about Sweden's legendary Vikings: see the granbyhällen or visit the Stockholm's Viking Museum.

In winter, you can also go skiing in the Åre ski resort in Jämtland.

You must hold a valid fishing permit to fish for freshwater fish on lakes and rivers. There are no national or regional permits in Sweden: every region has its own local permits and rules.

Generally, foreigners can fish in Sweden without a license. Usually, the fishing guides in Sweden include the fishing license in the price of the trip. They also know the local regulations, which licenses you need for which body of water and bag limits.

Many waters are closed at least during May when the fish are spawning, in order to protect the stocks.