Is there a better way to relax than catching whooping fish in picturesque surroundings with the family? We did not have fishing experience before going to Lapland. We have heard and read that you can find easily accessible fish in Lapland. Even beginners can easily experience the thrill of catching their fish here.
Our cottage stood on the shores of lake Paatari, which has clear and chilly waters and, therefore, lots of fish. Through the Vaskjoki, Lake Paatari is connected to the very famous Lake Inari.
In Finland, you need a permit to go fishing, even if you own the lake. Fishing is permitted by general regulations and with the consent of the owner of the water area. Fishing permits can be obtained from local issuers. You can buy them from the Sami museum in Inari. A fishing permit is required for every fisherman at least 18 years old.
We used the equipment we had taken with us on the first day. This was not a successful trial, but catching is not essential in fishing, but the process itself is.
Our friendly neighbors saw that we were not experienced fishermen and helped us. At first, they taught us how to use spinning and showed us where to fish. After that, we were so excited that we went to a local shop and bought ourselves the gear (spinning, tackle, etc.).
After setting the equipment to order, the trial was made from the cape next to the house. Although it was already late, it was not dark, and we caught the first perch. It tasted so good!
In the following days, we caught more perch and trout. One day, we were lucky to catch a pike weighing 3 kg. For us, it seemed that we had got something extraordinary. But we heard from Vilho that Samis do not value pike; they are more up to catching trout.
On the last day, Vilho took us fishing with nets. We experienced both net setting and net take. The net setting occurred in the evening and took out the following day. We caught some 15 fish – pike, salmon, and perch. Vilho cleaned them, and later in the afternoon, we smoked the fish and had an excellent picnic.
The story continues with A short visit to Norway and the Arctic Ocean.
Related reading:
