Every summer my two sons come to visit. They both love the outdoors, and everything it has to offer. Kristoffer, the youngest of the two is not the keenest angler. his interests are more for environment, biology and all the living beings in nature, and then specially in and around the water. Adrian, the oldest of the two is even more hooked on fishing than I am. This year Kristoffer had been invited to go on a trip with a buddy, so his stay was cut short. After he had left I aimed our activities more on fishing. This year we rented a boat on Hundsjön, and Adrian, Sonia and I went out to try for some trout. Unfortunately the wind increased such that we had to cut our trip short, so I suggested an alternate plan. Explore a small pond that I always had been curious about.

Perch grow very slowly, and with there being so many lakes and ponds in the area compared to anglers they do get a chance to grow bigger here than many other places. Specially compared to the US. I have constantly been getting feedback on my photos posted on the net about how large our average size perch are. While this actually isn't the truth if you count all ponds and lakes combined, it is for some of the less fished waters. Our large perch, and the fairly good chance of catching a whopper sized one attracted Ted to come and spend a week end fishing in our waters. 

In Härjedalen the summer season officially starts June 1'st. Of course it is possible to fish in open waters all year around, and usually most rivers and lakes have open water from the beginning of May. The thing is though that the lakes and ponds with Brown Trout and Arctic Char open Jun 1'st. This day a lot of anglers are out attempting to catch their first trout for the summer. I personally set off this day to do just that. Fish in some of the lakes and ponds that have been closed since there was thick ice on the water. 

I know that most people only fish during the summer, and most of those that fish during the winter will only go out whe the temperature is no colder than -15C. For us Countryfishers Ice fishing is something we do no matter how cold it is. Fact is that the Arctic Char usually bite best when the weather is nice with clear skies, and clear skies often mean cold weather. At least when you are in Härjedalen.