A Memorable Fishing Adventure in Denmark with Peach - Fishing and Adventures

Peach
May 19
9 min read

Experiencing the EWF and Planning Our Trip

For the second year in a row, Peach - Fishing and Adventures was an exhibitor at the largest Fly Fishing show in Europe, the EWF, in Fürstenfeldbruck, near Munich. In my humble opinion, the EWF has the most beautiful venue of all the Fly Fishing shows I have attended. To make things even better, this year the weather was fantastic!

Since our attendance at the EWF involved crossing the Atlantic Ocean and flying for many hours, my wife and I thought some vacation time was appropriate. We planned accordingly. The end of April is a great time to travel within Europe, with temperatures that can vary from cold to mild to hot in the same day. However, it seemed a bit early for me to squeeze in some fishing days, as I usually like to do. Initially, I thought about wading for Pike in the North of Germany, but the season was not yet open. Fishing for trout in Germany was out of the question due to the complexity of the local fishing regulations.

Thanks to one of my German clients, the idea of fishing for Sea Trout in Denmark began to take shape. At first, I thought we were talking about the same "speckled trout" that we fish along the US shoreline. After some research, I learned we were discussing Sea-Run Brown trout. Wow, I thought, I can't miss that!

The Journey to Denmark

It may not be a big surprise, but Germany can be much bigger than it looks. A car ride from Munich to Hamburg can take more than 10 hours, even with their amazing Autobahns. So, to get from Munich to Denmark as quickly as possible, we needed a solid plan. We decided to return our rental car at the Munich Central Train Station as soon as the EWF was over. Then, we would jump on an overnight fast train to Hamburg, get a new rental car early the next morning near the train station, and head to a charming medieval town called "Middelfart" (no jokes here, please) in Denmark. By doing so, we would have a short 40-minute drive to our fishing lodge, where we would spend two nights—fishing one day with a guide and DIY for two half days.

Our vacation was planned around that idea. After fishing in Denmark, our itinerary included a couple of days in Flensburg and then Hamburg, where we would drop off the car upon our arrival.

Preparing for the Adventure

I still had a couple of small problems to resolve before going fishing in Denmark. First, I needed to make a reservation at the lodge. Then, I needed fishing gear (rods, reels, waders, boots, nets, etc.) for the DIY days. I was coming from a Fly Fishing Show, already fully packed with show materials such as backdrops, banners, and brochures, and had no way to pack anything else for this trip.

I sent an email to the contact at the lodge, but their rooms were unavailable. However, they said they could accommodate us off-premises in a little house a few minutes away from the lodge. Regarding fishing gear and accessories, considering my situation (coming from the EWF), I was generously offered to borrow their equipment from the lodge. Normally, the lodge would have rented the gear to me. That was first-class service, from beginning to end! I made the deposit to confirm my booking and was now on track to hunt these Baltic Sea Trout.

Discovering the Lodge and Surroundings

The lodge is located on the island of Fyn. Some interesting facts about this Danish island are that it is the birthplace of the famous fairy tale writer Hans Christian Andersen (born in Odense). It also has over 100 manor houses and castles, but most importantly for us, it boasts about 700 miles of shoreline. With countless wading points around the island, one can find a good spot despite the wind direction on any given day.

Included in the lodge's rate are a European-style breakfast buffet, dinner (with an Italian flair, as they like to brag), and coffee at any time of the day. The entire staff is very experienced and customer-oriented. If you DIY fish, they will provide you with all the intel and point you to a few locations for a successful day. If you want a guided trip, they will hook you up with one of their guides.

The First Day of Fishing - A Memorable Fishing Adventure in Denmark

Back to our adventure, we left Middelfart after breakfast and headed to Assens to check out this little old town and buy some water. The drive to the lodge was breathtaking—green fields with wildflowers blooming, contrasting with the blue sky and the light green Baltic Sea. We arrived around noon at the lodge, where Omar was waiting to gear me up for my first DIY fishing on the island. The wind was blowing from the northwest, so we walked to a map on the wall of the lodge, and he recommended a beach not far from us.

The next question was, what flies should I use? I had brought a small fly box with Bonefish flies, just in case. During the EWF, I spoke with several vendors and friends and ended up buying a few shrimp patterns. I was also given a few other classic sea trout patterns to try out, including the famous Magnus. Of course, when I got to deciding what to use, Omar told me to forget about all that and use a single (weightless) pattern developed by them called the Jan Kenobi, if I'm not mistaken.

I headed to the beach and started wading, keeping in mind that it wasn't necessary to go deeper than my shins, which I often did. I followed the strict rule of covering as much water as possible by making one cast and stepping to the side for the next one, and so forth. The bottom was mostly filled with tumbling rocks, which were very slippery, so caution was imperative. At certain points, there was very fine sand that could easily turn into quicksand and drag your feet down if you didn't keep moving. Once you get all that in your blood, it feels so peaceful. The water was extremely clear, and there was only one other angler in sight, but far from me.

Once in a while, I would see an angler passing by or someone walking their dog, but besides that, it was just me and that vast ocean. At one point, to satiate my curiosity, I dipped my finger in the water and tasted it. To my surprise, the water was not as salty as I was used to. Later, I was told that the salt in the Baltic Sea was so low that they didn't even have to rinse the fishing gear, boots, and waders after every trip. How convenient, I thought!

As I moved and contemplated that magical scenery, I felt a bump; I continued to strip and felt another bump—then, fish on! Wow, it happened! The brown sea-run trout took the fly. After a couple of jumps, I got my net out to remove the hook. I brought the fish close to admire this more-silver-than-expected brown trout before putting it back in the water. The trout was still full of energy and swam away like a small torpedo. My mission was accomplished, and I was as happy as a dog with two tails. So far, such a memorable fishing Adventure in Denmark.

Reflections on the Day

On my way back, after around 4-5 hours in the water, I realized I had gone pretty far and now had to walk all the way back. I passed around five other anglers during the afternoon, and most of them told me they had been skunked. However, one of them was very excited to share his catch—a 60 cm trout. Indeed, when he pulled out his phone, I could see what was a beautiful big sea-run trout. He asked me about the size of my trout, and I had to guess because I didn't even think about it when I caught it. Around 30 cm seemed like a fair guess, so that's what I told him.

One thing I learned that day, based on a comment made by one of the anglers I met on the beach, was that the wind is a fundamental part of catching sea trout in these waters. When the wind dies down, visibility increases, and the trout become extremely wary. I was done for the day and finally could check into our little home, take a shower, and head to the lodge for dinner.

The little house turned out not to be so little; it was a charming old-school white house with a sod roof. As unusual as it may sound, the first room in the house was the bathroom, followed by a kitchen and dining room, then a living room with a TV, and finally, a spacious bedroom. Perfect! Time for dinner, and we headed to the lodge. We were the last ones to arrive, but still in time to place our order. The menu featured pizza, which had one of the best doughs I had ever tasted. To celebrate the day, we also ordered the locally brewed Fly Catcher's Ale. Off to bed we went, ready for a long day ahead.

A New Day of Fishing

The next morning, we met for breakfast and were introduced to our guide for the day, Jan. He was, by the way, the same person who served the pizzas the previous night and also the master brewer of the beer we had for dinner. I was prepared for a tough day. Sea trout fishing on the Baltic Sea is famous for not being a "20-fish-a-day" kind of deal, and reports from the previous day were pretty gloomy. Also, because they had a long winter in Fyn, the fish were not as active as expected for that time of year.

None of that stopped us. Worst-case scenario, my wife (with her spin rod) and I (with a fly rod) would have a great time hitting different spots of this incredible ocean. To make things even more challenging, the wind was not blowing. On the bright side, most of the spots we visited were much easier to wade compared to what I encountered the previous day.

During the trip with Jan, we confirmed my suspicion that the tides do not vary much on the island and that the wind plays a much larger role in pushing the tides in and out. For the entire day, the tide was very low and the wind almost absent. To make a long story short, despite the expertise and effort put into catching a trout, it did not happen. We had a great day nonetheless.

The guiding days are pretty long. We started at 9 AM, had a short break for a sandwich and beer for lunch, and didn’t give up until around 5:30 PM. Unlike most of the experiences I had before, there was quite a bit of hiking involved in between fishing spots. As a result, once the day was over, we had walked about 10 miles. By 6 PM, we were exhausted and returned straight to the lodge for dinner, which is served at 7 PM.

During dinner, we talked with other anglers and learned that some of them did pretty well, catching numbers and sizes in different fishing spots. The dinner menu of the day included a soup followed by a very fine charcuterie board and dessert—just what we needed! We got ourselves a bottle of Chianti, drank a glass, and took the remaining to finish at our nice sod roof house. Going to sleep after that was easy.

Final Fishing Morning and Reflections

On our last day, our final fishing morning before driving to Flensburg, was a repeat of the previous day. The difference was that the morning was a bit cloudier, but the air was still not moving. Being pragmatic and with an eye on our travel schedule, I decided to hit some of the places we visited on the previous days and some new spots nearby.

As I got in the car to continue our vacation, I was very happy with this experience, which was brand new to me, and all the things we learned. People are not joking when they say Sea Trout is the 1,000-cast fish, but I had the opportunity to catch one. It still amazes me that in this vast ocean, these trout would chase such small streamers.

The trip was very enjoyable, and I highly recommend the Denmark Fishing Lodge and the island of Fyn to anyone willing to chase some Sea Run Trout in the Baltic Sea. During our interactions with some of the guests, we noticed that fishing was just part of the deal. The exercise, the contact with nature, the entire fishing setting, the amicable yet professional relationship between lodge staff and clients, the food, and much more make some guests return for the 10th time. This is an experience for the whole family, and there is so much to do and see in that part of Europe that it is impossible not to consider staying longer.

In addition to the Sea Trout experience, I was also told that for only 10 weeks per year, they host a Pike fishing program in private lakes that belong to the royal family. This is arguably the best pike fishing in Europe, where catching 3ft pikes is a very doable target, I was told.

A DIY week trip runs around 4500€, per person, including accommodation and meals. Contact us if you are interested in learning more.