The Fishing Handbook – everything you need to catch more fish

Quick start

If you own one setup, make it a 2.1–2.4 m medium spinning rod (10–30 g casting weight), a 2500–3000 size spinning reel and 0.12–0.15 mm braid with a fluorocarbon leader. That combo catches perch, pike (with a wire or heavy fluoro leader), zander, trout, sea trout, mackerel and garfish across most Nordic waters.

1. Pick the target species first, then the method, then the gear. Gear follows fish, not the other way around.
2. Fish where the fish are: structure (drop-offs, reed edges, weed beds, points, inflows, rocks) beats open water nine times out of ten.
3. Match the water temperature: cold water means slow presentations near the bottom; warm water means faster retrieves higher up.
4. Fish dawn and dusk for most predators, especially in summer.
5. Check the local rules before every new water: licence (fiskekort), minimum sizes, closed seasons, bag limits and protected species.
6. Keep a log: date, water, temperature, weather, lure, depth, catch. After one season it is worth more than any article.

If you only carry five lures: a 20–25 g silver spoon, a 10 cm shad on a 10 g jig head, a 7 cm perch-coloured soft plastic, a small spinner (size 2–3) and a 12 cm suspending jerkbait.

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