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Angling in the Northern Triangle
“Lapland is a land of contrasts. We were met by a captivating sight in the magical night light. On an expansive field with short grass, globeflowers abounded in full bloom. As we passed the crest, we startled an arctic fox, which disappeared among the flowers. Nearer the river, the terrain turned into more of a swampy slope and there were numerous palsas, large brown turf mounds with permafrost.” (Carsten Lorange. ”Fluga i vildmark” 1959).
Sandåslandet.
The Municipality of Kiruna has some of the world’s best grayling areas. One such area is the much celebrated Sandåslandet, the barren sand pit we all yearn for.
The mother lake is Rostujávri, in whose care Rostuätno and the Norwegian Rosta River are born. The lake also gives life to most of the flowing water in the area and is the natural source lake to the downstream rivers of Lainioälven and Torneälven.
If we follow the fly-fishing paradise of Rostuätno south, we will find that it eventually joins another interesting grayling water in Arctic Scandinavia, namely the Tavvaätno River from the West. Together with the Rostuätno, this stream forms Torneälven’s classic tributary Lainioälven.
Sandåslandet is the collective name for all the barren land framed by Tavvaätno and Pirtimysjokk in the south, the Korvejávri and Kiepanjávri lakes in the west, Rostuätno in the east and Kummaätno in the north. The landscape is characterised by low mountains, airy heaths, lovely sand ridges and almost endless swamps.
The enormous quantities of sand that characterise the area were probably left over from the wildest and most beneficial advances of the ancient glacier river.
The landscape is overwhelming and fairly flat. Sand dominates, as do willow expanses. It is therefore important to plan your fishing trip, in terms of equipment as well as with a view to the changing nature of the landscape. Hike along the sand ridges and the dry parts, but avoid the willow. The vegetation can slow your progress and usually causes some problems. Vegetation maps are now available of many areas in the mountain regions.
Some interesting fishing waters
Rostujávri
The famous wilderness camp of Rostujávri is found on the magnificent tundra in the northernmost part of Swedish Lapland. Many associate Rostujávri with char fishing on ice in April, May and June and fly fishing for graylings, salmon trout and char in the summer. The lake and surrounding mountain landscape is unspoiled wilderness in a land without roads. There are sandy, glittering grayling streams and shiny red char. Nowhere can the soul find such peace as in Rostujávri.
The lake can be said to be the heart of Sandåslandet, a pulsating lake that gives life to the surrounding landscape. The Rostuätno flows from here, and further on it is one of many biologically important source flow s to the downstream Lainioälven River.
The famous fishing camp lies to the south-east of Råstojaure. The camp offers good accommodation, a sauna and boats for hire. Char fishing with a trolling spoon from a boat is popular on the lake.
The Norwegian-Swedish boundary waters
One mystification with Rostujávri is that the lake is a watershed, which means that it dewaters into two oceans. Rostuätno flows down into the south-east and the water flow ends with the Torneälven River descent into the Gulf of Bothnia. On the other side, just into Norway, the Rosta Elv River starts. It is a nice little mountain river with good stocks of grayling, salmon trout and char. The river flows towards the Norwegian coast, and somewhere along the way it has salmon and becomes known as Målselv River. From there it is not far to the Atlantic. Fishing permits for Norwegian waters can be purchased from us at Kallax Flyg.
Rostuätno with Härkejávri
The Rostuätno starts its course in the easternmost part of Rostujávri. The first streams and rapids down towards the large stretch of smooth water Härkejávre offer nice fishing places for the fly and spinning fisher. As the area is so close to the main lake, the chances of a tussle with a char are good. When fishing in Härkejávri, you should know where the quota stretch starts.
Rostuätno sometimes has a decent stock of salmon trout and can be said to be the most salmon-dense water in Sandåslandet. Naturally, there are also good stocks of grayling. Special permission must always be obtained for the quota-based stretch in the north. The first stretch is quota-based and you should therefore check the regulations. The stream alternates between stretches of smooth water and streams. The landscape consists of a nice mixture of stony ground, sand ridges and willow.
Downstream, permitted fishing opens down to Greningen, ie, where Rostuätno meets Tavvaätno and forms Lainioälven. The stream is well-suited to fly fishing, as are all the rivers in Sandåslandet.
Tavvaätno and nearby waters
About 20 kilometres south of Råstujávri is the grayling river of Tavvaätno. The river is 26 kilometres long and has two geographic parts. The upper more tundra-like region has enormous sand ridges interspersed with willow regions. Tavvaätno starts its flow from two small streams, Päkkejokk and Korvejokk from the north.
Both streams are stony and swift in parts, especially the last part of Korvejokk. Grayling is the dominant species, but there are some salmon trout, especially in Päkkejokk.
Päkkejokk really comes from the enormous lake Kiepanjávrioch and flows through Lake Päkkejávri along its way.
Korvejokk comes from northern Korvejávri and can be divided into two parts: the stretch from Korvjávri down to Sinutluobbal and the stretch down to the confluence of Tavvaätno.
Downstream of Sinutluobbal, there is a bridge across the stream, and the Skitsejokk also flows there. The river used to be called Skitsekallajokk and has char in the upper parts towards the enormous lakes Tjuolmajávrisjöarna.
One kilometre downstream of Korvejokk’s inflow, where Tavvaätno starts, the next stream runs down from the north. It is Skitsejokk’s twin stream, the possibly even more tongue-twisting Ittetjuolmajokk. Nowadays, it has the somewhat simpler name of Ittejohka. Both rivers are sensitive to water changes and can have low water during dry periods. The upper parts of Ittejohka can have char if the weather is right. Graylings make up the main populations of all the river systems.
Harrejokk
13 kilometres downstream of Tavvaätno’s sources, the bigger river of Harrejokk runs down. The watercourse has good stocks of grayling and has its source almost up by Rostujávri. There are some smaller tributaries that can be of some interest to the angler. The river can be divided into two parts where the northern part flows on firm ground. The streams, which are replaced by stretches of smooth water, consist of sand or stone. The lower parts, downstream of the small peanut-shaped lake of Buljitjavri, are swampier and difficult to pass in parts, especially the expansive swamp Tavvavuoma down towards the confluence towards Tavvaätno.
Sandåslandet’s many streams are quite shallow and the angler will always find a suitable place to wade across |
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