The hunt for Silver - Havsöring
This is a photographic report of my trip to Sweden in April 2026, where I met up with my long time friend Duncan Philpott, who has called Sweden home for the past 4 years. Duncan has successfully infiltrated the scene of Swedish fly fishermen, and invited me to join his group for a trip to the west coast in search of sea trout.
Myself, Duncan, Per, Fredrik and Christian, spent 3 days scouring the coast line, islands and ‘shitty pools’ around Tjörn on Sweden’s west coast. Armed with my trusty Fuji X100f, I documented our endeavours, the highs, the lows, and the many, many, many, many casts looking for elusive fish…
Day 1 - Optimists
I flew into Gothenburg, was collected from the airport and we got straight into fishing, ticking off a couple of likely spots on our way to meet up with the rest of the guys.
It was an unusually warm and sunny day and we quickly found rising fish in a small bay lined with traditional red buildings. We set up rods, tied on flies and set to work covering the vast expanse of water as best we could. It was here where we ran in to our first of many unwilling sea trout, fish clearly on the hunt, but not interested in any of the flies that we offered them.
I traveled with only hand luggage, waders, boots, net, and some spare pants stuffed into a small duffle. Duncan kindly lent me a rod, heavy lines, and a box of hand tied flies - my 3wt river outfit and 6x tippet wasn’t going to cut it if we hooked into a fish out here.
Kit & relearning to cast
Coming off a long winter of lobbing weighted nymphs on a tight line euro set up, I was in at the deep end and quickly relearning how to distance cast big fluffy streamers and a heavy 6wt line.
Anyone who knows me, knows that i’m well versed at chucking streamers, and i’d like to think that i’m not bad at casting a dry fly either. But the difference between an accurate 5m cast on a river and a 30m cast into the wind with good leader turn over at sea, it turns out, is quite large. I spent a lot of the first day overpowering, snatching at line and dialling in timing and the speed of the rod. And after several hours spooking fish and snagging back casts, I really got to grips with it.
I was kindly leant a Guideline Evolution 9ft 6wt, and Guideline NOVA reel pared up to a Scientific Angler Volantis line. The combination was dreamy, the rod was medium fast action, perfectly balanced to the reel and super light in the hand - ideal for 3 days of nonstop casting.
Stripping finger socks were deployed to counter the line rub from the salty water, and flies ranged from small natural shrimp patterns through to giant pink and orange attractor streamers.
PEAK ANGLERS
PEAK ANGLERS
Day 2 - Fredrik and the boat
After a full day of driving, walking, scrambling and wading to spots, Dr to be Fredrik, the beer brewing bearing specialist, kindly offered for us to all join him aboard the mighty Sandström, a traditional Swedish made fishing boat powered by a 50hp outboard, and perfectly fitting five fully grown anglers and their kit.
We spent the day effortlessly hopping between Fredrik’s secret spots, becoming the only inhabitants on remote islands and accessing hard to reach shorelines.
Per and Sausage
Fishing isn’t all about catching fish, and it doesn’t even have to be about fishing either. One of the most enjoyable parts of this trip were the freshly cooked sausages with mustard, ketchup and crispy onions, fried up on the beach or on the tailgate of a Land Rover, by Per.
It’s worth noting that if you ever see Slotts Senap Skansk Swedish Wholegrain Mustard, buy it on bulk immediately, it’s absolutely delicious!
Day 3 - Christian found silver
It turns out that Christian is a man of many talents. A Swiss cheese importer and creator of a mean cheeseboard, tier of exquisite flies to match any hatch, and an angler who can find fish when few others can.
The lack of trophy trout images in this gallery isn’t just me trying to keep your interest until the end, it is the reality of a tough few days angling for hard to catch fish. We were challenged with unseasonably hot, sunny clear days, and hatches of tiny Herring fry in their millions turning the bays into a thick soup of food for the trout.
A virtual social blackout from the regular west coast anglers leads me to think that we weren’t the only ones to struggle to find fish. And whilst I would have loved to net my first sea trout, this time it was just not meant to be.
So I write this on the flight home with sore hands from stripping line, aching shoulders from thousands of cast and hand luggage dripping from wet waders and boots, with no fish to show for it. Yet I am smiling from ear to ear as I look at the images and think back on the experience - fishing really is more than just catching fish. It’s meeting new and interesting people, nerding out over fly patterns, enjoying good food and too many drinks, and all relishing in the shared experiences and truly stunning locations this pursuit takes us.
Thanks Duncan for capturing this image whilst I was out at sea.
Bonus gallery
