We landed in Kiruna, collected the rental car, and set off, winding our way to the cabin far off the beaten path. We got a tip from a local angler. A river that flows between two major lakes, a stream where once trout was predominant, but that is now colonized almost exclusively by grayling and pike.

There is no road leading to the stream; the only way to reach it is by walking for about an hour through the forest. We reached the river with moderate effort. Though it now flowed just a few meters from us, getting to the water itself was not as easy as it seemed.

The final steps toward the water were the most arduous, and that this will hold true in every place we explored here. The stones lay veiled in soft moss, their surfaces treacherous, while hidden gaps between them demanded the utmost vigilance with every step. Closer to the river’s edge, the ground changed little; the moss merely receded, yielding to the same uncertain footing. Each step into the current was a trial, and finding a stance firm enough to cast became an adventure wherever we attempted to reach.

There was no surface activity, so I rigged a double nymph setup, with a leading P&P nymph on a size 14 hook, and attached a strike indicator, estimating the water depth at around 1.5 meters. On my very first cast, I could not see the indicator on the water, thus I attempted to mend the line only to realize there was a huge fish on. It pulled with immense power, sticking to the bottom. At the end of the line was a relentless, uncompromising opponent. It clung to the riverbed like a barbel, then bursts into swift, surging runs both upstream and down. At last, it revealed itself: a magnificent, dark, heavy grayling, well over the 50-centimeter mark.

I continued fishing with the weighted nymph, taking a grayling on nearly every cast. Strong, dark fish that repeatedly surpassed the 45-centimeter mark. Meanwhile, small dark stoneflies began to appear in the air with increasing frequency, joined by olive duns, though not in sufficient numbers to trigger consistent fish rising.

For the next hour, the takes came at an astonishing pace, and I quickly lost count of the fish. The riverbed seemed packed with large grayling. In the picture: one of many fish over 50 cm that fell to the P&P nymph.

The next strike felt like a massive fish! I soon realized that the arm-long shape that had swallowed my grayling was a large pike. After a fierce tug-of-war on the thin leader, just before landing it, the pike spat out the grayling, which emerged lifeless from its fearsome jaws, and then the pike swam away.

Continuing along the river demanded immense effort. The uneven terrain, riddled with pitfalls, holes, and slippery moss, made every step a risk for a broken leg. Reaching the water offered little relief; even after pushing through the vegetation, there were only a few spots where one could safely stand and cast.

The reward for our grueling trek across jagged terrain exceeded all expectations: the river harbored some of the largest grayling we had ever landed.

The surroundings lived up to the expectations of our journey, untouched nature, pristine waters, and an atmosphere reminiscent of Alaska.

There comes a moment when, after landing all these sizable grayling, one may feel the urge to raise the stakes. It came the time to swing the 8-weight rod I had carried throughout the hike. It wasn’t long before a brutal tug halted the retrieval of the 20-cm streamer, and the battle with a hungry pike began.

Whenever olive duns began to emerge, we enjoyed good dry-fly fishing. Yet, in this early season, the nymph remained king, capable of catching the largest fish.

At the end of the day, we were simply awe-struck by the beauty and abundance of fish in this place, while also feeling a deep respect, and a thorough exhaustion, from the challenges required to fish it. That is why, for us, it will always be the Helluva River!

Little fishing pressure, pristine water, and a rich macrobenthic community, the perfect cocktail for a healthy river that doesn’t need any stocked fish to thrive.
Gears used:
6wt 9-foot fly rod with a 6 weight WF floating line for nymphs and dryflies
and a traveller 8wt 9-foot in 6 pcs for streamer fishing, equipped with 8WF floating fly line.