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Hans van Klinken
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Matt
Hayes
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Bernd
Ziesche
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Jan
van Zandwijk
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the
River Keeper
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Renato Bugelli
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Walter
Rijksen
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Pieter
Boone
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Per
Kardell
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Ivar Ψyan »
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The river keeper
- Hein van Aar, The Netherlands
Can
you tell something more about yourself ?
In 2003 I
lost my job in Holland, and I decided to try to
realize an old
dream: working and living in Scandinavia. Hεvard, the owner of Kvennan
Camping, offered me a summer job. Two years later we started Kvennan Fly
Fishing. The river board employed me as a manager for the KFF project,
river keeper, fishing inspector and webmaster. At
Kvennan Camping I work at the Kiosk as host and receptionist. If there is some time left,
I go fishing with friends and KFF guests, and I am a
Glomma fly fishing guide.
My original profession is photographer, during winter I live in Holland
and I am 46 years old.
How long have you been
a fly fisherman, and where have you been fishing among others ?
Since I was a small boy I have been fishing. Sitting in the bank of a
small Dutch channel, staring at my float, hoping to catch an eel or a
perch. Of course I didnt catch much, but my father and brothers had more
success. In the mid 80s my brother and our friend
Pieter introduced
me into fly fishing. We fished river Ourthe in Belgium for some years, and
I was hooked. To make a little camp next to the river, a fire in the
evening, drinking whiskey with good friends and talk for hours about the
right fly and the best techniques, for me these are the things fly fishing
is all about. So I went on, fished rivers in Germany, France and Austria
before making the big step to Canada. Later I fished the North and South
Island from NZ, and I went to the USA to try some remote rivers in Idaho.
And of course I fished Glomma. For the first time in 1993, and since that
year I visited Kvennan every year, mostly twice a year, a full month in
early season and a week or so in September. I am a dedicated nymph
fisherman, but I am starting to appreciate dry fly fishing
as well (at last
)
Why do you like river
Glomma and the Kvennan Fly Fishing zone ?
I think our stretch has everything Glomma can
offer.
The fly fishing zone
- KFF zone - can be defined as the perfect river stretch for the fly
fisherman. The flow has an ideal pace and depth for both trout and
grayling, and because the river is not that deep, it is possible to wade
at most places, even when the water level is higher than usual. The
water will stay clear enough for fly fishing, the river is not very
sensible for colouring during rainy days. When the water level is quite
low (for example during August) there remain enough deeper channels
where the grayling collects itself. There are a few dams upstream, but
unlike river stretches in the Southern part of Glomma there are no major
water level fluctuations caused by them. Especially Grayling doesnt
like sudden rises in water level, they just stop feeding then, and you
have to wait for the level to stabilize or fall. There are only a few
larger tributaries between Tynset and lake Aursunden, and this also
makes (in my view) that the river is not very vulnerable for high water-levels caused
by sudden heavy rain.
Can you tell
something about the old days at river Glomma ?
I can only refer to the last 15 years, but I
believe I can see changes in this period. In the first years the fishing
was rather lousy at Kvennan, there was a lot of fish in the river, but
mostly small ones. In those days I preferred to fish the Os stretch
because there was more big fish to be caught. A few years later, say
around 2000, the situation changed completely: it was lousy at Os, and
at Kvennan there was a lot of big grayling. When I began to think this
over, I realized this could only be caused by human influence - in the
form of fishing pressure and killing to many fish.
Did you catch any really
big fish in Glomma ?
I was very lucky in the early season of 2006, I
hooked, landed and released two trout, 64 and 68 cm ( 3 and 3,5 kg),
using my small Orvis rod with 14/100 tippet. They both fell for my gold
head nymph, and were in perfect shape. In Glomma my biggest grayling was
51 cm.
What is your
favourite dry fly ?
It
depends to the season, of course, but I like the Blue Winged Olive (parachute style) a lot because it is such an elegant fly, and the fish
go crazy for it.
What is your favourite nymph
?
No doubt, the Hare's ear gold head nymph.
How long leader do you use,
and how thick is your tippet ?
For nymph fishing I use fairly short leaders,
max. 10 ft. with tippet 12/100 or 14/100. When fishing dry I use a much
longer leader (3,5 - 4,5 meter) with tippet 14/100 or 16/100
Do you loose a lot of fish
when fishing without a barb on your hook ?
I don't loose so many fish, not with barbs and not without barbs. I
loose fish when I drill to hard, but I feel it is better to loose a few
then playing the fish to long !
What
do you think about the new rules & regulations ?
I think it is the only way to get a decent amount of
big grayling and trout in the river. And those big ones, for me they
are the reason to go fishing again and again. "
What should be your best
advice for a fellow Glomma fly fisherman ?
If your results are not good, you are doing something
wrong. There is so much fish around ! Ask advice from other fisherman in
the river or at the campsite, or come and have a chat with me at Kvennan
Kiosk.
What should be your best
advice for river management ?
Let's try to bring back our part of this beautiful river to the good old
days, and turn it into a real fly fishing
paradise. "
Is there something more you
want to share ?
I wish Tight lines for all our guests this summer !
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