A Guide to Bombarda Fishing on Bornholm

The coastal shores along Bornholm are rugged, harsh, and varied. Here, you’ll find coastal stretches over-strewn with abraded rocks, sandy flats, forests of aquatic weeds, and steep cliffs that drop dramatically off into the ocean.

The common denominator for all of them is that they tend to fish best in headwinds, and – obviously – this can be problematic. Fly fishing, at times, can be an incredibly effective method for connecting with big seatrout, but when the winds are howling and the waves come crashing in, it sometimes proves difficult to reach the fish. And while Bornholm’s seatrout like to hunt close to shore, it’s not uncommon either to find them along the drop-offs further out – a little bit out of the fly fisherman’s reach. However, when fishing with a bombarda float, reaching the fish with a fly isn’t a problem.

Bombarda fishing with flies has developed into a very popular method across Denmark, and it certainly isn’t without reason. A fly is a good universal lure for seatrout, since it is capable of imitating everything from small Gammarus and shrimp to big prey fish like sprattus and herring. And with a bombarda float and one of the many custom-designed bombarda rods, now available on the market, you get the best of two worlds: A super-effective and versatile fly (that can be fished very slowly when needed) and maximum casting range.

Especially on Bornholm, there are several good reasons to fish with bombarda and flies. Many of the bigger fish that are caught during the winter and spring months fall prey to small flies in, for instance, pink nuances – slowly retrieved. The only way to fish such flies – at a distance, in rough weather, is with a bombarda setup.

Using a bombarda float you can effectively fish wind-exposed coastal stretches without compromising casting length, and in a lot of places you won’t even have to wade in. This minimizes the chance of you spooking fish, it makes it easier for you to keep warm, and it is safer than venturing into an agitated sea.

A good bombarda setup for Bornholm’s coastal shores involves a 10 – 12’ bombarda rod in combination with a standard saltwater resistant spinning reel pre-spooled with 0,20 – 0,25mm braided line. At the end of the braided line, mount a 15 – 25 gram intermediate- or slow sinking bombarda float (preferably with a bombarda stick”). Now, tie a section of about 2 meters of 0,25 – 0,30mm nylon or fluorocarbon tippet onto the main line and attach your fly at the end of it.  Good examples of useful flies include Pattegrisen, Kobberbassen, Yellowtail Fry, Pink Glimmerreje, Polar Magnus, Brenda, Cutthroat Kutling, and Grå Frede.