A Guide to Coastal Fishing on Bornholm

Danish coastal seatrout fishing is in a league of its own, and some of the very best seatrout fishing is found along the majestic and stunningly beautiful cliff shorelines on Bornholm. Here, you’ll find lots of exciting stretches of coastal shoreline – like pearls on a string, and with a bit of luck you just might hook into a real monster.

Sure, they’re small and seemingly insignificant, but Bornholm’s many creeks and minute rivers provide the perfect habitat for the spawning runs of Baltic seatrout during the winter months. And there are quite a few of them. As a result, there are surprising amounts of seatrout around Bornholm during the winter months, when coastal fishing in other parts of the country isn’t all that hot. The seatrout season on Bornholm stretches from the beginning of September to the end of April, with November, December, January, February and March considered the top months.

Early in the year, when the conservation period that pertains to the estuaries of the smallest rivers finally ceases, many of the locals spend a lot of time here. Otherwise, lots of energy is put into covering areas along reefs, drop offs, plateaus, small bays, and areas where sandy bottom intersects with big patches of weeds and bladderwracks. In principal, however, the fish can be anywhere! They are hungry and opportunistic – and they school together in smaller or larger groups to hunt more effectively together. As a result, it pays off to actively search for the fish and try several different spots in a day’s fishing. And once you’ve located the fish, you stand a good chance of catching more than one.

Another trick is to look for turbid water. The local seatrout like to hunt on cloudy days, when the winds are howling, and the water has a bit of colour. It helps them hunt more efficiently. Knowing this, the locals usually pick wind-exposed coastal shorelines – preferably with head-on winds, and because there’s a chance of hooking into a real monster, they use rather heavy equipment: 9 – 10’ spinning rods with casting weights of 20 – 40 grams or 9’ 8-weight fly rods in combination with big, high-visibility flies, and lures that imitate sprattus, herring, sandeel, and gobius.

Most fishermen prefer to use waders when fishing Bornholm’s coastal shores. They primarily do so in order to be able to reach bars, reefs, and drop-offs and to increase their fishing radius. In a lot of spots, however, waders aren’t really necessary – especially not if you’re spin or bombarda fishing. Also, the majority of Bornholm’s coastal stretches drop off rather quickly, and sometimes the fish can be found right up against the shoreline.