Fly-Fishing for Arctic Char
- Equipment & Techniques

Light rods...newrun Char

There are no secrets with regards to the equipment. Use the type of rod with which you feel comfortable to fish for trout. Personally, I use a 7'6'' , AFTM # 4-5, rod with a quite fast action. Well, I do not deny that a rod one foot longer is probably more suitable on this big river, but often you do not have to make long casts. As to the strengths of the rod I always managed to get my fish under control (the biggest weighing around 1,5 kg).
However, I know Norwegians who would never fish with such a light rod: They do not want to take any risk of losing Chars which can weigh up to 3 kg. Besides, suddenly a salmon might be interested in your small fly....!

Make sure that there is enough backing on your reel. Arctic Char is a really strong fighter!! A hooked fish will often run into the fast water. If you do not want to break the leader you should be prepared to let him go a few meters. For dry-fly fishing I use long leaders, at least double my rod's lengths, i.e. 4,50 m. The tippet should be at least 0,18mm (4X ) otherwise there is no way to control a hooked fish. When the surface is riffled you can go higher.