May update!

May is finally here and as always this is a very busy month for us. Last weekend we were fully booked. We had 17 rental boats out on the water plus another 10-12 private boats. In addition to this, we also had some guided trips and you can understand that we had our schedule filled to its limits!

Weather has continued to be strange. During the last few days we've had several nights where air temperature dropped below zero again. Combined with this, we also had several days where day time offered all sorts of weather. Sparkling sun, wind squalls up to 18m/s, heavy rain, light rain, hail, small twisters... we had it all!

When it comes to results, I would say that you can for sure feel now that activity is slowly getting better. Pikes has now started to spread out from the bays and can now be found in most parts of the archipelago. Yesterday, I had a guided trip with two Swedish men. We managed to catch 18 pikes during the day and most of them was caught around islands. The biggest pike caught by our guests last weekend, at least of what I heard of, was 105cm.

Today we also welcomed Ivan to our crew. He spent a week at our camp some weeks ago but has now graduated from the Swedish Sportfishing Academy, ready to start work immediately! Make sure to say hi to him if you visit us!

Our on site restaurant has been facing some major renovation lately but will soon be ready to open up again. The original plan is to open for lunch at 20th of May while the restaurant will be fully renovated and done in mid June. I can assure you, it's going to be great!

Right now we have a little less than 20 anglers on site with many more to arrive in a few days. Still, a few weekends in May is still open for reservations. Normally, most weekends get fully booked early but this year we still have a few packages available during popular weeks and weekends. Don't miss out!

// Daniel Wickman
   2019-05-06

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A well visited Easter holiday

My frequent readers will probably understand why the activity here in the blog has been low lately. Simply, there has been no time to sit down and make an update.. However, now it's finally time again!

We're in the middle of easter holiday and at Dragsö we have more than 150 campers/caravans staying over the weekend. Today we also said goodbye to about 35 anglers that tried their luck over the last few days. Weather has been super strange lately. Last week we had 5 consecutive nights with negative degrees which once again created small layers of ice in a few shallow bays in the archipelago. However, this week has been the completely different since several days is reaching air temperatures of 20 degrees. This combined with nothing but sun, no winds at all and low water (-40cm) doesn't really invite to good pike fishing conditions.

Most guests that left us today reported about low numbers and not to many big fish either. At least two pikes over +100cm and the best boat had 25 pikes in one day, while many barely reached a handful per day.

I wild guess would be that approx 4/5 pikes are now done with spawning. However, still we get reports about pikes being caught which still carry their eggs. This is completely normal for this time of the year and most probably it will be a few more weeks until the last fish is done.

Next weekend we'll be visited by approx 30 new guests. But until Thursday, we only have one group at Camp Dragsö.

I will now have a few days off work. Let's see if there will be any time spent on the water... A bad guess is, of course it will be!

// Daniel Wickman
   2019-04-21

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No April jokes!

April is here and it feels like spring is just flying away now. Did we even have a month called March this year? Well, obviously we had! Last week we had about 25 anglers on Camp Dragsö Sportfishing and I must say that numbers was variating a lot between the boats. Still, a lot of big fish has been caught!

About a week ago, I was out on a guided trip with RAM MOUNTS and had a great day on the water, with Jörgen Lind as a guide in another boat. In my boat, we caught a fantastic number of 67 pikes with the biggest fish measuring 106cm and over +8kgs. The other boat had very good numbers as well and I think we ended up with more than 120 pikes in the two boats. This combined with a nice bbq for lunch really set the flag on top this day.

A few days later I had a half day trip with Randall from USA who brought his two sons Riley and Randy. We had very difficult conditions with no wind and almost clear blue sky. The trip was slow in the first hours but before lunch we started to feel a gentle breeze and pikes got active immediately. Within the last hour or so we managed to catch 11 pikes and the slow morning was forgotten.

Later in the week we were visited by approx 20 more anglers who skipped the Swedish Sportfishing fair which was arranged in Jönköping last weekend. Most of the groups had tough fishing the first day, which was Thursday, while the rest of the weekend offered mixed results. Several boats had about 20 pikes per day and very good average size with many between 80-95cm. A couple of pikes over +100cm was reported as well!

A nice bonus catch was also reported during one of the days. A stunning sea trout of 4,5 kilos decided to eat a jerkbait for lunch! Sea trouts are not easy to catch but if there is any time of the year that we hear about those bonus catches, it's for sure now during end March/April.

One of the guest groups told me that they found an area where pikes seemed to spawn, while the other groups didn't see any signs of it yet. It's normal for this time of the year and most probably some more pikes will start this week. We had a very cold night last night with negative degrees but upcoming days will be 6-9 degrees in day time according to the forecast.

Today we also welcome Ivan from the Sportfishing academy to Camp Dragsö Sportfishing. He will do his trainee period for a week now before he starts working on the camp in the beginning of May. Very welcome!

Oh, I forgot. It's been some time since my last post.. I forgot that since then, I have also catch myself a real beauty out there on a day off work. A stunning lady of 113cm and 11,7 kilos, caught in about 0,5m of depth. Guess if I'm happy :-)

//Daniel Wickman
  2019-04-01 

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Mid March update

Mid March is here and this is a nice time of the year for pike anglers. Fortunately, in Karlskrona we are lucky to have a very short period of ice each year. Some years we don't even get any ice at all. This year we only had ice for about a month from mid January to mid February.

Last weekend we had a couple of fishing groups staying at Dragsö. One of them a returning Swedish group coming for a couple of guided fishing days with me. The other guys was another returning Swedish group with who went out with a rental boat. Conditions was tough with winds up to 23m/s on Friday and 21m/s on Saturday. This combined with low temperatures and lots of rain didn't give us the best conditions to fish. However, in my boat we got up to good numbers anyway and also some nice fish to!

Friday was spent west of Dragsö while Saturday was spent in the east part of the archipelago. During Friday we caught 33 pikes and Saturday 42 pikes. Many more was lost (as always!) and the top pikes in the boat during Saturday measured 96,92,91,90 and many more over +80cm. This even though we had company with a seal a couple of times in the area where we fished. However, it was clear that when the seal was close by, the pikes got completely inactive. 15 minutes later they were back to normal activity again. 

More or less every day now we receive new reservations of fishing packages and popular weekends in May are filling up fast now. The same when it comes to available guide dates. Most Fridays and Saturdays in April/May is now already booked so if you think of visiting us this spring, it's for sure about time to make up your mind as soon as possible!

All boats are now in the water and ready for fishing. Upcoming weekend we will lay low and only have cabin reservations but from next week we will be open 7 days a week. Really looking forward to this spring!

// Daniel Wickman
   2019-03-13

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Season starts early

Hi fellow readers,

March is here and finally it's getting time to start spring fishing season. Our first guests is here already and from now on, anglers will be visiting us frequently. Ice got away several weeks ago and personally I've already been out on the water three times since then. First day on the water a couple of weeks ago went well! 50 pikes caught on two anglers and a nice fish of 103cm as the biggest one.

Weather is strange. Actually, earlier this week we had several days with about 12-15 degrees and sun. In the neighbour city of Karlshamn, an all time temperature record was set last Tuesday when the scale showed 16,7 degrees, 26th of February! Insane for sure.. We've had several Swedish midsummers last few years with lower temperatures than what we've experienced this week in February.

With the nice weather going on, me and Willy has been working fast and hard with getting our boats ready for season. Currently we have 17 of 19 boats in the water. Almost done!

The first few weeks of season will be quite calm. For those of you who have the opportunity, this is a great time to visit and forecast looks good for the upcoming week(s). Pikes are just waiting...

Another weekend is here and personally I will spend at least one of the days on the water again. Hope to be back with a catch report soon.

// Daniel Wickman
   2019-03-01

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A new beginning

It's been a long time since the last post in October. Shame on me! However, It's a new year and I will try to get the posts going better this year.

So, what's happened since our last post? As usual, our boats was one by one taken to service and maintenance during late autumn. In fact, all boats are ready to hit the water as soon as temperature and weather allows. Currently, we have ice covering the bays and some parts of the middle archipelago as well. Last night temperatures was down to -10 in some of the areas around the city of Karlskrona. Day temperatures is around 0 degrees most days but in the nights we have about -2 down to -10 some nights. Most probably we will have ice for some weeks now if the forecast stays somewhat accurate.

During this time of the year we're working with our fishing brochure, home pages, bookings, improvements in our cabins etc. During this winter we have launched a new home page with a brand new look. Check it out! www.dragsosportfishing.se Our regular home page for the camping is also brand new www.dragso.se

I have received several questions lately regarding fishing results from last year. In short, I would say that last year was a better year than 2017. Both when it comes to the average numbers caught per day but also the frequency of +80cm pikes caught was higher. It sure looks promising for 2019! A nice surprise was also the fact that perch fishing was great last year. Many perch around 43-46cm was caught with even bigger ones every now and then. My sneaky reports tell that even in December fishing for perch was great.

Bookings are coming in more or less every day now for spring 2019. Still, we have vacancy most weekends but the most busy and popular weekends in May is filling up fast now. If you're interested in visiting us during this spring it's about time to settle dates soon to avoid disappointment.

If you're planning a visit to Sportfiskemässan (Swedish sportfishing fair) in Jönköping 29-31st of March, make sure to stop by Visit Blekinge where we'll be standing the whole weekend. If you're not planning to stroll around on the fair, make sure to go out fishing instead! You know what? We're open during that weekend and will have boats and cabins available. It's a good time to come for fishing since a lot of anglers tend to visit the fair instead these dates.

Make sure to follow us on Instagram @dragsosportfishing where we'll be more active this year.

Also, a final wish from me... Please send any photos from your Dragsö Sportfishing visit to daniel@dragsosportfishing.se The more pictures and reports I receive, the more and better reports I can share with you. As a nice bonus, the best pictures are always rewarded with prices in the end of the year. Don't miss out!

// Daniel Wickman
   2019-01-24

 

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October update

Hi fellow readers,

It's been some time since the last report.. sorry for that. However, now it's time to look back at the last few weeks of fishing. Continuously, I must say that fishing this autumn has been great. Numbers is mostly good and topped with some nice fish as well. Another fun thing is that reports of perch is really good this year. As far as I remember, perch fishing has not been this good in many many years.

During last few weeks we've been visited by many anglers. Both for weekends and whole weeks. Most of time with good results but of course with exceptions. That's fishing! Some weekends we have up to 60-70 anglers on site and we're not always able to get reports from everyone. But, as far as I know the biggest fish caught by our guests this autumn is 119cm.

Blekinge Pike Festival was arranged last weekend and we were once again more or less fully booked. The competition itself had about 360 anglers this time, about 100 less than previous years, but still lots of anglers. Biggest fish caught was 114cm and this year there was a side competition where each angler put together his/hers five longest fish, exceeding 80cm. Our colleague Willy and his boat team did very well in this competition since they managed to catch 13 fish over 80cm. Good job! In my boat we didn't have the best results. However, Martin in my boat caught a 97cm fish that ended up as 10th place.

This year approx 100 pikes (so far) has been marked with a yellow tag in Rosenholm/Skönstavik/Lindesnäs area. If you fish in this area, make sure to check if your catch is marked with a yellow tag and report the catch according to the information on the tag!

Yesterday, I tried to fish perch for just about 30 minutes before pike fishing with my friend Calle. With a large portion of luck, I was soon hooked up with a good fish. Or good, it showed up to be a great fish! My new personal best was a fact and after weighing the fish twice, with the same result, the weight was set to 1,72 kilos. I think I will never catch a fish like that again, so for sure I was happy with this catch yesterday!

Once again we have a lot of guests arriving today and also on Saturday. This weekend we have all of the boats booked and conditions looks promising. It will be interesting to see their results!

// Daniel Wickman
   2018-10-04

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