Brändö –
The Eastern Pearl
of Åland
Part 2: What, where and when?

Text and pictures: K.Tapani Loisa
Strike site map: Mika Collan
Translation: Unto Reunanen

The boats of holiday villages are usually sturdy wide bottomed glass fibre boats ca. four metres in length. The power of their engines is maybe a bit low because the most common engine power is between four and eight hp. You can take your own engine with you when the rent of the boat will be about half the rent of a boat equipped with an engine. It is also easy to launch your own boat from a trailer because there are ramps situated all over the group of islands. You can enquire the precise location of the launching site when you´re making the reservation for your cottage. In the autumn the anchor department might prove inexistant in the rental boats because during the summertime the anchors have a tendency of hiding among the bottom rocks of the Baltic Sea. At least those fishermen intending to angle for perch should have their own anchor and rope on a fishing trip during the autumn so that they can keep the boat within casting distance from any school of perch they happen to find.

For handling the catch there are cleaning sites in the holiday villages. The most common system is a table with a tub beside it for the guts. Asterholm has the best cleaning site: there you can scale and gut the fish under an open roof with electric light and a water tap. In the summer the sea gulls will take care of the remains but in the autumn one should not throw the guts on the rocks by the water. Even in the summer it´s a good habit to dump the remains some way off the cleaning site. It is more pleasant for the next cleaner to begin his task on a clean table. It is hardly healthy to fillet your fish on a table covered with seagull droppings. The cleaning sites of some cottages would indeed need a bucket and a scrubbing brush as additional accessories so that the fish cleaners would have a chance to leave the table in a sanitary condition.

In waters where there´s plenty of fish greed can pester any sportfishing person at times. In April 1999 two gentlemen, T.M. from Espoo and J.H. from Helsinki boated pike at a pace that caused them to call a cold transport truck to take their catch to a fish wholesale company in Helsinki. This kind of competition with professional fishermen initiated quite a conversation in Brändö and immensely irritated the local people. The statutory local fishery associations are now considering of setting limits to fishing in order to be able to prevent these kind of commercial ventures. Once again a couple of greedy rascals spoiled the reputation of all sports anglers. The names and addresses of the gentlemen are well known. I wonder whether the guys declared the income in their taxation.

A couple of fishing hints

It is best to start catching perch with a chain of jigs because the method is allowed in the Åland area. When you find the strike colour you can shift into less strenuous casting with a single jig and ultra light gear. The perch are often choosy during the early summer. A small piece of worm in the jig hook will add to the appetite of the choosy individuals. It´s best to have the worms ready before the trip for in the archipelago it´s sheer luck to find any.