Quick tips for Harling

Trash collector

Especially on free-flowing rivers, a lot of grass and trash sometimes travel with the current. When the trash reaches the wobbler, it kills the wobbler's swimming. And in the worst case, messes up the lines. Normally a trash collector is placed 1-2m in front of the wobbler. I have seen many different setups used. For example, a swivel with pieces of line tied to it, various 3D printed plastic versions and versions twisted from strong iron wire. In my opinion, the best and simplest is a piece of soft metal wire. Picture below. Get some soft and thin iron wire. Cut a piece of about 1.5cm from it and twist it onto the line as shown in the picture. When the wire is soft enough, it will slide and bend through the rod guides. This makes it easier to collect extra rods when a fish is on, because the wobbler can be reeled directly onto the tip of the rod. This means you don't have to attach the wobbler to the reel. For example, the thread used in flower arrangements is good. I got mine from a flower shop. Easy, convenient and works.

Use long rods

Especially at Tornionjoki River, you can see a lot of short 7-9 foot rods that are placed in a rod holder on the bottom of the boat. Pure mathematics shows that longer 10-12 foot rods placed in rod holders on the side of the boats fish from a wider a area and prevents line tangles. 9 foot side rods and a center rod holder make the area to be fished 5.4m wide. While 12 foot side rods in side rod holders create a 7.21m area. This means that the fish can see your wobblers from a larger area.

Taping rods on side rod holders

If you are using "Joonas-style" side racks, it is worth taping a suitably sized "butt" to the rods at the clamp point of the rack. This will keep the reels in the desired position and allow you to attach the rod to the rack close to the tail of the rod. This will give you a wider fishing area. The same idea also works with floor racks.

Chain anchor for a river boat

This topic is particularly emotional on the Tornionjoki River. But if the space on the river allows, a chain anchor is a big help. Especially when rowing alone. This means you can stop the boat or at least slow down the speed when, for example, putting the lines out. The supplies are 6-7 kilos of thick chain, approx. 7-8m of rope, a pulley and the desired lock for the rope. The pictures will give you the idea. The reason why the anchor is made of chains is because it doesn't get caught on rocks and you can lift the anchor up without getting up from the rowing bench.

Moped on a motorway

You can start harling with a more modest boat. A regular fiberglass rowing boat can be turned into a decent riverboat that will at least work on the Kymijoki and Kokemäenjoki rivers in southern Finland. Just make a back wing out of plywood. Install the wing so that it is above water when rowing. The wing holds the boat straight when driving with motor, improves the boat's angle when driving and increases speed. A 5hp engine is perfect for such a boat.

Keep a lose brake

The surest way to lose salmon when harling is to have a brake that is too tight. Keep your brakes very loose. The fish takes it immediately gets line, which will get it further away from other lines, and the amount of tangles will be reduced.

Row upstream if necessary

My 25 years of salmon harling have shown that salmon are not afraid of boats. If the current is not strong enough to row downstream, start rowing at the bottom of the fishing area. From there, slowly move up and across the current. Many salmon and trout have been caught this way. I have even caught fish when rowing vertically upstream.