Danish seabass – the hidden gem

Seabass fishing in Denmark has increased a lot in popularity, but it is only the past few years I have been taking part myself in the pursuit of these beautiful fish. To find the best fishing you will have to go to the Northwest coast where the wind almost never sleeps - I go by boat, which allows me versatile fishing and to change spots quickly.

The best fishing is located on the Danish Northwest coast where the wind almost never sleeps, which tends to make the fishing pretty challenging. I like to go by boat, which allows me to be very versatile in my fishing and change spots quickly. It also allows me to cast directly towards structures close to the coastline, which brings me a big advantage when searching for fish. 

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Seabass fishing in Denmark is not easy at all – I know many good anglers who have tried multiple trips with little success, but this is also what makes it so exciting. In record time, seabass have become one of my favorite species to seek out. It was not a species I was very well acquainted with before, but a friend took me on a trip, and I must admit, since then I have been hooked. I did not realise how cool a fish this is. The fishing technique can actually be quite similar to those used for perch fishing – essentially it’s like fishing for perch at speed and in saltwater. Seabass are pure fighting machines, they surprise me time and time again with how strong they are. Seabass fishing is some of the most exciting and intense fishing I have tried. First of all, because it's still new to me, but also because it's insanely challenging. 

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For me, it is not important only to crack the code of a certain type of fishing, it's also about the experiences you get, what you learn and that critical moment when everything comes together and you finally succeed –there is almost no better feeling.

Fishing this year has been brutal, frustrating and very challenging. I started out using shads and it worked great. Since then, I have tried other methods and approaches and have successfully used, among other things, pops, jerkbaits and even dropshot.

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The gear I use for this fishing is an 8’ XLNT3 rod 12-40g, spooled with 0.12mm braided line and with a Savage Gear soft fluorocarbon 0.46mm tip. I discovered that the best lures are the 3D Manic Crab, the Savage Gear Seeker ISP and the new Gravity Stick – they have all delivered good seabass for me.

The most intense fishing we had was a day when we managed to catch 30 fish in half an hour. This is completely insane! Some of our other best days saw us catch almost 100 fish in a day where the average length was more than 55cm. There have been many beautiful specimens in between and several of them over 70cm, but the largest is a magnificent specimen of 75 cm.

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The seabass adventure is not over yet and I am sure there is an XXL seabass swimming around out there waiting for me (or maybe you) to catch it. This is fishing that everyone must try at some point, otherwise you will miss out on one of the all-time great fishing experiences.

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Mikkel Matzen is a very dedicated predator angler with a nose for big fish. Make sure you follow him on his fishing adventures.