I have been working with graphic design and filmmaking most of my life. I am very thankful for a very long career with a lot of travels around the globe and I have met interesting people in different places through my job. But now I have retired and slowed down. And all of a sudden I have a lot of time off to focus on fishing instead. 

After a long break from fishing it was my good friend and producer Mats Wolgers that one day, six years ago, said: ’Tompa” dust off you gear and join me on a trip up north! I did, and from that day I was hooked again. Being by the river far away from civilisation means a lot to me. Rest and peace.
A place where time stand still and the outside world is of no importance anymore…

When you step into the water, what do you feel?

Free…

What is so special about fly fishing to you?

Fly fishing is so much more than just fishing.
It’s a lifestyle. It’s also very simple but extremely complex at the same time. You can lose yourself in different gear and techniques. And then you have the whole world of entomology, to learn everything about life cycle of the insects the fish feed on. 

But the most special thing is the places you fish on. It is most often breathtaking and scenic places, far away from the everyday life we are used to. To be there, alongside a beautiful river that runs slowly in the shade of a mountain and the sun never sets, that is something very special. That is where my soul and heart are longing for during the long and cold winters.

What is the most important thing when you tie your own flies?

First, the most important thing is to catch fish on your tied flies. To fool and trick the fish with your own flies is a full circle. Then it is fun. It is a extended hobby of the fishing in itself. You spend the dark nights off season behind your tying vise and dream away to the next summer’s adventure. 

There are hundreds of different ways of fishing. And there are so many species living in different waters around the globe - and every single one of them needs a unique skill to catch. But I think standing in a gin clear river and sight fishing for trout is the most relaxing one of all of them. And exciting. It is also very delicate to try to catch a big trout on a very small fly. The hook can be just a couple of millimeter and the fish can be big. To fool and hook a big trout is something you’ll remember for the rest of your life. But always dream about catching a bigger one, next summer, in another beautiful stream somewhere…

Tomas Skoging
Flyfisher & Film Director