Another personality is the Dane Bent Lind Jacobsen. Fishing (and not just salmon fishing) was for him a lifelong passion. He mostly fished sea trout, pike and tuna fish at home, while he in distant areas caught sailfish, shark and marlin. We believe that the salmon had a special place in his heart, since he was a guest at Moum for 37 seasons (1956 – 92). He was a board member of Københavns Lysfiskeriforening (the Copenhagen Anglers Association), and for many year’s the editor of the monthly magazine. To celebrate the associations centenary in 1986, he published the book “Et liv med fiskestangen”(A life with the fishing rod). In Moum’s own copy he wrote:
“I thank God for the lovely life with the rod he gave me, and especially for leading me to Moum, where I have spent some of my happiest days. I miss those who weren’t anymore, when one through many years came to Moum. May this book contribute to them being remembered. Then I might have given back some of what they gave me”.
In the book we can find a whole chapter containing his experiences on the Namsen. We could choose the 5th of July 1974 when he got 9 fish adding up to 127 3/4lbs on the morning trip, and, his son Flemming caught another 9 fish adding up to 171 1/4lbs on the afternoon trip. Instead, we’ll let him tell us what happened the morning of July the 14th 1972, when he went down with his worm rod to the rock below the house:
“I throw, and the fish takes at once. The loose line runs through my fingers, and then the reel is spinning around at full speed. Far out I can see the salmon jump, and I estimate it to be about 15 lbs. It fights hard for a long time, but after a while it slowly comes near the bank. I remember thinking that it felt heavier than the 15 lbs. I estimated it to be. Then suddenly I see a salmon, about 6 lbs jumping 15 20 meters out. It looks like it is desperate, -not playful, but I am sure that the one I am fighting is much bigger. Now the fish comes to the bank so I can see it in the water, and I forget all about the 6 lbs.salmon while I get the bigger one into the net. Then I walk up the steep cliff, put down my rod and hit the fish over its forehead. While I do that I can hear the reel starting to spin again. I can’t believe my ears, but I can see the line runs off the reel. I have just caught a lovely salmon and now my reel is running again. I grab my rod and I can feel the salmon pulling at the other end, -then I remember; there was no hook in the salmon I just caught, just the line around its gills. Now the hooked fish comes towards the bank, -it is tired; this is the explanation why I saw the 6 lbs fish, jumping in desperation. The total weight of the two fish was 13 1/4 lbs and 6 1/2 lbs and they were both caught on one hook, even if just one of them had it in its mouth. Aagot Moum witnessed the whole performance, and she can confirm that it’s not a fishing lie”.
Bent was a fantastically skilful angler. He had an amazing sense of what the fish might take. It’s not accidental that he caught about 1300 salmon throughout his 37 years on the Namsen..
