FEATURE STORIES

The Storyteller in The Stream

Ted Logart describes himself as the world's best fishing buddy. You know, the kind who always lets the others go into the water first, find his spot and meanwhile he makes coffee. But in recent years, he's also become the salmon's best friend. How does all this fit together? We went to Kusmark to meet a salmon river romantic.

Ted is sitting at the kitchen table in his one-storey house, not far from the Kåge River. He pushes down the coffee press and leans back.

– It's existential in a way. What would we be if there were no salmon in the rivers? What would we be as a society?

Fishing has always been part of Ted's life, and in recent years also his way of telling stories. He is a filmmaker and photographer who portrays northern Sweden with fishing as a common thread, and his latest film, Free Falling, is both a declaration of love for salmon fishing and a warning about the endangered future of the Baltic salmon.

In January 2025, Ted, along with fishing pros and friends Emilie Björkman and Lars Munk, released the documentary. It became a sort of spiritual sequel to their previous project Home Rivers Recycled from 2022, where they depicted the wild rivers of northern Sweden.

– Home Rivers Recycled chronicled the comeback of the Baltic salmon, from being on the brink of extinction in the 90s to reaching its peak in 2016, with over 100,000 salmon in the Torne River. But just two years later, stocks plummeted again, and now we are in crisis. Something has to be done, says Ted.

Hence the name Free Falling. The issue has caught the attention of both scientists and the mainstream media. Anglers point to the monster trawlers of industrial fishing that are depleting the ocean of salmon food. Meanwhile, climate change is affecting warm-water fish, and the death of the polluted Baltic Sea bed makes the situation even more complex. In the midst of this, Ted zooms out with his documentary camera and tries to capture the lifestyle at stake.

– Salmon fishing has been a central part of villages, communities and cities for centuries. Our entire history is intertwined with it. Standing by a river on a summer night, watching a fish jump and feeling the pulse – that's something that needs to be preserved.

In the good years, the Byske River could count more than 7,000 salmon. In 2023, the figure was down to 1,784.

– The most provocative thing is that we managed to turn the tide for the sake of the salmon, favorable decisions were made that significantly regulated commercial pelagic fishing at sea, but now we are neglecting it, he says, shaking his head.

In addition to his own film projects, Ted works as a filmmaker and photographer for the destination company Swedish Lapland Visitors Board. Together with his colleague Håkan Stenlund, he creates stories that put northern Sweden on the world map.

– We work as an in-house agency. Håkan finds the stories, I film and edit. It was natural for us to focus on documentary storytelling – portraying people and their life's work. It puts pressure on me to always do my best. When someone lets you capture their story on film, you have to do it justice. If I had a 'regular job', I would still be doing this in my spare time. That says a lot, he laughs.

Being able to tell the story of everyday Arctic life is a privilege, he says. Over the years, he has followed everyone from anglers to ice artists and mushers. Of course, the rewards have also come in the form of wins in the prestigious Swedish Content Award competition – but the experiences mean the most.

– You don't have to be super creative yourself, it's more about letting the people and their passion come out. You're constantly amazed by the drive and commitment of the people you meet, says Ted.

At the same time, he sees the challenges. Climate change and the exploitation of natural resources do not make us feel good about the future.

– We often talk about the green transition, but what happens when the demand for electricity grows? Our national rivers hold incredible amounts of energy – can we resist the temptation to exploit them? We need to ask ourselves what kind of world we want to live in.

That he lives where he lives feels like a given.

– We have the whole of the north of Sweden as our backyard. The forest landscape, the dusty gravel roads, the mountains, the silence – all that makes it easy to become poetic when you think of all the experiences we have around the corner, he says.

And what would a report with Ted be without a fishing story when we sit down in our waders next to the coffee fire and a roaring Kåge River. Ted remembers a fishing trip in the mountains of Västerbotten where he was to do a job for a fishing magazine. A guide had invited him and expectations were high – a kilo of char was promised over the next two days.

– The first day we got nothing. Neither did the second and then it started to feel a bit stressful. That evening we met two guys who told us about a lake where they had caught some nice fish. We decided to give it one last try in the morning. We just had time to crawl into our sleeping bags before the guide said: Let's go now instead, says Ted.

The guide dug out a drinking yogurt and a cold body cookie from the emergency pantry, which they ate like an apple before heading out into the summer night. A few hours later, they had landed a 1.7 kg char in the net.

– The priorities were just right. It was all about catching fish. It didn't have to be suovas over an open fire or a perfectly packaged adventure. It was the fishing that was the thing, and that's what made the experience so good. I think we even caught three char in the same class before we were done, says Ted. The perfect fishing buddy.

THIS IS TED LOGART

AGE: 47 years old
LIVES: In a house
FAMILY: Partner and two children
PETS: At least three cats
Film projects: “I'm sketching on some exciting projects”
INSTAGRAM: @tedlogardt

Three favorite places around the corner:
1. Åby River
2. Kåge River
3. Byske River

Text: Daniel Bergeman

Photo: Jonas Pekkari