Sea fishing in Norway

[Dan]

Well we just got back from what has be one of the best fishing trips I've ever made. We went for a week to Rost in the the Lofoten Islands 65 miles inside the Arctic Circle, stunning scenery, great weather and fantastic fishing. Bit of a trek to get there but boy was it worth it. Cod to 50lbs, Coalies to about 20llbs and something called a Brosme or Tusk. Oh and a 12lb cod on a fly! but unfortunately no Halibut! All mine were caught on a Shimano Exage travel spinning rod or Exage 20lb boat rod. A 15lb Coalie goes like a torpedo on spinning tackle! My arm is still feeling the strain

 

We couldnt bring any fish back so it was catch and release or if it wasnt possible it went on the table that night! I'll post more info later if anyone is interested

 

 

 

 

 

Dan

[John E Ashford]

Cod we can only dream of, but you've proved it is possible. Well done Dan.

[Dan]

Cheers John, one other cod was caught that size during the week, one pound heavier than mine by a German party .... damn them! Forgot to say we caught Haddock to 6lbs too! Hmmm! Most days we caught between 500 and 1000lbs of fish between 3 of us. All in water about 80 -150 feet deep (using self drive boats), and nearly all the fish were double figures!

 

Dan

Edited August 31, 2009 by Dan

[robc22]

Well we just got back from what has be one of the best fishing trips I've ever made. We went for a week to Rost in the the Lofoten Islands 65 miles inside the Arctic Circle, stunning scenery, great weather and fantastic fishing. Bit of a trek to get there but boy was it worth it. Cod to 50lbs, Coalies to about 20llbs and something called a Brosme or Tusk. Oh and a 12lb cod on a fly! but unfortunately no Halibut! All mine were caught on a Shimano Exage travel spinning rod or Exage 20lb boat rod. A 15lb Coalie goes like a torpedo on spinning tackle! My arm is still feeling the strain

 

We couldnt bring any fish back so it was catch and release or if it wasnt possible it went on the table that night! I'll post more info later if anyone is interested

 

 

 

 

 

Dan

 

What a great trip you must of had!! great pics!!

[glennk]

Well done Dann, beautiful fish mate.

[Elton]

Cracking fish.

 

I was speaking to somebody last week who's just got back from Norway. He had a fantastic time, too.

[Colin Brett]

Dan,

That looks great!!

I've been thinking about this for a year or so now, but just not gotten round to it.

Can you post details of the trip?

Travel details, contacts, costs etc??

Also tackle you took?

 

Thanks,

Colin

[n4lly]

Brilliant fishing Dan

 

Hoping to do similar myself, one time soon.

 

(Any local regulations about using the self-drive boats ? Licence required ?)

[Dan]

Ok here's the info!

 

The camp is run by Wild water a Swedish family business.

 

http://www.wildwater.se/images/november08_eng.pdf Rost is on page 2. We flew from Heathrow to Oslo, Oslo to Bodo and Bodo to Rost! Bit of a trek but well worth it. We stayed in a hotel in Oslo on the way up (mostly to suite our holiday dates) but did it in a day on the way back. Note if you can travel by Nowegian Air all the way you get a 40kg weight allowance which will enable you to bring back some fish in freezer boxes if you want. (You may have to pay an excess between Rost and Bodo as that limit is 15kg! but they didnt weigh us on the way back). Cost was £1152 for the flights, self catering accomodation and boat hire. You can have fully catered accom and guided boats but its way more £s!. On top we paid £30 for suit hire, you have to wear one or a life jacket and the suits keep you warm, although in most cases we were too hot in the middle of the day. Fuel for the boat was about £30 a day also on top. Food and drink is expensive in Norway but everyone who leaves the camp hands their left over food to the next guys, lucky for us the Swedish lads next to us over bought big time! So all in including some Shads we bought out there it came to about £1250 each but if there were 4 of you that would be £940 each. Accom was a perfectly adequate cabin with fridge, microwave, tv (one channel!) and hob and two rooms with twin beds in them (well comfy too!).

 

 

Theres a dedicated filleting room and you get your own freezer, we only froze what we couldnt put back or eat that night

 

 

We werent asked for any boat licence, but there was a £150 excess on the insurance. I would suggest that you need to have some boat handling experience, the waters are pretty safe although very different to UK waters, but there are reefs and islands everywhere, knbowing how to use a GPS (raymarine provided) is esential to set track logs so you dont get lost! see these as evidence of an over hasty run in!

 

 

Tackle was easy, a spinning rod and fixed spool reel with 15lb braid and a 20/30lb class rod - I had a Policansky 2b reel loaded with 30lb braid, clutch set to 6lb. My mates had Accurate reels, being tackle tarts n'all! You really do not need very heavy tackle. We fished with a combination of speed jigs, pirks and Storm giant shads.

 

 

The Shads were probably the most consistant at catching fish, although I did take a small 3 pack of fladen shads from the local discount store and the blue one worked a treat on the Coalies on my spinning rod, although you had to cast up the drift so it had a chance to sink under the boat! The camp guide gives you marks where fish are being caught but to be honest where ever you go delivers fish! The big halibut can even come in to a few metres of water, not that we caught one!

 

Dan

[Colin Brett]

Dan,

 

Many thanks for the info, I need to give it some serious thought.

 

Also hope I get a win on the lottery.

 

Thanks again,

 

Colin