After visiting Norway many times with my parents I fell in love with the country. When I got married, Norway wound up being the holiday country of our choice. My wife loves to hike and I love to fly fish, so it was a perfect choice for both of us. Needless to say, on this holiday I did take my fly fishing gear and got a few chances to cast some flies around every now and then. Most fly fisherman go to Norway for grayling , trout or Atlantic salmon. I fell in love with a Norway fishery that most people overlook, although it is becoming more popular in recent years. I really enjoy saltwater fly fishing in Norway. In Norway there are several species to target … Pollack ,coalfish , cod , mackerel and many and a few others of which I do not no the names in English. On our “family holidays” there is time for fly fishing but never as much time as I’d like. So, this summer I decided to visit Norway with 5 fly fishing mates who are also fans of fly fishing for European seabass. We decided to take our belly boats to the Norwegian fjords. This decision would end up being a golden choice. First, we fished from the one of the many ferry docks that can be found in Norway. We caught fish but realize that after about an hour of casting flies to the dock fish, the fish would follow our flies but wouldn’t take them anymore. So, it was time to go on an adventure and explore the “unknown” spots. While riding on the ferry we would all keep an eye out for sections of water where steep rock met the ocean water. These type of places and structure are perfect hide-outs for Pollack, the best fly rod fish that the Norway salt has to offer.These predator fish love our clouser , jiggie and sand eel flies. However, this fishery is much less about fly choice and much more about finding the right places to fish.One day we crossed a bridge with big pillars standing in the fjord. Now our belly boats came in to play. We saw big schools of young herring, and many predatory fish hunting the herring on the surface. Clearly, this was the place we need to be. We had 2 days of fishing and caught over 100 fish each! Needless to say, fishing like this made 6 grown ups became like kids again. Now that we are back in the Netherlands we often think back to our fantastic fly fishing holiday. Norway is a great country for fly fishing for grayling , trout and Atlantic salmon , but don’t forget the salt.
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- Alaska
- Guide & Fisherman
- Guiding: Choosing Your Guide And Choosing Your Customer
- Guiding: Do It Yourself With A Guide
- Guiding: Evolution Of A Guide
- Guiding: Freshwater, More Than Meets The Eye
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- Striped Bass
- Striped Bass: Fishing Rocky Shorelines
- Striped Bass: Fishing The Beaches
- Striped Bass: Fishing The Flats
- Striped Bass: Fishing The Reefs
- Striped Bass: Fishing Tidal Rivers
- Striped Bass: Flatwing Swing
- Striped Bass: Fly Line Options & Choices
- Striped Bass: Gear, The Nuts & Bolts
- Striped Bass: Migration Patterns
- Striped Bass: What They Eat
- The Art Of Escape
- Fly Fishing: A Natural Drug
- Fly Fishing: A Validation Of Freedom
- Fly Fishing: Don’t Fight The Current
- Fly Fishing: It Is What It Is
- Fly Fishing: Socialization For Asocial Individuals
- Fly Fishing: The Allure Of The Fish
- Fly Fishing: The Art Of Escape
- Fly Fishing: The Simplicity Of It All
- Fly Fishing: Time Flies
- Fly Fishing: Times You Remember & Try To Forget
Sweet! Doesn’t get better than that .. going off the “beaten path” and making your own adventure! I’d love to try that someday .. as I would imagine the the Norway Fjords are amazing just to see and targeting those big pollack so close to shore (or even on shore) interests me. I really like what you said here .. “this fishery is much less about fly choice and much more about finding the right places to fish” … I think that is true for so many fisheries. Its amazing to think that you each caught 100+ fish … but, I bet that if you had been a couple miles away in a different location – your “successes” may not have been nearly as good. That’s really what I like most about fly fishing .. the hunt .. and find the fish.
Unbelievable! Every cast resulted in a fish that was bigger than the previous one! I gotta find that fjord!
when you go to norway.. just drop me an e-mail… there are man places where you can have a lot of fun in norwegian saltwater. there has to be some excellent seatrout fishing in the salt to!
Great story and video! I have fished salt water but never from a tube, this is something I have to try. I have caught”Cod” on a fly in Canada in Cape Breton and it was a rush. Most people I told thouht I was pulling their leg but thanks to you perhaps they will take it more serious. I havn’t seen a Pollock that size in years since I was in comercial fishing. Looks like great fun and has given me some ideas about fishing this coming summer.
Thanks Greg
Sounds awesome! Have always wanted to fish Norway for Atlantics, but now you have me thinking along different lines…maybe a combo trip? Good stuff!
combo trips are a great way to visit norway. when the fishing for atlantics cant happen ( high water , low water , collored water etc..) you can alwas hit the salt…
Sounds like a blast. Way to think outside the box and find your fish. Those Pollack are cool looking…how big do they get? Thanks for sharing your adventure.
they can grow to about 120cm… coalfish even bigger…
That is great stuff! I fish southern Norway about every 3 years. Mostly inland for Salmon and Browns. How about sea run browns? Any luck with those? Where is Norway do you go?
see a lot searun browns..something for the next trip… for the saltwater fishing in Norway we travel to mid-Norway.
Seabass
awesome article and video! I loved it because your catching a a species of fish that normally you dont here about on a fly rod! thats what its all about
North of Stavanger?
Roughly between Bergen and Trondheim…