Norway: land of the Atlantic Salmon

[Dave]

I'm going to Norway in a few weeks. I may have a day or two to sneak away while there, and am seeking any info on fishing possibilities.

This is the true home of the Atlantic Salmon, with a large percentage caught over 50 lbs., from what I've heard and read. The GAULA and ALTA Rivers seem to have the most fame surrounding them.

I am however aware, that very little day light will be available this time of year, and temperature will be down right severe. Maybe fishing won't be a possibility. But, at least gotta try!

Anyone been, or could recommend a:
1. river
2. guide
3. any other info

[nutman]

Dear Lord I envy you ,ive always wanted to go there ,Im norweign and ive heard the fishing is comparable to new zealand ,
Good luck when you go ,fish no matter what !

[alanb_ct]

Dave,

If the conditions aren't right for actual fishing much, you can always do some scouting and shopping. Much of the tackle you will find there is completely unique from what we are used too. Perhaps you can locate a killer steelhead fly or exotic material to sneak home in your luggage. I know that many of the smalls streams in Norway are loaded with brook trout and they are easy to catch. Licensing may be a bit complicated to figure out.

Have a great trip.

[Brookie]

Daveman -

obviously. we're ALL extremely jealous. Best of luck! I do have one suggestion/possibility for you. I know fishing for sea trout is big out in that part of the world in the way fishermen get fanatical about steelheading here. If you go to http://globalflyfisher.com/ and check out the forum area, you can probably get some great info and maybe even make some contacts. I don't know if the slamon fishing is viable this time of year, so this might be a worthy second option for you.

Good luck on your journey! Going to try the centerpin with Aaron in Pulaski this weekend - can't wait.

Dave

[Fascist Killer]

Alan- Did they stock brookies or are they Artic Char? I think you get good sea trout over there as well.

Dave- You might want to check out the website speypages.com. They've got a very good forum with lots of international anglers. Its Dana Sturm's website, a big shot in the spey world. Anyway, there are quite a few Scandanavians on the forum, and they might be able to help (not to mention Dana, Bob Meiser, Mike Kinney, Kerry Burkheimer, Gary Anderson, Simon Gawesworth, Andrew Moy from Tightlines, etc., etc.). I know the site is dedicated to spey fishing, but they should at least be able to point you in the right direction. Also, though they're swedish, you might want to contact members of the LOOP, Scierra or GuideLine pro staffs. They might be willing to cough up some info. I'd check out some youtube videos and sexyloops.com and salmoncrazy.com. Finally, ask Juice to borrow his copy of Charles Ritz's book. He was a big fan of fishing Scandanavia, particularly the Alta, and, provided things haven't changed much since the 50's, has good pictures of sections of the river and descriptions of where he fished and how.

One more site for ya Dave

http://www.flyshop.no/

[alanb_ct]

Rego, I don't know for sure, they might be arctic char. I don't think they stock. Sometimes it's hard to tell a char from what I know as a brook trout. In any case, there is fantastic salmonoid fishing there.

[Fascist Killer]

I only ask because brook trout are native only to North American waters east of the mississippi drainage, i.e. hudson bay watershed, st. lawrence watershed, and East coast... no ohio river drainage, etc. So if they're there, then they must have stocked em. I would think, if they don't stock, then they're artic char. Probably some go sea-run. Check out this artic char (not a dolly, they're only in PNW):

http://www.environment.no/upload/4697/SjoRoye_173.gif

sea run version

http://www.seafoodfromnorway.com/binary?id=33572

and what dave is after:

http://www.higharctic.com/pics/photo...rly%20Char.jpg

[alanb_ct]

I would be after one of those too, what vibrant colors!

[Fascist Killer]

One more porn pic:

http://www.flyshop.no/guide/coldwat/fin/6626a1.jpg

[Fascist Killer]

You get a lot of them in AK too. Thought there its often hard to tell them apart from Dolly Varden. There's long been confusion over what's an arctic, what's a dolly and what's a bull in the PNW. Best I can tell the char look like the last picture, the dollies have a bit greener back and are found only in coastal areas, and the bulls are inland, bigger, carnivores and more of a grey green.