Norway

Norway … what is there to say about Norway? This country that, in six weeks of time, conquered our hearts. This land for which we reserved nearly 2 months time (as part of this project) but where we came across so much beauty in the landscape and so many wonderful fishing spots, that in 6 weeks time we didn’t even see half of the Norwegian coast…

For the detailed information, we divided the country into two parts: the first part from the Northern Cape to Mo I Rana (= Norway1), the second part from Mo I Rana to the southeast of the country (= Norway2) . Read these sections for more detailed information or continue on this page for more general information…

General

We thought we’d have more than enough time to travel all of Norway in 2 months and therefor we started in the north, even though we knew there was no bass to be found at the North Cape. Therefor the first part (from North Cape to Mo I Rana) is not about fishing for bass, but about sea-trout, salmon, pollock and cod  fishing. The second part (for which we will have to find time and resources in the future) will mainly discuss bass fishing in the Norwegian fjords, because it is a fact that sea-bass can be caught all the way north until some Norwegian fjords during the summer months – although the local bass anglers say that in recent years the number of bass in the fjords declined. They attribute this to the very cold and long winters that they have had in the 3 previous years, therefor the water of the fjords warms up later and slower than before, and this would discourage migratory fish to go as far north…

Regarding the saltwater fishing I can already provide you to the following (pleasant) information: it is permitted to fish everywhere along the coastline and the fjords without a license. This applies across the country, but beware that there are measures taken in areas where salmon occur! Due to these measures the fishing may be prohibited in certain areas (mainly in estuaries) or subjected to a license. This, however, is always well marked and you will never doubt whether or not you require a permit. It is also forbidden to fish within a radius of 100m around an aquaculture (ie salmon) – but most farms are far enough into the sea / fjord and this is not a problem.
If you also like to go freshwater fishing, then I advise you to purchase your national permit in advance (read: pay the tax). This is needed for purchasing the local fishing licence (lakes and / or rivers), but since a few months it is mainly sold via the Internet (therefor often you will not be able to buy it at the former local distribution points). This license is not required for children under 16 or seniors.
The site where you can purchase this license is: www.inatur.no (this is a Norwegian site, the English version is under construction)
If you wish to fish for salmon or sea trout in fresh water, you should also be in possession of a nationwide license for salmon and sea trout (read again: pay your tax), those can also be found on the above web page.

In Norway, it is said that the further north you are, the bigger the fish is… this was often, however in our experience not all species … The biggest cod we caught was of course in the north, but the biggest coalfish we caught was around Mo I Rana (in brackets: coolish is without any doubt an underrated sportfish and a very tasty variety in your board – home-made “fish sticks” are undoubtedly delicious, but so is also freshly prepared fish salad). The biggest salmon and mackerel we had was on Senja (an island in the north) and the bigg sea trout caught in Alta remained unsurpassed.

The Norwegians fished the salty suds primarily (and almost only) from their boat, they are almost all in the possession of a boat. According to many Norwegians you can’t fish from the shore for big fish, only small fry … but this is not our experience. We have several times been fishing from a boat with a Norwegian host, but the results we posted on our own from the shore were usually better … maybe this was pure “coincidence” or maybe there are many big fish to catch from shore because most Norwegians never fish from shore? Anyway, fishing from shore in Norway is an experience in itself. The magnificent panoramas you see, the virgin land under your feet … We almost always had our Waders on, thanks to which we could fish from the shore a lot easier, especially when there is a lot of algae – therefor I would always recommend a Wader. If you provide a far walk to your fishing spot, you can simply carry your Wader in a backpack …
A landing net is also recommended, though it is sometimes a burden to carry around (especially through high grass or between bushes) – but it is only a “small” effort if by doing this you come home with your record catch …
Gafs are sold everywhere, which is understandably useful when fishing from the boat, but we’re certainly not in favor of gafs. This “bold” and “disrespectful” device does not fit within our fishingfilosofie, with the exception of some species who could bring a potential danger to you, such as monkfish. With such fish you should always take all necessary precautions to avoid injury … When you have a fish on the hook that you do not know, always be prepared for a potentially aggressive and / or dangerous fish.

Fishing in Norway can produce lots of fish in a short time, make sure that you know and respect the minimum sizes applying for some fish species. These sizes may vary in some areas, so always ask around. Also, you may only take a few kilos of fish (whole fish or filleted fish) per day and / or exporting from Norway. As the number of checks on Norwegian roads is quite high, it’s better if you best meet the rules, this is also true in terms of alcohol for the driver (the limit is 0%!). Another aside: in Norway, you must at all times drive with your lights on, as in some other Scandinavian countries.

When you find a site where only small fish bites, then you’d better search for another fishing spot, such is asked in this leaflet on fishing regulations for salt water, but it turned out that the large and small fish usually are not caught on the same spot. When we had 2 or 3 small fish in a row we usually went to another site … because if you can catch 20 fishes in one day, why not 20 “BIGG ones” …
It could also be possible that you are on a fishing spot in a fjord where the water is really cold and milky, if so then you are probably in a fjord with glacial meltwater. This water is very cold and contains no food – so you will therefore catch no fish in it… it is then better if you can look for an other fjord or at least an other place in that fjord where the water is slightly warmer and less milky.

About the cod here is also a slight detail: if during the summer cod is fished from shore, it is possible that these cod have a “bad taste”. We ourselves have not experienced this, but most Norwegians eat no cod  for this reason in the summer (at least not when it was caught from or near the shore). What’s the causes we do not know, but obviously the meat of this species is significantly better in the winter months (ie months with an “r”) than in summertime.

Now: before we left Belgium for Norway, we had a few people telling us that in Norway you sometimes stop fishing because you’re tired of catching fish, not because you’re tired to not catch fish … We thought that this was nonsense, but soon this was found to be true! The Norwegian Fjords are still overflowing with fish, it’s an incredible pleasure to fish, and the experience is really a “total picture”. However, this situation is obviously exceptional (think of the number of times you went back home without having felt a single bite) and we should therefore also take the necessary precautions to keep this situation ongoing. So take no more from the sea than you want to eat, always unhook the fish with the necessary precautions and certainly leave no waste (such as fishing line!) or other garbage after you visited the fishing spot. We still do not understand why it is that fishermen who go to such beautiful and vast areas, do not bother to leave waste after their fishingday. The number of times we had fish alongside another rubbishbagg from collected waste is unimaginable. Again, we consider such behavior totally incomprehensible and hateful.

For your fishing equipment I would suggest you to take most of it from your own country, first because – rara – the cost in Norway are generally higher, but also because most “tackle shops” there in reallity are not “tackle shops”… since the emergence of the Internet, the Norwegians buy their fishing gear a lot cheaper through online ordering, thus fishinggearshops had to close or diversify. The result is that you will usually end up in a sort of “sports store” where you’ll have to try to find what you need. These stores have a very limited range (at high prices) and there is almost no counsel or advice…
With a few rare exceptions, that we have found for example in Alta or Harstad, or Villmarks in Oslo. This latest store, which indeed decided to be one of our sponsors, has vendors who clearly are aware of anything and everything in terms of fishing, both for flyfishing and the (lure) fishing in salt or the sweet suds. Anyway, today, almost every operator of a fishing tackle shop in your country can tell you what (artificial) bait works best in Norway for a particular fish at a particular time or place, so why not just buy everything in advance and take it with you?
Would you like one tip, provide enough Pilzer and Sjads – the cheap ones work as good as the expensive ones as the fish is not really “trained” and has a lot of competition from counterparts (or not). For the fly-fishermen among us: shrimp imitations (such as Patagrisse or Pink Pig)!
If you are in Norway during the first half of August, you can “bargain” on the “Elverum Jagt ogFisketagen”, the largest hunting and fishingfair of Scandinavia, which takes place annually in and around the Forestry Museum in Elverum. See also this site: www.skogmus.no

Culinary
Regarding the culinary situation in Norway, we can repeat (general) position that eating in Norway is not good. The cost is high to very high and the result is low to very low. It is certainly possible to enjoy fine food in such cities as Oslo, but the cities do not fall directly within this project and the more sophisticated restaurants are (unfortunately) usually not within our budget.
We did try to eat out a few times, but always with disappointing results in terms of food quality and billing, but it might have been bad luck / accidental …
Another commonly known comment is that you should take as many fooditems with you so you can minimize the need to buy it in Norway because the price differences with what one would pay, for example in the Benelux, is significant!
What is certainly nice to try out in Norway (for the carnivores) is a reindeer steak (“Kjots” in Norwegian) which can be bought in most supermarkets (frozen though), the dried cod fillets (stokkfish) and of course the fresh fish or shellfish – but those you will undoubtedly provide for yourself!

What certainly is one reason to visit Norway (and especially the northern part) is the friendliness and hospitality of the people. We were repeatedly invited to the table with local people (with often delicious meals here), or even to stay overnight, or to use their boats, or …

Culture
Norway has a lot to offer, including cultural and historic buildings. Unfortunately, the second world war laid a heavy toll in Norway and a number of (historic) cities were bombed to the ground. Nonetheless, you can still find very nice places… For example, we visited the Viking Museum “Lofotr” on the Lofoten Islands, which was a nice change. If you want to visit this museum during the summer months, try to match your visit with the dates of the “Lofotr Viking Festival”, this takes place every year in early August – we had this luck!