Salmon & Trout Fly Fishing Adventure in Norway

The rich cold seas of the northernmost reaches of Europe, are one of the fly anglers ultimate playgrounds. Especially when you consider that this part of the world can boast the largest Atlantic salmon and some of the largest sea trout on the planet.

The area is home to some world famous rivers such as the one and only Alta, Laxelva and our home river the Reisa. But this area is about far more than just three rivers, there are many other smaller rivers that hold some enormous Atlantic salmon. Every year these smaller rivers produce fish over the magical 30lb mark, with even the occasional fish over 40lb being netted from time to time. These rivers are kept very secret by the few locals that fish them so over crowding is never much of a problem, even during the night of the season.

Alongside these big salmon rivers is perhaps the jewel of northern Norway’s fly fishing, its extremely productive coastal sea trout fishing. There is something special about sea trout, like their cousins the steel head that just captures a flyfishers imagination. Here they grow big, with many fish going over the double figure mark and the occasional fish even exceeding huge sizes of 20lbs +. It is without doubt the best trout fishing in Europe and at times would even give Argentina a run for its money. For the active angler it is the perfect mix of searching, casting, searching, casting. Finding feeding fish and hitting them before they move, when they move it’s also time for you to try and find the next feeding frenzy.

With the rivers and sea trout fjords being a short distance away from one another, it is easy to combine the two and produce an almost perfect fishing combo. With all big salmon fishing rivers, it takes time and dedication to grind out a big fish, as they don’t give themselves up easily. So having such a productive fishery like the coastal sea trout, a visit there each day is a great break from the mental concentration that is needed when swinging a fly for salmon. By fishing the best state of tide for making the salmon run the river and then switching it for the fjord before or later that day, you really do have the best opportunity for putting fish on the bank. We have even been lucky enough to witness a 20lb + salmon and a 10lb + sea trout landed by the same angler in a day, truly a memory not to be forgotten.

What to Expect

The trip consists of five days fishing and six nights accommodation. The rivers are closed for resting on Wednesdays, so on these days a full day fishing for sea trout is needed.

Your guide will collect you at the beginning of each fishing day, depending on the tide you will either head to the salmon river or fish in the fjord. The coastal accommodation is only fifty meters from some spectacular sea trout fishing so if fish are being spotted, you might even walk down to the waters edge with the guide and begin your day in view of the accommodation. Your guide will have refreshment on them during the fishing day and a half time stop for food normally happens after around four hours of fishing. After stopping for a river bank or shore cooked meal, you will be taken to target the alternative species for that day. So if you have fished for salmon already that day you will switch to sea trout and vice versa