We are delighted to see international guests salmon fly fishing in Norway from the beginning of the season this year. Snow levels were very good through the winter leading to the sort of spring conditions that we would expect for many rivers. Regular rains have kept water levels fluctuating allowing fish to move through the river systems and constant fresh fish entering the pools. Read more about specific rivers below.

The Gaula

Current recorded catch for 2022: 4,507
Largest Fish: 19.3 kg (42.5 lbs)
Average size: 5.8 kg (12.78 lbs)

We are now mid way through July on the Gaula towards the end of the traditional prime time period and we have seen 3 fish over 40 lbs and 49 of salmon over 30 lbs too. We hope that these big salmon continue to appear through the season. In recent years, we have found that many of the biggest fish are landed in the back end as water levels are lower and fewer fish are lost due to high flows.

Winsnes Lodge

Catch in 2022: 108
Largest Fish: 14.5 kg (31.97 lbs)
Average size: 6.3 kg (13.89 lbs)

It’s been a week a bit like the curate’s egg – good in parts. After week 27, which produced a tally of 40 salmon, week 28 really was after the Lord Mayor’s show. Water conditions for the week were perfect and while the U.K. sweltered in high temperatures, here we had a week of drizzle, low cloud and cold weather. In short, perfect conditions for Gaula whereby the river rises and falls gently, staying ‘topped up’ for an extended period.

On paper, week 28 looks pretty good with 29 fish in total but behind every stat there is a story. For most of the week we simply struggled to catch them. Anders caught a couple of grilse on the first evening and it was grilse, grilse, grilse for the rest of the week. It’s satisfying to see so many young salmon entering the river but the lack of sport with bigger salmon was puzzling.

Gary Maidment caught a beautiful fish from bottle pool weighing over 21 pounds on Monday last but it was a rare big fish. Bill Gracie managed to winkle out a couple of mid-size fish on Kroken on Friday morning before Doug (his fishing partner) had managed to tie on his fly. Martin Mottershead flew the flag nicely with three fish including a beautiful 12 pounder on the last evening. Interestingly, two of Martin’s fish came on Wye Grubs – flies that have a purple hue in tinted water.

There were encounters with big fish too, David Slatcher battled with a giant in the old bridge pool for a brutal 15 minutes before coming off worse! I had a pleasant evening on Friday and got the sense from the off that the tide was turning. I’ve barely fished this season and it felt great to be on the river with a rod in my hand. I got 6 contacts in total, landing 3 salmon, the biggest a nice 7.5 kilo female fish from Kroken. I used a small flamethrower tube fly to tempt the takes – an impulsive move because when the fish are tough to catch we usually use dull flies with somber colours. Yet, I have seen flamethrowers work in the past in conditions that you would not consider ideal for them. On this occasion, a dark tint in the water made them stand out and it was that garish shock factor that I hoped might tempt a lazy, resident fish.

With the fish coming on during Friday night, it was a nice finale for everyone. The climax came on the last session of the week, on Saturday afternoon when Glen Hole landed a superb 98 cm salmon from Kroken (around 21-22 pounds). The fish took… a flamethrower. The week with 2 big salmon, 4 medium salmon, and 23 small salmon.

We have high hopes for the new week with Colin kicking off proceedings with a beautiful 13 kg fish in the first evening session.

Norwegian Fly Fisher’s Club

Catch in 2022: 229
Largest Fish: 15 kg (33 lbs)
Average size: 6.31 kg (13.91 lbs)

The NFC beats are now all producing salmon including on the beautiful tributary Bua. The river has stayed in just about perfect conditions throughout the season and fish have been coming regularly. The increased showing of grilse has pulled down the average sizes throughout the system but there are still plenty of big fish to be found too.

We hope to see the Bua beats come into their own in the next few weeks as well as many of the beats above Storen.

The Orkla

Current recorded catch for 2022: 3,950
Largest Fish: 23.6 kg (52 lbs)
Average size: 5.5 kg (12.13 lbs)

We are now mid way through July on the Orkla towards the end of the traditional prime time period and we have seen 1 fish over 50 lbs, 2 fish over 40 lbs and 30 of salmon over 30 lbs too. We hope that these big salmon continue to appear through the season. In recent years, we have found that many of the biggest fish are landed in the back end as water levels are lower and fewer fish are lost due to high flows.

We will be growing our Orkla River options in 2023 so please do get in contact if you would be interested in visiting.

The Lakselv

Current recorded catch for 2022: 160
Largest Fish: 17.5 kg (38.58 lbs)
Average size: 8.1 kg (17.86 lbs)

Oldero Lodge

Catch in 2022: 18
Largest Fish: 15.2 kg (33.51 lbs)
Average size: 8.05 kg (17.75 lbs)

Being much further north in Norway the salmon season takes longer to get going, with many river opening towards the end of June and July. Fishing has been slower than normal through the river but there are still plenty of good fish to be found and the Oldero beats have been good at locating the fish. A number of monstrous salmon have been lost after heartbreaking fights.

Conditions for this week look good with a rise in water over Sunday and Monday, now stabilising and hopefully dropping over the next few days. Exactly what you want on the Lakselv.

The biggest fish so on the river is still just shy of 40 lbs but with big fish running all weeks of the season we expect this to be beaten a number of times over in 2022.

For more information about salmon fishing in Norway please contact Alex Jardine or call our office on +44(0)1980 847389.