Norwegian Holiday

Exactly one year ago to the day my Dad and I made the trip to an island called Vaeroy at the tip Norway’s Lofoten island chain, inspired by Henry Gilbey’s TV show we were to spend six days fishing for cod,coalies and halibut with the same guide on the same water at the Swedish Fishing Camp run by Wild Water Fishing. I got their website address from the side of the boat and we went for a package that included all fishing, tackle, flotation suits and food. We had to make our own way to the island which meant two flights, a train journey and ended with a 40 minute helicopter flight - a first for both of us.

On the boat

On the first morning over breakfast our guide, Kristian, explained that we would be starting off with a day of cod fishing, jigging large rubber shads of 10oz and about 12 inches long in the waters around the island. We boarded the boat buzzing with anticipation and after about a half an hour motor Kristian said that we should drop down. On the very first drop in Around 80ft of water my Dad had a hit with the first lift of the shad and after a tough battle he boated a PB cod of 37lbs. The rest of the day was spent fishing in various areas with lots of cod between 10 and 25lbs but nothing to beat the monster which my old man landed.

A tremendous cod is boated

As the weather was abnormally calm Kristian decided that we would spend the next three days trying for halibut in an area known as the Maelstrom - a mile wide channel between two islands where the tide raced through at around 6 or 7 knots. Here we were fishing with 20-30 class boat rods with rock solid Penn TRQ lever drag reels loaded with 65lb Berkley Whiplash again with large shads this time around 14 inches long and weighing between 400 and 500 grams. The trick was to work the shad around ten feet off the bottom (with the aid of the fish finder) and wait for a fish the size of a dining table to rise up and hammer the lure. Over the next three days we caught and released several halibut, my biggest was a small but pleasing 40lber however my Dad stole the show with three over 150lb topped by one of 180lb. The halibut fishing was a little slower than the cod fishing but the buzz of seeing these fish screaming line off a drag you cannot budge by hand and sounding to the bottom several times during the fight kept you going. A Swedish lad on one of the self drive boats landed and released the biggest of the week, estimated at 100kg , we had the pleasure of seeing it landed, photographed and returned, absolutely awesome.

The huge Halibut

The highlight of the week was definitely the Coalie fishing, having done plenty of Pollack fishing we had an idea of what to expect......or so we thought. A much longer boat ride than normal took us to an area of underwater mountains which held lots of small Coalies, perfect feeding ground for big Coalfish. This time we were rigged up with Shimano jigging rods, Penn Sargus reels loaded with 50lb Berkley Whiplash and Storm giant jigging shad at the business end. We let the shad hit the bottom, some 30-90 feet below us and then reel back up as fast as we could, after a couple of drops my Dads reel screamed as braid was ripped off by an angry fish and after a few minutes he boated a cracking Coalie of around 18lbs. It was not long until I had my first contact with an angry Coalie which hit the lure three times on the way up before engulfing it just twenty feet below the boat, the fight was absolutely fabulous and eventually Kristian lifted in a corking 32lb fish into the boat. The action was non stop with lots of fish in the 20-30 lb bracket and all on heavy spinning gear, fantastic.

Cracking Coalfish

All too soon the holiday was over and we had to make the long journey home but what a holiday !!!! The memories will live long and although not cheap (£9 a pint can put you off your beer !!!) I would recommend this to any body who fancies some of the best sea fishing in Europe.
We carry a good range of pirks and shads for Norwegian fishing as well as a superb selection of rods and reels to suit any budget, so if you need any advice or want to purchase the necessary gear get in touch.