Norway Christmas 2021
Oh my god, its only bloody happened. Jax and I actually got to go to Norway!
With two holidays already cancelled, due to you know what, things were not looking promising, but with a few hoops jumped and some form filling completed, we were good to go!
Very briefly, Gatwick North terminal was a shambles and having to pay £5 to stop for two minutes to unload frankly takes the piss, but, it is what it is.
Trondheim airport was efficient as ever and we were soon on the E6 heading to Skarnsundet Fjord Centre. Let the holiday begin.
The drill on the first day is the same as ever, Un pack, go to the co-op for supplies then decide where to fish.
The weather was foul. Torrential rain and a biting wind really only left us with one venue that offers some degree of shelter, the Landing, so to the landing we went. I have been fishing in Norway since 2010 and very quickly learnt that to enjoy the fishing you must fish comfortably, and for me, that means keeping relatively protected from the elements. Good clothing helps, but, a brolly makes all the difference! So, upon arrival at the landing, our first task was to erect the brolly, then set up the rest of the gear and start fishing. The fishing was very very good. Lots and lots of prime plump Haddock, some Ghost sharks and a brace of Cod for Jax. Even the weather improved, at one point the rain eased enough so as to be able to actually hear one another talk over the sound of it drumming against the brolly! With the session over, I was left with a pile of fish to fillet and Jax a dinner to prepare!
The next day, Sunday, we headed out onto the apartment pier to fish. Not normally regarded as a productive venue in daylight over high tide, but as the weather was still on the nasty side, we did not want to venture too far. I’m glad we tried. Plenty of Haddock, a few Cod and a couple of pesky dogfish made it worth it.
Monday morning was an early start to catch the slack water period at Straumen Gulley. It’s a quick-fire venue with limited fishing time. As little as 15 minutes on big spring tides and up to an hour or so on dead neap tides, but the fishing can be spectacular. We would be fishing a set of building spring tides, giving us roughly 30 minutes fishing before the run of tide would make fishing impossible. Jax quickly found the Cod with 3 in quick succession before she had an unsuccessful try with the lure rod and I, an unsuccessful try with the fly rod. We went back onto the bait rods for one more cast before having to up sticks and move 30 yards to a slightly different venue out of the main force of the current. We both had a couple of small Cod there before hunger caught up and the call of a cooked breakfast became too strong to ignore.
Monday night we headed off to fish the slipway. The Cod were on the feed, but the bites were very finnicky, with a good number of bites missed or fish bumped off. Over the session we did keep 4 Cod and released a few more, but all of them had empty stomachs and were very lightly lip hooked.
Whilst there, Phill Dale, owner of Skarnsundet Fjord Centre, came along to see us and gave Jax a lesson on how to correctly fish weighted shads and advise her on what rod, braid and shads to buy for the next trip. Shad fishing (and lures) is a discipline of our sport which bores me to death, so it was really good to have Phill along to help show Jax the ropes and leave me to watch my rod tips in peace for a while! Also, it gives us another weapon in the fish catching armoury!
Tuesday. With recent success fishing the apartment pier, we again fished it over the high water period for yet more Haddock before heading back to the apartment for dinner. Afterwards we were both back on the pier and into another Haddock fest with a few Cod thrown in for good measure. One thing of note was the high number of Ghost sharks caught, especially ones of a larger than average size. The best we had went 3Lb 15oz for Jax and 4Lb 11oz for myself!
Wednesday. Back to Straumen Gulley for a dawn raid. I caught a few small Cod as did Jax. I also think she managed a slightly better one. 15Lb 4ozs!
Me holding Jax's Cod
That night we ventured off to Stu’s point. It’s a bit a of a scramble down some boulders, a walk across a kelp and boulder strewn beach where upon you reach a nice flat rock platform a few feet above the water from which to fish. Fishing was slow but steady, with Cod, Haddock, Dabs, Coalfish and Whiting all on the feed. As had been the case at the slipway the other evening, the fish were empty, lip hooked and clearly not ready to feed in earnest.
Thursday. The weather had been brutal all day and the forecast did not give any hint of it improving till the following day. We headed off to the landing but abandoned it after one cast and a Haddock to Jax. It’s a holiday, not a test of endurance!
Friday, our final days fishing.
With the apartment pier fishing so well, we had a daytime session there catching plenty of Haddock before returning to the apartment for dinner and to refill the bait bags. Final session: Lets end as we began, off to the Landing!
The Haddock were on the feed big time. All four rods attacked at the same time on numerous occasions. Lots landed, many missed, the best going 6Lb 8ozs to me and 6Lb 4ozs to Jax.
Ghost sharks had become a menace with one in three fish being a ghostie. I did manage the only Coalfish and Cod of the session though!
Christmas day was a rum fuelled affair culminating in yours truly dashing outside to make a snow angel, minus ones clothes.
A slight sore head boxing day but never mind, holiday over and time to head back to the barren codless waste grounds of Dungeness.
Oh my god, its only bloody happened. Jax and I actually got to go to Norway!
With two holidays already cancelled, due to you know what, things were not looking promising, but with a few hoops jumped and some form filling completed, we were good to go!
Very briefly, Gatwick North terminal was a shambles and having to pay £5 to stop for two minutes to unload frankly takes the piss, but, it is what it is.
Trondheim airport was efficient as ever and we were soon on the E6 heading to Skarnsundet Fjord Centre. Let the holiday begin.
The drill on the first day is the same as ever, Un pack, go to the co-op for supplies then decide where to fish.
The weather was foul. Torrential rain and a biting wind really only left us with one venue that offers some degree of shelter, the Landing, so to the landing we went. I have been fishing in Norway since 2010 and very quickly learnt that to enjoy the fishing you must fish comfortably, and for me, that means keeping relatively protected from the elements. Good clothing helps, but, a brolly makes all the difference! So, upon arrival at the landing, our first task was to erect the brolly, then set up the rest of the gear and start fishing. The fishing was very very good. Lots and lots of prime plump Haddock, some Ghost sharks and a brace of Cod for Jax. Even the weather improved, at one point the rain eased enough so as to be able to actually hear one another talk over the sound of it drumming against the brolly! With the session over, I was left with a pile of fish to fillet and Jax a dinner to prepare!
The next day, Sunday, we headed out onto the apartment pier to fish. Not normally regarded as a productive venue in daylight over high tide, but as the weather was still on the nasty side, we did not want to venture too far. I’m glad we tried. Plenty of Haddock, a few Cod and a couple of pesky dogfish made it worth it.
Monday morning was an early start to catch the slack water period at Straumen Gulley. It’s a quick-fire venue with limited fishing time. As little as 15 minutes on big spring tides and up to an hour or so on dead neap tides, but the fishing can be spectacular. We would be fishing a set of building spring tides, giving us roughly 30 minutes fishing before the run of tide would make fishing impossible. Jax quickly found the Cod with 3 in quick succession before she had an unsuccessful try with the lure rod and I, an unsuccessful try with the fly rod. We went back onto the bait rods for one more cast before having to up sticks and move 30 yards to a slightly different venue out of the main force of the current. We both had a couple of small Cod there before hunger caught up and the call of a cooked breakfast became too strong to ignore.
Monday night we headed off to fish the slipway. The Cod were on the feed, but the bites were very finnicky, with a good number of bites missed or fish bumped off. Over the session we did keep 4 Cod and released a few more, but all of them had empty stomachs and were very lightly lip hooked.
Whilst there, Phill Dale, owner of Skarnsundet Fjord Centre, came along to see us and gave Jax a lesson on how to correctly fish weighted shads and advise her on what rod, braid and shads to buy for the next trip. Shad fishing (and lures) is a discipline of our sport which bores me to death, so it was really good to have Phill along to help show Jax the ropes and leave me to watch my rod tips in peace for a while! Also, it gives us another weapon in the fish catching armoury!
Tuesday. With recent success fishing the apartment pier, we again fished it over the high water period for yet more Haddock before heading back to the apartment for dinner. Afterwards we were both back on the pier and into another Haddock fest with a few Cod thrown in for good measure. One thing of note was the high number of Ghost sharks caught, especially ones of a larger than average size. The best we had went 3Lb 15oz for Jax and 4Lb 11oz for myself!
Wednesday. Back to Straumen Gulley for a dawn raid. I caught a few small Cod as did Jax. I also think she managed a slightly better one. 15Lb 4ozs!
Me holding Jax's Cod
That night we ventured off to Stu’s point. It’s a bit a of a scramble down some boulders, a walk across a kelp and boulder strewn beach where upon you reach a nice flat rock platform a few feet above the water from which to fish. Fishing was slow but steady, with Cod, Haddock, Dabs, Coalfish and Whiting all on the feed. As had been the case at the slipway the other evening, the fish were empty, lip hooked and clearly not ready to feed in earnest.
Thursday. The weather had been brutal all day and the forecast did not give any hint of it improving till the following day. We headed off to the landing but abandoned it after one cast and a Haddock to Jax. It’s a holiday, not a test of endurance!
Friday, our final days fishing.
With the apartment pier fishing so well, we had a daytime session there catching plenty of Haddock before returning to the apartment for dinner and to refill the bait bags. Final session: Lets end as we began, off to the Landing!
The Haddock were on the feed big time. All four rods attacked at the same time on numerous occasions. Lots landed, many missed, the best going 6Lb 8ozs to me and 6Lb 4ozs to Jax.
Ghost sharks had become a menace with one in three fish being a ghostie. I did manage the only Coalfish and Cod of the session though!
Christmas day was a rum fuelled affair culminating in yours truly dashing outside to make a snow angel, minus ones clothes.
A slight sore head boxing day but never mind, holiday over and time to head back to the barren codless waste grounds of Dungeness.
