Sorry for the late report, these holidays are always so tiring.
So,
@Tatunka joe @Ollieollie and
@Jonnylongshanks met up at Heathrow on Thursday for the first of three flights to Norway.
I’d had no sleep and was also struggling with what appeared to be a cold (two covid tests agreed), so I wasn’t exactly on top form for travelling.
No flight delays or hassles and we arrived at Hasvik Airport on Soroya in deepest northern Norway at about 5pm.
Then the drama began ? My large suitcase full of fishing tackle and anything fishing related, had not been on the flight.
A helpful reception chap promised to chase it up and said the luggage would be delivered to our lodgings.
I was gutted tbh, as I’d spent quite some building up that kit and not having it almost defeated the purpose for me.
I attempted (unsuccessfully) to look on the bright side and we boarded the minibus for our fish camp at Sorvaer Gjestehus.
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First impressions -fucking cold!
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About 1 degrees and snow everywhere. Unseasonable, apparently ?
Even the Norwegians were sick of snow.
Anyway, our host welcomed us (a different host but I have been to this camp twice before).
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The view from our cabin.
Anyway, short story long, we got settled and oriented and I begged, borrowed and begged more tackle and clothing (oh yes, I had managed to woefully under pack for the cold weather ?).
So we tackled up and headed out to a clise in cod mark for an exploratory few hours.
It was pretty rough and as soon as we stopped, so was I ?
Tat had a couple of keeper cod but I was hanging and after a short while they took pity on me and we headed back in.
Partly not having my sealegs but I think mostly just plain exhaustion as I hadn’t slept the night before all that travelling.
A good nights sleep helped and we were out the next morning after the plaice.
It was a bit slow but Ollie had a nice fish of about 2lb 8 followed by another around 2.
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He closes his eyes in case the camera steals his soul…
We headed in for a bit and for the evening went back to the local cod reefs… MUCH better, this is what Norway fishing should be!
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Plenty of cod about!
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After filling our boots we moved to a bay around the coast where I’d had a few halibut a previous trip.
I can’t be doing with baiting much for halibut so opted for a pink Savage Gear lure.
It had barely been down fir a minute when I booked a rock… then the ‘rock’ began to move…!
Bloody halibut first drop, Christ! Shit me, forgot how herd these things pull!
I was knackered already and all I could do was hang on half the time as it kept diving back to the bottom.
Eventually it surfaced and Ollie did a very good job on the gaff while I collapsed in a gibbering heap.
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66lb by the weight to length although tbh it felt heavier. By local regs it was over rise and went back, but that was okay.
Tat had a hook up with one but it escaped and we continued drifting the bay with a few cod to show.
We moved the boat and then my rod dived again. Christ!
Didn’t really want another battle at that point and thankfully it was smaller, Aldo a keeper and a source of many fillets.
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No more butts for that night and we headed in.
Saturday was a slow start. We went to ‘Butt Bay’ again but conditions were pretty evil.
We moved back around the corner and wow, there was a lot of cod!
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Plus Tat had a cracking 20lb coalfish, biggest I’ve seen in this area so far….
Jhon boy useing his special bait donkey sausage ?
