A little help

[american angler]

Hey everyone,

I just booked my trip to northern Norway from May 27-June 3rd this year and I was hoping someone out there would be willing to impart some knowledge. For the first three days I will be staying/fishing out of Å in Lofoten and for the next couple days we move a little further north to Frovåg in Senja. After looking at some depth charts there are definitely some nice drop offs and areas to investigate but given my limited time up there I was hoping someone would willing to share some marks/GPS coordinates. I appreciate any info anyone is willing to provide!

Tight Lines!

Justin

[Hafnor]

Hi Justin. I am sorry people on this forum may seem a little bit quite on your behalf (saw your post regarding fishing in Oslo). First of all welcome to this forum. To answer your question I must say that I am not that familiar in the area but I have fished there in the summertime. We have a summerhouse in Andørja not far from your destination in Senja. I cannot give you any positions regarding hotspots for this area now because the hotspots lies in the boat at Andørja. All I know is that the area is famous for some decent cod fishing and also BIG polack (this is a good target fish species during the time you are there) I do not know if there is a lot of halibut there but in these areas that far north there is almost, always big opportunities for halibut. Me and my team will be in Andørja in may testing out a new boat. I am sure we can arrange a meeting there and pick you up and try some fishing. send me a PM if interested. I hope you got some kind of an answer with this post and do not be afraid to ask questions, it is great to have an American on this forum.

Best regards, Thor

Endret March 21, 2011 av Hafnor

[palkr]

I'm in the same bin as Hafnor: I do some fishing up north, although not in that area, which is the reason why I can't give you any coordinates. I think it's a cultural thing: Norwegians generally won't give any coordinates. At best, you will get some general directions like "I caught the fish 4 miles out".

Are you going to rent a boat with GPS/fishfinder? In that case, you will in most cases have some hotspots available on the GPS. Or you can ask the people that work there.

You are of course aware that different species prefer different habitats, and that this also changes with the season and availability of food. In general, a good starting point is to look for structures such as underwater reefs and small mountain tops and fish across the structure to locate the fish. The rising tide is a good time, as anywhere in the world I guess If there are sandy flats (or gravel/pebbles) around the structure, you need to have your gear in perfect working condition due to the halibuts that usually lurk there

[Oz]

The fishing camp at Å in Lofoten has Arvor boats with gps and fishfinders (afaik) installed. Nice boats, all the way. Lofoten is a beautiful place, and Å is really not the worst place to visit!

[Oddgeir]

You dont mension what sort of fish you're hoping to catch or if you are out to catch the biggest one.

All of Lofoten should forfill your desire to catch a really big cod.

I'm not that familiar wit the area around Frovåg, but have fished alot around Berg County.

I've seen a halibut cought at this place you can se on the link under. And it weighed in at 147kg.

They didn't get it up in the boat, just tied a rope around the tail of it and towed it in to Steinfjord Beach.

Link

[american angler]

Gentlemen,

Thank you for all of the replies. At both locations I have rented boats with GPS and fish finders. I have aslo been viewing some depth charts for good drop offs/points/channels but I cannot understand the coordinates that this website uses: http://www.ngu.no/kart/arealisNGU/. As far as target species go I would of course be extremely happy with large cod and pollack but what I would really like to catch on this trip is halibut and wolffish since I dont have many opportunities to do so.

Thor, I would absolutely love the chance to go fishing with on your boat but given our limited time up there I think it would be a bit unfair to the guys I am going with.

Also, if any of you guys are around Oslo and want to go do some fishing let me know. The only thing that comes before fishing is work and even that can be fixed!

Tight Lines!

Justin

[palkr]

...As far as target species go I would of course be extremely happy with large cod and pollack but what I would really like to catch on this trip is halibut and wolffish since I dont have many opportunities to do so.

...

I see we share preferences These two species require specialized terminal tackle if you want to be successful, as you might know already. You really need to tune your fishing, and not waste too much time on other activities such as yo-yo jigging. Do you have experience from this fishing, or studied some of the halibut posts on this forum? Or other sources for that matter...

Endret March 22, 2011 av palkr

[american angler]

Since the beginning of the planning for this trip I have been reading a lot about fishing for halibut and have learned a few things (I Hope! ) I have bought some Storm Wildeye Giant Jigging Shads and some other lures to try but I am definitely open to some more tips and ideas if you would like to share them!

[Triturus]

I can do nothing but wish you good luck!

Endret March 22, 2011 av Triturus

[Oz]

I can do nothing

So true!

[Millionas]

Gentlemen,

Thank you for all of the replies. At both locations I have rented boats with GPS and fish finders. I have aslo been viewing some depth charts for good drop offs/points/channels but I cannot understand the coordinates that this website uses: http://www.ngu.no/kart/arealisNGU/. As far as target species go I would of course be extremely happy with large cod and pollack but what I would really like to catch on this trip is halibut and wolffish since I dont have many opportunities to do so.

Thor, I would absolutely love the chance to go fishing with on your boat but given our limited time up there I think it would be a bit unfair to the guys I am going with.

Also, if any of you guys are around Oslo and want to go do some fishing let me know. The only thing that comes before fishing is work and even that can be fixed!

Tight Lines!

Justin

The coordinates are in UTM on that site, so you have to use an converter to get it in degrees, google UTM to degrees or: http://home.hiwaay.net/~taylorc/toolbox/geography/geoutm.html

Here are the zones in Norway: http://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fil:LA2-Europe-UTM-zones.png

Or you can use this site: http://kart.gulesider.no/ choose the label: "Sjøkart" and you will get the seachart. Then right click on a spot and choose: "GPS-koordinater"

Now you have a GPS-plot in WGS84..

Tight Lines!

[american angler]

Millionas,

Thanks, that will be extremely helpful!

Tight Lines!

Justin

[palkr]

Since the beginning of the planning for this trip I have been reading a lot about fishing for halibut and have learned a few things (I Hope! ) I have bought some Storm Wildeye Giant Jigging Shads and some other lures to try but I am definitely open to some more tips and ideas if you would like to share them!

Sounds like you're well on your way Nothing beats experience and local expertise, and hopefully you're able to get some updated information on where they've recently caught halibut when you get up there and start talking to people. If not, then it's a good thing you've done your homework

Personally, when I have no previous information about the place, I favor areas that has the following:

- Structures that gather baitfish

- Flat areas with sandy bottom that offers ambush/rest

- Tidal current

- Deeper waters within short reach

The reason is that if I succeed in finding such an area, I know there will be at least one halibut there The flip side of such areas is that it doesn't attract only halibut, and sometimes brosme (don't know the english name) and cod can be a real pain. In such cases, a big dead bait fish can be a solution, so I recommend that you also bring rigs for dead bait. The cod you catch then will at least be big

Use the GPS actively so that you drift fish the entire area of interest in a systematic manner. Halibut can gather on quite small areas that are especially favourable for ambush (sand/gravel/shell) and restitution (tidal current flow), so you don't want to miss any spots.

Keep bottom contact regularly. If you detect only rocky bottom, and you're harassed by cod, then consider moving to another location.

I know several guys have been successful trolling jigs and bait along huge areas of flat bottom, but I have only sporadically attempted this, without any success. Found it too boring, I prefer active hands-on work with the rod The benefit of this method is that you will most likely not be bothered by cod, but you obviously still need to check the jig regularly for weed and kelp.

Hope this wasn't too obvious, although you've probably heard it before

[boganis]

...and sometimes brosme (don't know the english name)...

Tusk in english

[american angler]

Palkr, Those are solid tips and it never hurts to hear them again! Now if I can just apply them then I think it will be a great trip. It has slowly consumed my thoughts and May 27th cannot get here quick enough.

I am extremely thankful for all of the advice and help everyone provide to me and I will make sure to continue to post reports and pictures.

On a side note, I think I might take a drive down to Svelvik today after work and throw a couple casts to feed this fishing itch. If anyone knows of other places without ice or wants to go fishing drop me a line.

Tight Lines,

Justin