[Colin Seaspray]

I'm hors de combat at the moment, but I hope to be fit enough for my first - already fully paid-up - trip to southern Norway in 6 weeks' time (24.3.-1.4.17).

There are 4 of us in our group and we're part of a larger party organised by a large tackle shop in Duisburg in conjunction with the oldest and highly respected angling tour operators.

The destination is Skottevik Feriesenter which is about 30-40 minutes' drive eastwards from Kristiansand on the Skagerrak with plenty of open water, but also the skerries closer in if we need to get out of the weather. It's probably just about the southernmost tip of Norway.

One of the mates in my group has been to Norway a number of times, both down south, but also in the middle and up north and he says we should get some good fishing, although probably not at the high end of the size scale.

Has anybody on here been in this area and could share some experiences?

(The search function does not give any hits for Skottevik and I know a lot of guys on here are a bit disparaging about the south, but it does have its advantages for us, not least of which are ease of access - 1 day's drive - and a very reasonable price).

 

[bri1960]

We fished an organised trip around that area going back a few years think it was 2007.About 100 good anglers went fishing from boat and shore and it was absolute rubbish,completely different to the fishing further north.I thinkthe biggest fish over the week was 6lb and it was mainly very small fish.We were there in June so maybe there will be a few more cod about now,but we were told it was great fishing,decent fish,etc and at the time lads were just starting to go there so we knew no better.But i was talking to a local there and he told me the area had been heavily overfished and the fishing had been poor for about 10 years.Sorry for the thumbs-down but thats how it was for us.

 

[Colin Seaspray]

Thanks for your information, it doesn't sound so great, but hopefully things will have improved now, ten years on.

I'll certainly post a report when we get back - assuming I make it there in the first place.

 

[bri1960]

Hope its better for you mate

 

[Raptor1]

I was on that UK orginised trip it was around 2006 time.Was huge disappointment for over 100 anglers.
Spent quite lot time in Norway past 25years on and off work and managed take a rid along most times.Southern Norway found poor in winter,but April/may onwards more lighter daylight hours always seemed to improve.
Looked at my old survey maps from that trip back in 2006,we were in the Mandel area quite way west of where your going so not much help but close enough for some logical advice.We got good advice from locals professional fishermen where they got there fish catches from.Which eventually improved our shore catches to some extent, we managed the only double of the week by anyone boat or shore .Basically as there is no tide in southern Norway they explained.No rise and fall one metre at most between high and low, thus inside the fyords the fishing was dire and thats the reason.Dead water they called it.No oxygenated water, so no fish or very little.
There advice was simple get out on the ends of fyords and onto headlands facing the open sea marks.Deep open sea with some movement provided instant improvement.example double shot 4lbers first chuck.
Only other mark that fished was a narrow shipping channel where three fyords cinfluenced and emptied through this created a very strong tide race.This place was rammed with fish for those in the know.Triple shots of big spurdogs,codling wolffish coalfish and many other species.
So you know now what to look for on google earth.Mackeral was by far best bait but that was spring when they were about and natural feed.Winter now would still fish with fish baits,mixed cocktails best herring bluey squid for cods and most other species l would think.

 

[Colin Seaspray]

I was on that UK orginised trip it was around 2006 time.Was huge disappointment for over 100 anglers.
Spent quite lot time in Norway past 25years on and off work and managed take a rid along most times.Southern Norway found poor in winter,but April/may onwards more lighter daylight hours always seemed to improve.
Looked at my old survey maps from that trip back in 2006,we were in the Mandel area quite way west of where your going so not much help but close enough for some logical advice.We got good advice from locals professional fishermen where they got there fish catches from.Which eventually improved our shore catches to some extent, we managed the only double of the week by anyone boat or shore .Basically as there is no tide in southern Norway they explained.No rise and fall one metre at most between high and low, thus inside the fyords the fishing was dire and thats the reason.Dead water they called it.No oxygenated water, so no fish or very little.
There advice was simple get out on the ends of fyords and onto headlands facing the open sea marks.Deep open sea with some movement provided instant improvement.example double shot 4lbers first chuck.
Only other mark that fished was a narrow shipping channel where three fyords cinfluenced and emptied through this created a very strong tide race.This place was rammed with fish for those in the know.Triple shots of big spurdogs,codling wolffish coalfish and many other species.
So you know now what to look for on google earth.Mackeral was by far best bait but that was spring when they were about and natural feed.Winter now would still fish with fish baits,mixed cocktails best herring bluey squid for cods and most other species l would think.

Thanks for those tips which will certainly be very helpful.

We'll be boat fishing only, on the drift which, from what you say, will probably be wind-driven rather than by the tide or current. We'll be using jigs and pirks, at least to start with, until we can use any caught fish as natural bait. I'm told there is no possibility to buy bait (or groceries) there - at least not at the time of our visit.

Despite the poor experiences and low expectations reported here I'm still very much to the trip and will report back on how it went.

Cheers

 

[Raptor1]

Local supermarkets have frozen squid and big uncooked prawns.

 

[hyse]

To write off the fjords as being dead water is not strictly accurate - i live on the west coast and many here are extremely productive however you have to really know your fishing grounds and things are changing rapidly. Fish farming and the desperate use of chemicals is a major factor - out to sea the fishing along the coast is also changing rapidly due to seaweed trawling - here the seaweed trawling is very heavy - the fish disappear shortly afterwards and dont come back for quite a while, every trawling session changes the ecology leading to fewer and fewer fish as time goes by - right now there are very few within a 5 km area of Hustadvika, very poor catches from everybody including long liners, even further out its poor - but hopefully that will change next month as the place warms up.

 

[Colin Seaspray]

Leaving tomorrow at 5 am for the long drive. Weather forecast looks good and looking forward to some good sport, even if it won't be the monsters caught further north....

 

[bri1960]

Leaving tomorrow at 5 am for the long drive. Weather forecast looks good and looking forward to some good sport, even if it won't be the monsters caught further north....

Hope you do well mate and have a good time