Fishing Åmselva the New Zealand way.

Rivers come in all shapes and sizes. Norway has a huge variety to choose from. Your individual preference often is governed by what it is you read in the press. For example if you read many of the local and international magazines you will see photo’s of muscle bulging monster salmon taken in wide fast flowing rivers. Editors love to use these fish as cover photos just to sell their publications. I too can be accused of this. Unfortunally what we miss is some of the most fun fishing there is to be found.

Eirk working hard to land one of Adrian’s fish.

Happy campers!

The rig that works best for stream fishing.

A sweet fish on light gear

Hidden in Vats district (southern Norway) is an enchanting example of my point. Åmselva is an undulating stream that is more typical to the southern coast of England than Norway. In fact it reminds me of the many calk streams England is recognized for.

The slice of the river we fished was just under a kilometre long and is loaded with several diverse zones. The upper reaches are perfect little fly zones and the lower pools are ideal worm fishing zones. Our arsenal consisted of both fly and super light 11-foot sea-trout rods. The most important aspect of steam fishing is scaling down you equipment to balance both the river flow and fish size. The average weight for an Åmselva sea- trout is a fantastic 600-grams and an incredible 2.1-kilo for its salmon.

The kiwi challenge.

Our international crew loaded the car and hit the road. With stories of earlier adventures we anxiously dove the 100 kilometres south from our homes. You see I had an idea of what we where in for. I was fortunate to have fished this system earlier in the season and the sea-trout where more than willing to sink your teeth into my lure. This trip was a river test and worms where the order of the day.

It is claimed that this river is best-fished New Zealand style. So why not find a New Zealander. I rang around and found a Kiwi mate that could put this claim to the test. Adrian is a magic spin and worm fishermen so the chance for him to “clean up” another river is always welcome. It was pure poetry to watch Adrian work his rig along the river. Here is his trademark rig:

Adrian’s tips.

1. Attach a spiral lead (weight according to river flow) above a two-way swivel.

2. Use a small size 8 hook tied at the end of a half-meter leader.

3. The most important ingredient is the orange/pink rubber tube above the hook.

4. Finally two worms, the first threaded up the hook shank and the other partly hanging from the curved base. This gives the coolest action while being fished both up and down stream.

If you follow Adrian’s tips the chances that you will catch your bag limit for the day are well worth a bet.

Some people like chocolate and some people like chips me I’m just love fishing and the chance to fish one of the many alterative rivers should not be missed. Åmselva is a sweet little river that is well worth a fish. The most important thing to remember when visiting a river like Åmselva is to scale done your equipment. We here at fishbooking are not driven by the big name, big river theory our entire country is broad and diverse and any fisherman worth hi salt should be motivated by the chance to try something new !!


Skot.