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Holmemstranda, Ramsdalfjord Norway |
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Written by Fred Lane
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Friday, 13 June 2008 |
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Well, were do we start? The fantastic weather? The fish? Let’s start from the beginning. This was my 3rd tour to Ramsdalfjord, Norway. We usually go to Holmemstranda in September but this year we went up in May. All of you that are familiar with Norway know that Norway in September is at times cold and very unpredictable with long nights and cold, crisp mornings. On the other hand fishing is unbelievable. May was, at least for this trip simply beautiful with long days, no rain and plenty of sunshine.
My first tour in 2005 we caught Kohler by the boatload, one drill after another. For my first experience fishing in Norway it was nothing short of a dream come true. We had at least 5 huge Kohler in the boat by 10:00 and had the rest of the day to play and experiment with new fishing techniques that are region specific to Norway. This was very productive but we soon realized our equipment was a little to small for ground fishing these massive fjords for Lump and Leng. Everything else was on target. We caught hundreds of Herring, huge Mackerel and cove based fish. The Pollack were plentiful as well as the Dab and Turbot.
My second tour in September 2006 was a bit different. After experiencing the year before I expected endless Kohler again and to my amazement we actually had to look for them and the big ones were few and far between. Don't be sad because the year before we experimented and found the ground fish. After fine tuning our fishing weapons from the year before and getting new reels with the capacity to reach the trophy Lump and Leng we were ready to fight. Armed with new DAM conventional reels equipped with 1,000 meters of Berkley Whiplash we were able to land at least 8 Lump and Leng a day on average. We figured out like most fish the Leng and Lump schooled and the average size depended on the depth. We fished mostly between 250 and 400 meters and were catching 8+ kilo fish. Another dream comes true. On the 4th day of fishing we cleaned and packed 25 fish from 8 to 12 kilos. Again the Herring and Mackerel were plentiful allowing us to catch fresh bait every day. Remember small bait equals small fish and big bait equals big fish when you’re fishing 300 meters. A whole large Mackerel or a whole large Herring produces great results. Also another note, if you’re not catching fish and your bait has small round bites taken out of it you have found the Dorn Sharks. Go ahead and try a new spot. I’ve found that they don’t co-inhabit the same water.
Now comes my third tour in May 2008. The elements, fishing and environment were very different than my normal September excursions. Everything I could ever imagine or hope for was here. Kohler, Pollack, Herring, Lump, Leng, Cod and now the new comer Halibut. It was absolutely fantastic. The fist few days started a little slow and we had to work to catch the fish but it made every one that much more gratifying. Day 4 was great day for ground fishing. The sun was hot and the water was perfect. We had little waves and a slow drift so we decided to give it a go. About a half hour into fishing I received a pounding strike and then 4 runs and 20 minutes later I landed a 24.6 kilo Leng. I caught it at about 340 meters on a whole Herring trail rig. This was a big surprise considering we were only catching 4 to 8 kilo Lump this trip. The large Leng were nonexistent. I rounded off my trip on the last day fishing a twister tail on some cliffs and landed 2 Pollack, 3 cod including 1 over 8 kilos and a 9 kilo Kohler in 30 meters of water. That was another 15 minutes of fun on a 40 gram rod.
If you enjoy fishing, great food and friendships that last a lifetime please visit Holmemstranda once in your life. Every day is an adventure with endless opertunities for your dream fish, whatever it may be. The accommodations are very nice and the in-house guide and cook are wonderful. They take care of your every need. All you have to do is fish.
Petri Heil,
Fred Lane
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Last Updated ( Friday, 13 June 2008 )
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