Week 28, Rainy days.

This week, we were delighted to welcome back many familiar faces from previous years, while also opening our doors to a number of new guests joining the Olderø Fly Fishing Lodge family. It was a great mix of returning friends and new faces, all eager to get out on the river and experience what Lakselv has to offer.

As forecasted at the end of last week the rain arrived at the beginning of this week — and unfortunately, it came with plenty of it. The river began to rise steadily, eventually peaking at an impressive 55 cubic metres per second. This put the fishing on hold for a little while, and the first half of the week proved to be very challenging. But as the water finally turned and started to drop, things began to change. The fishing gradually picked up, and with it came some very nice fish and some memorable moments on the river.

One of the week’s highlights came from Lorcan, a first-time guest at the lodge. Fishing Home Pool, he was swinging his big Sunray through the lower part of the pool when, finally, everything came together. The fly was grabbed by a really big fish, and suddenly the quiet session turned into a serious battle with one of the river’s better salmon.

Because of where Lorcan hooked the fish, down in the lower part of the river, the salmon immediately turned and headed back towards the sea. For a moment, it looked as though the fish might be gone. Luckily, it eventually stopped and turned back upstream, allowing Lorcan to regain some line. After a couple of hard runs and a few tense moments, the fish was finally brought to the net.

A beautiful fresh female salmon of 93 cm and 9 kg — a fantastic fish for Lorcan on his first visit to Olderø.

Over the next couple of days, the fishing remained steady as the river continued to drop. Most of our guests had their chances at some really good fish, with plenty of excitement and a few close calls along the way. In the end, only a couple of those fish were successfully landed, but the increasing activity was a very encouraging sign.

With the river settling and big runs of salmon continuing to enter the Lakselv, we are feeling very hopeful for another great week ahead.