Jeg vil dra på fisketur! I want to go on a fishing trip!  And I will, soon.  Men hvor skal jeg fiske? But where will I fish? Hvilke slags fisk skal jeg fiske etter? What kinds of fish should I fish for?

With Norway´s long kystlinje (coastline), fjorder, and many innsjøer (lakes) and elver (rivers), there is no shortage of good places å dra på fisketur.  In fact, the waters around the kyst of Norway are some of the most heavily populated with fish in the world, not to mention the quality of the stock.   The further north you venture up the kyst, the deeper the waters get and there are more small islets.

Below is a list of some of the species of fisk living in and around the waters of Norway:

torsk–cod

laks–salmon (the best Atlantic Salmon in the world come from Norway)

hyse–haddock

ørret–trout

hellefisk–halibut

makrell–mackerel

piggvar–turbot

sei–pollack

From what I understand, there really isn´t a bad place to fish in Norway.  There are elver, innsjøer, and plenty of kystlinje covering nearly the entire country and anglers seem to have good luck in many different areas.  However, there are always going to be hot-spots, so I´ll share a few with you that I´ve heard about.  Of course it all depends on hva slags fisk du leter etter (what kind of fish you are after)…

For laks, the following elver og innsjøer are known hotspots:

Reise, Lakselva (hence the name), Repparfjordelva, Namsen, Stjordal, Langfjordelva, Vålfrusjøen, and the list goes on.

So if you are just visiting and you would like to dra på fisketur, you will need to get a fishing license.  Similar to here in the United States, licenses are available at sportsbutikker (sports stores), many bensinstasjoner (gas stations), campsites, and turistinformasjonsentrer (tourist information centers).  You have the option to purchase a license for just en dag (one day), 3 dager (3 days), en uke (one week), or various sesongkort (season cards).  Fiskesesongen (The fishing season) is from June 1 to August 31.  Fees for licenses can be paid at a postkontor (post office) or bank (how sensible, right?), but if both of these are closed, you should be able to pay at a turistinformasjonsenter.

In addition to delicious meals made with freshly caught fisk (I personally think a good fish can be a meal of it´s own…), trann or fiskolje is made by some of the by-products.  Many Norwegians (and other peoples who live in the arctic or the antarctic) take trann om vinteren (during the winter) to supplement their diet due to the lack of sol (sun) and therefore vitamin D.  I think I´ll definitely be purchasing some of the gross tasting stuff when winter hits Tromsø-I´m a sun worshipper.