Finnmark & Alta!

This year the Alta trip was restricted to only one days fishing. To make a great trip I added some things I wanted to do for a long time. I took the borrowed old Mercedes from Alta and drove over Finnmarks widda to Stabbursnes. Here one of Finnmarks many beautiful rivers, Stabburselva meets the fjord. This is an interesting area, many clear water rivers that have runs of really big fish. Fishing Alta soon 30 years I have never spend a lot of time on those rivers, but now in a way it feels I should. I fished zone 2 in Stabbur one night. Alone I walked and walked and walked... good exercise but also many beautiful pools to be fished. I caught a nice grilse on a slim hitch tube on one of the bottom pools. This little fly tied with the stealth thread on the new pearly tubing really felt the right weapon. The day after I drove to Lakselv. Visited some friends and Olderöy and was treated with great hospitality. I enjoyed the river and one day I will see what a week here can bring. A couple of days alone on a road trip, me and Neil young in the speakers – the good life.

Alta is the thing, the biggest challenge, the biggest fish. I picked up the photographer Johan Annerfelt. Johan is shooting for a common book project and of course we needed Alta to be part of it. My good friend Jan Vegard Ernsten got the fishing and invited me to join him. We fished Bollo on worst possible conditions. Below 0 zero water level, 17C and 30 C in the air – not a cloud to be seen. Hmm… sometimes we need excuses when not catching a fish, this time we got them all and it was truly difficult. We blanked, I touched three fish, closest was playing a 20-25lbs for 20 seconds before it just spitted the fly, a Pahtakorva on a large TTT – the same fly that gave me two 35+ lbs last year. Bollo is nice and Vinagorva just as nice. I showed Johan the canyon before we left for the airport, now on our way to Iceland. Iceland seems to have gathered all the low pressure for Europe. Perfect conditions with good runs in most rivers. To be honest it will be good to get some air to breath, leaving Alta at 33 C. Tonight we arrive at the magic beat 4 at Stora Laxa. Stay tuned and see if we can hit it right.