Another week has passed, and we have had an incredible start to the week here in Vesterålen! The weather was great the first few days, and the first fishing day started with Håkon joining our German guests in the boat. The Germans in a team with Håkon were faced with really good Cod fishing out on one of our newer fishing spots. All guests in the boat had a good time with Cod throughout the day. But 9-year-old Maximillian pulled the biggest fish of the day, an 18-kilo cod for the eager 9-year-old! An absolutely fantastic moment and what an experience!
The weather on Saturday looks fantastic and we aim to finally have a long trip out to some of the best fishing spots Vesterålen has to offer! The long trip becomes a fact, and this day we got 2 Swedish guests who had booked the guide boat one day. Håkon takes them out, and our German guests hang out. Jørgen and Daniel drive their own boat out. We start the day in a place that normally holds large cod, and it does not take long before our 2 Swedish guests get a double bite and land both their own cod of 14-16kg each. What a start to the day! After a while, Jørgen and Daniel go out on the edge to see if they can get a blue halibut and other rarities at a depth of 800 meters. Håkon and the other guests continue a little further on the cod field before they decide to test out the famous long edge. Langen turned out not to be easy to find, but what is happening is something completely wild. It cuts into Håkon’s rod and it turns out to be terribly heavy… After a while, a huge cod weighing 29kg comes up!
What a dream fish! In addition, Jørgen and Daniel come in to see if it can trick some big Cod after fishing at 800 meters. When Daniel and Jørgen return to the long edge, Daniel can proudly show off a 2.4 kg blue halibut that he had reeled up from a depth of 800 meters! Jørgen also lost some weight on the way up from the depths… In the end there was a lot of current and a little more wind, so fishing at a depth of 800 meters became very difficult. But now we know where the Blue Halibut hang, so there will be more expeditions next year! After a bunch of big cod and a lot of fish in the boats, we decide to pack our things, and turn our snout home after an absolutely beautiful day at sea!
On Sunday, Håkon and the Germans go on a trip to the sea again. Today’s goal was to hook in a halibut, but it turned out that it should not be so easy. However a little later in the day something decides to take little Maximillian’s lure, and it is terribly heavy for the 9-year-old boy to hold back. Håkon helps to pump this fish. And after a few minutes of hard fighting, Maximillian can land another dream cod of 20 kilos !! An absolutely fantastic PB for a 9-year-old big fisherman! After that, the weather starts to get bad at the far end of the sea gap, so Håkon decides to fish closer to the camp. The Halibut had still not kicked off completely, and after a few hours of fishing, the guests were satisfied, and ended the day with it!
Yesterday the wind was supposed to push from the south, but we are lucky in Vesterålen. Here are several islands and straits you can hide in under different conditions. So Håkon takes the Germans out again this day, and went purposefully for Halibut all day. Once at the fishing place, the conditions were magical. The wind that was promised never hit this place, and thus the fishing could begin. It started quite slowly, and some smaller cod came up who were interested in the small Coalfish we dragged down. But finally, after a few hours of drifting, it should hit Winne! Finally the Halibut was on, and it just rushed away. Winne put up a hard fight, and was able to pump up the fish after the first rush. I could put the halibut hook nicely through the lower jaw and secure Winne’s first Halibut of 110 cm! It continues relatively slowly, and it looks like the wind is coming a little faster than expected. So after a few hours of fishing we set off for the day….
Today is, unfortunately, the last day here in Vesterålen, and the Germans are out fishing at the time of writing. It’s sad that it’s already over because the fishing this week has been absolutely world-class! Cod at 29kilo, ling in the 10-kilo class, Blue halibut and large quantities of Coalfish! We are already looking forward to next season when we can finally have full camps and tagged guests! Vesterålen has really delivered the little while we have been here! And it will be exciting to see what next year has to offer… So we want to thank all the guests who have been here in this strange season, and hope to see you again next year! We look forward!!
Tight lines // Håkon Nilsen, Jørgen Zwilgmeyer & Daniel Freland
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Thanks guys for your final report and thank you for looking after all the guests we managed to get to you this year. We are sure that people who have booked for next year are all super stoked about getting the chance to fish here with you next year.
All the best and tight lines, see you all next season.
Tight lines Paul