Well we are up and running once again -well not many are perhaps but the river has dropped pretty well on upper/middle beats and is just about fishable with a little colour.   Not so on the lower beats of course who may have to wait some time yet.    Came down the upper river this morning but saw no one out.

Be interesting to see where the first fish is caught and who catches it too.  Not making any bets personally but it can't be as bad as last season surely -can it?

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                                                       NORWAY TWO.

My second trip was to a river in Norway I had not heard of.  Unsurprisingly it is known as the Secret river and it called the Aa or Aaelva.  A short river in a little valley and about 15km long in total.

Went there for a few days and the journey itself was interesting inasmuch as I went as a gillie to three other anglers in a private light twin engine aircraft fairly low across the North sea and then into the mountains of Norway.  Interesting to say the least when looking out the windows one could see the mountain sides seemingly just a dozen or so yards away alongside the aircraft/  Then a turn into a fjord with a landing strip sticking out of the edge.   The approach also included meeting an air pocket when the craft dropped suddenly about twenty feet without warning.  Not nice.¬

The river was in a confined valley with fast water, waterfalls everywhere and someway up the river a very clear lake win which one could see dark patches we were told were shoals of salmon waiting to run the upper river.   As for the fishing = well it seems most fish were up in that lake and the beat we were on was just above the estuary    Only one of the party caught a moderate fish.   I got the chance to fish one afternoon and contacted two fish which felt like grilse.   They both it seems went to the bottom and rubbed the fly out on the mossy rocks, as both times the fly came back covered in fine thick moss.

So interesting but not very productive but it seems this river had a big reputation and access to it was very difficult then as now I understand. Again one of those trips which took a lot of effort and expense but once again wrong time,wrong place.

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