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Norwegian Fjords Report: Early Summer Cod, Ling and Pollack Tactics

Norwegian Fjords Report: Early Summer Cod, Ling and Pollack Tactics

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Name’s Artificial Lure, checking in with your late‑evening fjord report from the Norwegian coast. Along the western fjords from Hardanger up past Sognefjorden, we’ve had a classic early‑summer pattern: light to moderate southwesterly breeze, patchy low cloud, and calm to slight seas inside the fjords. Coastal forecasts from the Norwegian Meteorological Institute call for air temps in the low to mid‑teens Celsius, with only scattered showers and decent visibility overnight. That means comfortable conditions, especially in the more sheltered arms. Sun rose around half past three this morning and will duck back under the horizon close to eleven tonight, so you’ve basically got usable light almost around the clock. Those long twilight windows have been productive: early morning and late evening have clearly outfished midday, when the sun is high and the water goes a bit lifeless in the upper layers. Tides are running on the modest side, with a rising tide through the morning and early afternoon on much of the west coast, then ebbing into the night. Inside the fjords the range is smaller but still enough to push bait along points and narrows. The hour either side of the turn, especially on the flood, has been the sweet spot for bites. Over the last couple of days, local skippers out of Bergen and Ålesund report good mixed bags: plenty of cod in the 2–5 kilo range on broken bottom around 40–80 meters, steady coalfish in midwater over deeper basins, and a nice sprinkle of pollack tight to rock walls and underwater pinnacles. There’ve also been some respectable ling from the deeper ledges, and the usual plagues of small whiting and mackerel crashing bait near the surface when the tide starts running. Best producers have been simple but well‑presented rigs. For cod and ling, a standard paternoster with 150–200 g lead and 4/0–6/0 hooks baited with strips of fresh mackerel or herring has outfished frozen baits. Squid strips have taken fish too, but the fresher and oilier the better. A lot of boats are also doing well with 100–200 g metal jigs in silver‑blue or green‑yellow patterns, worked fairly close to the bottom with slow lifts and short pauses. For pollack and coalfish along the steep walls, soft plastic shads in the 12–18 cm range, in natural sandeel or dark brown/black, have been deadly when fished on 40–80 g jig heads. Count them down, keep them near structure, and retrieve with a slow, steady crank and the odd pause. A few locals are quietly raving about small, slim flutter jigs for coalfish in the upper 20 meters when they’re smashing bait at first light. If you’re after mackerel for bait or the grill, tiny silver or green feathered sabiki rigs have been filling buckets quickly on the surface boils, especially near current lines on the flood. A couple of hot spots to put on your list: • Inner Sognefjord drop‑offs near rocky points, where the depth plunges from 40 down to 150 meters in no time. Those edges have been stacked with cod on the lower ledges and coalfish midwater when the tide is moving. • The narrows and reefy points around the mouth of Hardangerfjord, particularly where side fjords meet the main channel. Pollack have been tight to the rocks here, and ling are coming off the deeper ledges just outside. Stick to those tide changes, keep an eye on bait on the sounder, and don’t be afraid to move if you’re not seeing life in 20–30 minutes. The fish are there; it’s about landing on the right patch. Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe for more on‑the‑water updates and local tactics. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai. Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn
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