With the effect of the summers long-lasting drought and low water flow in our rivers, a hike in the mountains with your fishing rod is something to be considered for upcoming week. Øistein Solstad at Lagen Fly Fishing has been out on a hike and sent us this report.

Many people prefer easily accessible fishing spots close by or near roads, and I may have to admit that I also think it might be very convenient at times. However, it is hardly anything that beats the feeling when you arrive at a planned campsite after carrying a relatively heavy backpack. On this trip we chose to visit the mountains of Lesja municipality and Lesja Commond Lands. A fantastic area in the north of Gudbrandsdalen. Along with us, we also brought the dog Mio. He is quite interested in both fishing and fish and spots willingly rising fish.

Our hike started with walking up hills, and quite a lot of it as well. Fortunately, these hills seemed far shorter because of a mountain stream running beside the trail.

As we reached the final stage of the climb ( that actually was just 200 meters altitude spread over 4 kilometeres ) we found a small stream who held a lot of trout. Here we found very nice dry-fly fishing in the small pools and had a lot of fun.

At this time the sun had really set in and the temperature was a bit to high for both men and Mio. So we needed to take a few well deserved breaks, cathing our breath and trow of the backpacks once in a while. However, it made room for some fishing in-between.

It takes quite some time to get to where you have planned when one stop to fish all the time …

When we finally reached our destination, a beautifull clear mountain lake, the wind had picked up and there was a bit to windy for dry-fly fishing. But we still managed to catch a few.

This was the first trip to the Lesja Mountains this summer, but certainly not the last.

So take to the mountains, folks. To the mountains!

OES