Fishing in Lillesand

It is like many municipalities here in Southern Norway, built up with many cabins in combination with at times challenging topography and difficult to find spots to fish. There are however some areas to fish for those who fish by foot, but Lillesand is an area that is without a doubt best explored by boat.

Svennevig, Kaldvellfjorden

With the productive sea trout stream Kaldvellbekken in the north end of this fjord, it’s no surprise this area houses a good population of sea trout. It’s a natural area for the sea trout to grow and develop with a multitude of food sources. There is good parking here and many spots to try both further in towards the stream and further out into the fjord.

Blindleia/Vallesværdfjorden

Best fished from a boat due to the number of cabins and difficult terrain, this area is an amass of so many perfect spots that house and produce sea trout. Bays, islands, straits, current, streams and more. A combination of brackish areas closer to the streams and more saltwater further out towards open sea.

Kassen

A very well-known strait or channel that funnels water flowing in and out of the fjord system. Plenty of both water current and food which is a natural attractor of many fine sea trout. Both spots further into the fjord in this area, and further out towards the more open sea worth trying.

Isefjærfjorden

This very brackish fjord system due to its distance from the open sea and some large streams running into the fjord, hold a very healthy population of sea trout some even quite large. An area best explored by boat.

Skottevik

Easily accessible bays which each hold sea trout. The sandeel is a stable meal here, so make sure you’ve imitations of such on the end of your line. Another tip is sitting on the rocky tops and observe the large sea trout cruising in and out of the bays. Read more about Skottevik.

Vesterhus

Yet another brackish water system, again due to the larger feeder streams is at times a haven for sea trout and big ones at that! Here there’s a few places to try from land and again probably best from a boat.

Fishing Techniques for sea trout

Being a fish, the sea trout is a cold blooded animal and its activity level affected by the water temperature. So, another good rule of thumb is if the water is cold or very warm, slow retrieves. Between 6-14℃ is when the sea trout is at its happiest and most active, in such conditions a fast retrieve is what they need to get triggered. Though with this said, vary retrieves with pauses. Get ready to get a bite on the pause or start after you begin to retrieve again. Be aware as sea trout are often close to the shore, so your first casts should be well away from the shore. Also don’t wade too far out as you often wade into feeding sea trout and scare them.

Boat Fishing

Another very effective form of fishing is from a boat. Whether it be trolling (driving slowly past sea trout hotspots pulling lures through the water) or casting from a stationary boat, boat fishing opens a world of possibilities. The boat provides not only a vessel to quickly get you from spot to spot, and often to those spots that are hard to reach from land, but a platform to cast from, free of trees and bushes waiting to catch you fly! If you have your own on a trailer, Southern Norway has many boat ramps where you can launch from.

Where to buy equipment and get local tips

In Southern Norway we are lucky enough to have a few specialist fishing shops with very knowledgeable staff and a relevant stock of essential sea trout fishing equipment. Beginning from West then to East, Lyngdal Jakt of Fiskesenter in Lyngdal, Grønberg Sport in Kristiansand, and lastly Arendal Jakt og Friluft in Arendal.

Other ways of finding promising spots are with the mobile phone app Fiskher but also the book ‘Sjøørret’, though written in Norwegian also has many fishing maps with magical spots to try.

If you need further guidance with either where to fish, which techniques to use or developing your fishing skills, maybe a professional fishing guide is something for you?

• AnglerPilot - Professional guiding for sea trout along the Southern Norway coast (based in Kristiansand)
• Sørlandet Fiskeguiding - Guiding for sea trout in southernmost Norway (based in Grimstad/Lillesand)

Pack your bags with food, here’s an interactive map showing good spots where you can spend your day on the hunt for sea trout.