The Strolling Bones : Nodding About, Part 328

It's what I do best.

I could have spent weeks or months in Sweden, stopping off at this or that river or lake. I really love the country, it exceeded my expectations in every way, but we wanted to have a couple of weeks in Norway before heading slowly back home.

The drive across the mountains was stunning and took twice as long as it should as I kept stopping for a look at the view. The photo below was taken from inside the van when we stopped for lunch.

We headed for the Atlantic Highway, a very famous stretch of road over the islands near Kristiansund. I don't normally do "the sights" but this really was worth putting up with other tourists ( I, of course, am a traveller, not a pesky tourist. Got that ? ).

We parked up and were joined by two German coaches. Coaches that had been converted into a big motorhome ! Incredible.

Obviously I had to have a dabble with the rods. It was a surprising warm evening with no wind and the clear water was flat calm.

I had a monster mackerel and three pollack, not a bad start. When I was walking back to the van I saw fish milling about in the kelp ( you can see deep down in the water ). I was sure one was a cuckoo wrasse. I've never caught one so plans were made and a rig set up for a go first thing in the morning, but not before I grabbed a photo of the beautiful sunset.

Up early,using a float set up, small hook and some winkles I'd found on the rocks I started getting bites immediately. These turned out to be pouting, poor cod and goldsinny wrasse. All in the first ten minutes, a good start.

Next cast a different kind of wrasse.

I was pretty sure it was a rock cook wrasse( it was ) but needed to check with a couple of "species hunting" mates. Next cast...yes ! Cuckoo wrasse.

Again, ridiculously pleased with a little fish. Spotted it, had a plan to catch it, got it. Booooooom ! Sorry got a bit carried away.

So a really good couple of hours with four species to add to my 2022 list and two I've never caught before. Lovely.

We moved on just a few miles and found a nice place surrounded by fishing huts overlooking the islands. Started off trying for some coalies or pollack but nothing doing, so just the excuse I needed to go mini species hunting. Bit of shellfish on a tiny hook lowered in was hit by a sea scorpion first drop.

Then I had a blenny, more goldsinny wrasse and then it was time for lunch. As I was waiting to be served ( 😂 ) I cast out in to the shallow dock and started catching whiting immediately. Messing about catching different fish in new places, no matter how small they are, is about as much fun as you can have in my book. I totally understand if you think it's a total waste of time, each to their own eh ?

Nice lunch, cold beer, map out looking for a park up for the night, just about perfect.

The next place was about half hour drive down the road, a nice park up right next a jetty/harbour, overlooking the mountains.

We had a go on the jetty in the evening, catching coalies, huge mackerel and assorted mini species. I set the float at about twenty five feet, just off the bottom, which you could clearly see in the crystal clear water.

It did drop away to a huge depth further out but most of the fish were caught around the pier structure and the moored boats.

I had loads of fish on the ultra light six foot rod, five gram weight, size 12 hook and a tiny scrap of mackerel. Little codling, the ubiquitous goldsinnys and a 2.5lb coalfish that went mental on that set up. I had a few casts at dusk and caught yet another big mackerel. They're huge round here, we've had nothing under about a pound and a half.