Atlantic salmon rivers have always held a special place in my heart, but few have captivated me quite like the Gaula river in Norway. It could be that it’s because it took me three separate trips to finally land an Atlantic salmon, or it could be that I met my future husband there…
Either way, everything came to a head when I landed the biggest salmon of my life—hubby and baby in tow.
Here’s the story:
Norway holds a special place in my heart, a place where a chance encounter changed my life forever. It all began with a simple goal – to catch one of their famed Atlantic salmon. Little did I know, that trip would lead to a love story.
The story starts in an old farmhouse on the Gaula river, one of the most famous salmon rivers in Norway. One morning, as I stepped out of the farmhouse door, I saw him – Charles, my future husband, putting on his waders. Our eyes met; time actually felt as though it stood still. In Norway during the summer, it never gets dark, so we had endless hours to get to know each other.
As fate would have it, love blossomed around campfires and fishing spots along the riverbank, just upstream from our quaint farmhouse. There was something magical in the Norwegian air that brought us together, and over the next few years, something called me back to Norway twice more. My second visit, however, was a bit more challenging.
I was pregnant, and Charles was on his way to Russia, so we decided to meet in Norway for a few days. Despite the added difficulty of pregnancy, I was excited to be back, but a week later, my determination to catch a fish in the mighty Gaula river remained unquenched.
I stayed on to record a podcast with Per Arneberg, the owner of the Norwegian Fly Fisher’s Club and a dear friend. Despite the camaraderie and the abundant fish, they continued to elude me. I left Norway once more, still without a catch.
Two years later, I decided to introduce our daughter to Norway. We flew from Canada to meet Charles (who was already there), with a stopover in several cities and diaper change-stations. The Gaula river is wide and perfect for casting large swung flies. It operates on a unique beat system, with private landowners owning the riverfront. The NFC leases water from these farmers, granting us exclusive access to different sections of the river every six hours. We scheduled our angling rotation, and we settled into the farmhouse that would be our home for the next couple of weeks.
The constant daylight during the summer months also made for an interesting experience. Fishing until midnight and then switching beats in the middle of the night was not uncommon. I actually managed to catch my first fish of the trip during one of these late-night sessions, jet-lagged baby in tow.
As the days passed, we faced the unpredictable Norwegian weather. Clear conditions made fishing challenging, but when the clouds rolled in, our hopes soared. We fished hard, taking breaks to explore, and roast hot dogs.
A last minute decision to try one more spot on our way to the airport is when IT happened. Chaos ensued as I fought to reel in the largest Atlantic salmon I had ever hooked. Dressed for the airport, Charles wasn’t about to get his shoes wet, so it was time to woman-up. I’ll let the video above tell the rest of the story…
