A nice August evening by the fire in Norway.

Following our recent visit to Fagernes in Norway Oystein Hveding the GAELFORCE chief drilling specialist kindly organised three days fishing for Stephen and myself on the River Orkla to relax and unwind after a busy weekend of events..The current river conditions were still hovering around the low level mark of 25 cubic metres, this has remained the same level since opening day on 1st June as Sor Trondelag has experienced a very low water season, a combination of an early spring thaw in May with no snow left in the high mountains and baking hot temperatures through June and July. The past 3 weeks had been encouraging with a good number of smaller fish entering and being caught throughout the river system.

The journey was by car heading north and would take around six hours, as we approached Lilliehamer the north end of the Mjoso lake looked calm and tranquil, as we travelled further the Gudbrandsdalslagen river was a beautiful green colour as it drained the last of the snow from the high mountains in the Jotunheimen range in the west.The rain had started to fall heavier as we travelled north and the road to Dombas looked busy, so we made a right turn at Ringebu and started the climb over the top to avoid the busier traffic. A different route to Trondelag amidst some breathtaking rugged scenery, the journey would see us heading for Folldal passing the famous Atna river and lake system we were soon at Hjerkinn joining back with the E6 for Oppdal.The headwaters of the the Driva river were now on our left hand side, and it was now showing a good flow after the rain as it headed westwards for the Fjord at Sunndalsora, things were now looking good for some water where we were headed. A quick stop for some provisions we were soon at Berkak where we start heading down the beautiful Orkla valley, soon we were in Rennebeu heading down the valley with our first good view of the River Orkla and to my surprise it was in good shape this far upstream so the excitement was building for a productive trip. The first sign of anglers on the river became noticeable at Aunan then “A”, Vella Riksta, Hillstad Ree in fact all the way down the valley as we could see smoke rising in the evening air from the campfires on the pools down by the riverside, this was a good sign that fish were in the river as each lay bye we passed had cars with rod clamps attached. The excitement was building as the overhead conditions looked good with heavy cloud and rain in cool evening air, very soon we were in Meldal where a more sombre mood came over us, we had a very important appointment with a great friend Knut Syrstad to pay our respects in the Churchyard. A more fitting place for Knut to lie could not be found anywhere in Orkdal as the river flowed passed the bottom of this peaceful place.The journey for us continued with the car being very quiet and the river looking more inviting with the evening air full of light rain.,very soon we were at our destination with a few hours to spare before darkness set in, Orkdal was now seeing darkness descend as the season draws to a close, very different to those long bright nights of early June.The air felt fresh and it was evident that heavy rain was on its way as all the local farmers who had made the best of a wonderful summer had transformed the small roads in this normally quiet valley, it was bustling with the drone of the tractors and trailers gathering their rolled hay bales from the fields to the shelter of the barns for winter feeding.

The rods were set up with the EMT Multi Tips and a pocket full of various density sink tips and a selection of flies, the next two and a half days were simply magical with Storlaks feeling the change in water level and moving to the river from the Fjord, their long wait for water to progress on their upstream journey was over with the first rise in the water for a long time,.the river peaked at 285cm3, a huge brown river.The three of us had tremendous sport in this short visit and take home wonderful memories of this beautiful river, we all had a story to tell round the fire waiting for the water to subside, all our fish were taken on the EMT Multi Tips in various tip densities from S3 to S8. All too soon it was time to pack the rods away and head to Trondheim for the flight home, a magnificent short break on a fantastic river, Thank you Oystein for all of your help and advice during this trip to Norway. 

The perfect host and fisherman extraordinaire, Oystein Hveding with one of three Storlaks for his three days fishing. 8kgs,9.5kgs & a magnificent specimen of 15.5kgs all safely returned to the river.

The eighth annual Spey Omega 15ft Speycasting competition took place at the Anglers rest in Doonas on the River Shannon amidst the glorious October sunshine.

Congratulations to Derek Doyle taking first place, Derek has attended every Spey Omaga since the beginning, this proves that perseverance pays off. Martin Kiely came a close second with Michael O’kane taking 3rd. Marcy L Stone showed all weekend that she can compete with the rest and was just unlucky in the final. It was really pleasing to see such interest from all the Irish boys with some new competitors taking part gaining experience.

Spey Omega was a great success with more new blood entering into the competiton scene taking part, proving their skills and gaining invaluable experience. Spey Omaga has always provided this platform as the competitors are always willing to help each other and encourage other casters on the sidelines to have a go, there is a great cammradderie .

Derek Doyle	146ft 2inches
Martin Kiely	145ft 4 inches
Michael O’Kane	142ft 8 inches
James Chalmers	140ft 9 inches
Stephen Slattery	137ft 2 inches
Robert Gillespie	137ft 1 inch
Marcy L Stone	129ft 8 inches