Like beacons in the sky, the flames welcome the rise of the Storlax to the majestical Orkla valley.
The New 2015 Salmon fishing season on the river Orkla was about to get underway.

I had arrived at Vaernes airport early evening on the 31st May to be welcomed with a warm smile and handshake from my good friend Oystein welcoming me back to Norway,I was very glad to be back to this beautiful country on the eve of the new Salmon season. I was totally relaxed on arrival as my new my 6pc Destination rods were with me, as I was carrying them in my hand, the benefits of shorter travel rods had already paid dividends.I could feel there was a distinct chill in the air with light rain falling as we left the airport, 8 degrees it read on the temperature gauge in the car, I am glad I packed some warm clothing.. Oystein had just travelled from Lillehammer and informed me the river was running high but not coloured as all the streams down the valley were running full as he came over the Dovre mountains, with fresh snow falling on the tops. Crossing the R. Stjordal, R. Gaula and the R. Nidelva en route to the River Orkla I could see they were very high and would take a day or two to fall to a good fishing level, we arrived at our destination to see the river had risen from the mornings level at 70cm3 to around 125cm3 and falling slowly, a big river which had been rising steadily all day.Settling into our accommodation we met up with the other rods who would be fishing with us, two Swedes, two Danes, one Norwegian and one Scotsman all enthusiastic for the fishing which lay ahead, after a nice meal the introductions were completed we then set up our rods. I opted for the Destination 6pc 14ft 6in 9/10# rod in preparation for the opening at midnight, large flies, Multi Tip Lines with a variety of fast sinking tips to Sink 8 I.P.S. were my option for the start with. Midnight was fast approaching so we headed to the river to be met by the farmer Steinar and his wife who made us feel very welcome, they had the fire lit and the lantern candles all lit the hut.

Midnight 1st June 2015 on the Majestical R.Orkla

The midnight gun went off with a loud bang, the noise reverberated right up the valley to hail the opening of the new 2015 season, this signalled our chance to start fishing.Most of the pools still remained too high for good fly fishing but the rotation found us in a pool called Unteigen, this I was assured fished very well in the higher water by our Danish friend Morten who had fished the beat on numerous occasions.I entered the pool close to the island with some trepidation as this was new territory for me, a new beat in high water and at night, very soon I realised that deep wading at this height was not going to be an option due to the force of the current.I opted for the safer approach of long casting staying closer to the shore.The top of the pool was very fast and I wasted no time getting into the main body of the pool as it deepened and slowed, the fly was now swinging round into the depth perfectly at a good even pace.I could feel the chill in the air as the skies cleared, my feet were pretty cold after an hour of wading, after checking the water temperature we soon found the water temperature to be running at 6 degrees ,cold indeed.The water was now receding to a better level and the air temp had lifted slightly when all of a sudden I felt a long slow pull, then an eruption on the surface of the water with a long run, I had hooked an opening day Storlax, the long strong fight commenced, this turned out to be a very lively Salmon which gave a great account of itself.Very quickly after negotiating a safe place to land it amongst the swollen bankside debris and Oysteins expert help,the hook was removed and the fish was released to continue on its upstream journey.I just sat on the bank watching the night sky thinking how privileged and lucky I was to have captured an opening day Salmon in Norway.The 14ft 6in Destination 6pc travel rod had done its job well, not just with the casting,it had subdued the strong lively fish in a timely effective manner, I was particularly pleased to have landed an opening day River Orkla fish fish in what can only be described as difficult condition

A fine June1st 2015 Salmon from Vella Rikstad, Unteigenholen.

The weather had now taken a turn for the worse and the rain began falling again, time for some well earned rest and some warmth, the short walk back to the accomodation was satisfying indeed knowing that the Destination rod range I had been designing and testing for the last twelve months had come to fruition with great results.
Oystein Hveding fishing the Destination 13ft 9in 8/9# 6pc in Kanalholen R Orkla.

The weather continued in the same vein for the next three days, cold wet and windy, one of the Swedish lads with us described it to me as a typical Sor Trondelag summers day. I understood where he was coming from, it was similar to Scotland in late April four seasons in on day.The pools that we fished were still a bit on the high side for good fly fishing, but were slowly beginning to look very fishy as each day passed, pools like Vella,Ovre Vella, Bestfarholen and Sagholen looked like magnificent fly pools and I would loved to have fished them in a lower water. All too soon our three days at Vella Rikstad were over, we were moving further downstream to our new venue for the remainder of the week. I must say I was very impressed with the fishings at Vella Rikstad, the farmers attitude to his guests, the warm friendly hospitality shown to us during our stay, its a great pleasure to see the farmer taking good care of the banks and providing first class facilities for his paying guests, thank you Steinar I hope to return someday soon. Reports from the river since opening were showing reasonable catches spread throughout the system which was very encouraging as the rain had subsided, hopefully the air and water temperatures would rise a little as well, so we traveled down the valley, downstream of the Bjorset dam and the Svorkmo power outlet to Fahnrem and met up with Sverre Hveding, Oysteins brother. A lovely meal was had in the Vertshuset resturaunt with some reminiscing of fishing trips past and good laughs were had. Sverre had earlier just lost a big fish lower downstream, just a few kilometers above the tide using the Destination 13ft 9in 6pc rod and was very excited telling us blow by blow of the strength and the fight this big fish had just given him, he looked pretty excited,as were we on hearing this.The next day we would all be fishing together and looked forward to this with trepidation as tide fresh fish were being taken from this part of the river,the excitement was building as the temperature on the thermometer rose to 10 degrees with the water now up to 8 degrees.The morning was damp with drizzling rain, the river level hovered at 60cm3 perfect conditions for traveling fish off the tide, fishing the deeper side of the pool with shorter casting and no wading I opted for the Destination 13ft 9in 6pc 8/9# rod,matched to the 9/10# Multi Tip line with the sink 8 tip and a very large Blue Norseman fly. I had not long to wait, as I was day dreaming the rain got more persistant, I had just made a cast mended the line when the rod was nearly pulled out of my hand, a solid take then the rush of a lively fish making a 150 metre dash without breaking the surface across and downstream.Deep fast water between me and the fish gave it the upper hand, but a good rocky bank allowed me to slowly walk downstream following the fish keeping directly opposite with good pressure, the power of the Norwegian Salmon never cease to amaze me, with a combination of the powerful flows of the river and deep fish, the rod performed admirably with a steady pressure managed to beach the fish lower down the pool on the only piece of shingle bank available. This fish when guided to the bank was a great surprise, not the big early Storlax the Orkla is famous for, but a memorable fish indeed at 87cm and straight off the tide it's one I will never forget, the hooks removed it swam off strongly to continue its upstream journey.I just sat back relaxed in the shelter looking at the morning mist and distant low cloud, marvelling at the wonderful Salmon rising on each tide in this majestic river.

Straight from the sea.

The Destination 6pc Travel rods had both been well tested for what they were specifically designed for and passed with flying colours

Wanted!! wandering around the Orkla Valley somewhere!!The three Amigos in unshaven Selfie mode

Oystein Hveding, James Chalmers and Sverre Hveding .

 I must express a huge thank you to Oystein Hveding and Sverre Hveding for organising this wonderful trip to Orkla Valley