Even if we have fewer guests in Winter season, there is no shortage of fishing game. The best fish in this season is clearly the cod, but halibut, pollock (occasionally), saithe, as well as whiting and flatfish are also available.

The fishes are in a good biting mood and they now prefer grounds that are closer to the coast line, and thus closer to our facilities, too. The advantage is that if the weather changes quickly, one can return to the port faster, or one can even try fishing directly from the land.

If the herring is around then cod and other species are very active and good catches are the result. If the sky is clear at night, the chances are high of seeing the northern lights.

In February the same conditions apply as in January. The fish are close to the shore and slowly they are preparing for the spawning season. They are still in a good biting mood.

With good luck, some larger cods will have joined the shoals in the second half of the month. In February one can catch cod and other species directly from the land, too. Days are gradually getting longer, which of course means more fishing time.

Now the spawning cod (skrei) are moving along the coast. While these fish are not easy to catch, single pieces can be quite heavy.

Similar to salmon, when it pulls up the rivers to spawn, the spawning cod are not in a good biting mood because they are already preparing for the spawning. Nevertheless there are moments when these cod are also biting well.

At certain times the only working way to catch the cod in March is to tease it until it bites. This is a matter of patience and the question is who is going to loose patience first, fish or man. The fishing depths depend on the water temperature, typically they range from 25 m to 80 m, sometimes even deeper.

The advantage of this time of the year is that fish are often directly in front of our facilities. Driving distances of 500 m only are not unusual. Finding and fishing swarms is not difficult, since the swarms are easy to see and identify on the echo sound device.

April is similar to March. All fish are about to spawn. However, the diversity of species is growing and in addition to cod now also pollack, saithe and beautiful haddock are available. Fisherman who fish with natural bait have a chance of catching beautiful ling, whiting and flounder.

Lucky guys may even catch a halibut. Depending on the weather, a trip in front of the archipelago can be worthwhile.

Finally it’s getting warmer and the days are already quite long. Now the fishing really gets going. The fishing is shifting more and more to shallower water, and off the archipelago to the offshore banks.

Nevertheless, occasionally the fish can still be found at 80 m to 120 m, but the majority is now at 20 m to 40 m. In May, life in the sea virtually explodes! It starts with the algae, along with them all the small animals, and they finally are the perfect meals for our target fish.

Now it's not hard to catch fish, because after the spawning season they are hungry and eat to catch up with their weights before spawning. Even if there is no guarantee that you may be the lucky one, this is the time of the year when most halibut are caught.

Almost daily we see fresh halibut from May to around mid-June! Of course, we can't compete with the monster-like ones of Northern Norway. The range of fish is now very wide, from cod, pollock, tusk, ling, haddock, redfish, monkfish (only with good luck, of course) and the aforementioned slabs, it's all there.

In June it is possible to fish 24 hours a day, as it no longer gets dark. This is the month for when fishing is really easy. It means one can use small pilks or rubber fish caught with a lightweight spinning rod in shallow water at 20 m to 40 m.

Pollack in particular are very receptive to this type of fishing and are great fun. In addition to pollack, cod and saithe can also be caught in the same places, whereby saithe can be caught in shallow water, but also on the edges of deeper water.

The fishing now takes place in the archipelago or on the banks further out, but it can also be worth trying in Brandsfjord.

When the small herring move into the fjord, they are often followed by pollack. We have had days when we hardly could handle the plenty of caught fish. Fishing depths range from 80 m to 140 m.

Even now fishing is still possible all around the clock, only from the end of July on the days become shorter again. The fishing at this time of the year is very good in Bessaker. However, you have to keep an eye on the water temperature.

While the pollack tolerate warmer water well, the cod and also other fish species can move to the deeper zones. There is also something else you should watch out for.

Even if it's nice to stand in the sun in a T-shirt and get a tan, you shouldn't forget the fish in the box. Because they don't get better in the heat! I often see fish boxes in which the fish are already "cooked" and became low-grade.

Either you prepare freezer bags with ice, take them with you and spread them over the fish, or as an emergency solution you cover the fish with a damp towel and pour seawater over them from time to time. Going in more often and take care of the fish is of course also possible.

In July, fishing takes place in the archipelago or in front of it, but also in the fjord.

When the summer is very warm, and the water temperature is respectively high, the fish may stay very low. This applies for water temperatures of more than 20°C.

In some years we found cod at a depth of 150 m. However, the water temperature doesn't rise so high in every year, typically it is between 16 and 18 °C.

From August on it can be very rewarding to try for redfish. Although redfish are caught throughout the season, the fish are now gathering in larger and denser schools.

Redfish can be found on the steep edges of the banks at depths of 150 m to 200 m.

Fishing is done mainly on the banks or edges, and in the fjord.

Summer is over now, but the water is still warm. Therefore, fishing is not much different from August, but one has to keep an eye on the weather. The weather can change quickly in autumn, so always check the weather forecast before you go boating.

There is also a lot of redfish fishing now, and nice pollock are often a welcome by-catch. The depth is the same as in August. It is now also a good time to try for tusk and ling, these fish are caught all year round but often as by-catch when pilk fishing at "normal" depths.

Fishing a few levels deeper increases the chances of catching bigger fishes. Big lings are caught from time to time, but not in large numbers, which may be the result that it is tried only seldom.

The depth should be around 150 m and deeper. Try the edges of the banks, but also edges in the archipelago and in the fjords can be interesting.

The water slowly cools down but it is still warm enough to experience some good fishing. The fish are still hanging around on the banks. The fisherman‘s biggest enemy now is the weather.

Even though you should always expect wind, if you're unlucky it can blow for weeks in Autumn. A good time for spontaneous people. Just follow the weather forecast and if everything fits, get in the car and off you go. Of course, please give us a call beforehand and book accommodation.

At this time of the year it is usually no problem to get a house. In October, all common fish species can still be caught at the known spots.

Fishing also works in November. The days are short and typically the weather is bad, but we have had guests in November who were flexible with the time period and had hardly any wind for a week. Their catches were pretty good!

A little story about this: One last time we wanted to go fishing to finish the season in November. We wanted to fish for ling and needed small pollock as bait.

We only caught little more than 3 kg of bait pollock that day. Later we cut a saithe in small pieces and used it as bait, shortly afterwards we caught tusk and ling!

November also has more to offer than fishing, e.g. the Northern Lights.

This the time of the year with the shortest days. Even though few fishermen visit Norway at this time of the year, it can be worthwhile. The peace and quietness, the Northern Lights and the short distances to the fish schools are big advantages.

Some fish species congregate near the coast. The variety of available species decreases now, but good cod, haddock, halibut, whiting, occasional pollack and saithe, as well as various flatfish species are always there.

Whenever we have guests here in December, they mostly leave Bessakers fully satisfied.