Magnificent Norwegian Salmon Caught on Fly

coolwings

Feast your eyes on this from "Fish & Fly":
Mollie Fitzgerald with her magnificent 54lb Atlantic salmon


On 28th June 2008, co-owner of Frontiers, aged 45, Mollie Fitzgerald landed a 54 lbs salmon on the Alta river, Norway. The fish took a well-known pattern, the Mikkeli Blue in a pool called Ovre Sierra. The fly was surprisingly small (1-1/2" length) considering the fact that the river was essentially in flood at over 6.5 ft on the gauge. There was only a small window on the inside corner of the pool where fish might lie and the big one was in the 5 star hotel! Mollie also caught fish of 35lbs and 24lbs that night. 113lbs of salmon!

As Mollie described to Fish&Fly, 'The fish took on the dangle, as they do in high water, and left the pool for Nedre (Lower) Sierra, a run of some hundreds of yards down some big rapids in high water. We were left paddling hard and starting the engine to keep up – there is no way the fish would have been landed without the skills of my boatmen Tronde and Frode Simensen – he fought it for 45 minutes – less than the pound a minute rule!'

Ovre or Upper Sierra was described by a famous Alta fisherman, Hamilton Dalrymple, in his diaries of the 1920’s as a great low water pool but then he notes in the margin 'we now know that it is a good high water pool also' - He too caught a 54lbs fish there.

Surely this must be the largest Atlantic salmon caught on fly in recent times by a lady rod?

The fish was released safely. Well done Mollie on this magnificent catch & release.

seandugg

Absolute Monster

SnuggaponyKelly

jaysus!

pvt.joker

coolwings wrote: »

The fish was released safely.

Fair play.