The last update of this summer. As every year the fly fishing season lasted far too short. There are still so many places I wanted to try, so many flies I should have tested, and a few more big grayling I wanted to meet ... 
The last week I fished with fly fishing buddy Peter, we tried Glomma at KFF, the Hodalen lakes, river Grimsa and a few more places. At none of these places I have seen insects on the water, and so, there were no rising fish. Very strange, especially because I noticed river Hola is really full with nymphs. I know because I filmed this small bird, the dipper, or Fossekall in Norwegian, and with my tele lens I could see that almost every time the birds went under water, they came up again with a
mouth full ... So, plenty of nymphs, but no insects on the surface. Our fishing was not bad, by the way, and we managed to land some large grayling between 45 and 50 cm, on nymphs of course.  

The forecast for the coming week(s) is not bad, it will not be too cold, there might be some sun, and they say there will not be too much wind. The water level is perfect, all good places can be reached, and those hatches will come, sooner or later ......

Actual water level                            : 587.54
Average water level 2005 - 2023   : 587.47
Water in Glomma is                         : clear
Water temperature                           : 9 °C
Air temperature min - max              : 2 - 8 °C
Wind speed and direction               :  3 m/s , North West

Lot's of rain yesterday made the river rise to about 588,00 (meters above sea level). I don't know if the water is clear right now, I guess it will be a bit dirty. This will improve within one day, and the level has already stabilized. Today the fishing will be lousy, tomorrow it will improve, and I guess Sunday and next week the fishing will be rather good. The air temperature will drop, and so the water temp will go down too. Baetis hatches will start again, and there will be more rising fish. If the forecast is right, and there will not be too much rain next week, the water level in Glomma will fall slowly to about 587,70 - and that's perfect for fishing.   

Actual water level                            : 588.00
Average water level 2005 - 2023   : 587.42
Water in Glomma is                         : ?
Water temperature                           : 12 °C
Air temperature min - max              : 8 - 15 °C
Wind speed and direction               :  4 m/s , South 

Low water level in Glomma at KFF, and good fly fishing conditions these days. There could be a bit more insects on the water, the amount is still changing from day to day. The forecast for the coming week tells us there will be some rain (great) and some more wind (...) , and the temperature will drop. I guess the hatches will pick up again as soon as the water temperature drops. These weeks can provide the best fly fishing of the season ! KFF is open for fishing until the end of October. 

Actual water level                            : 587.34
Average water level 2005 - 2023   : 587.41
Water in Glomma is                         : clear
Water temperature                           : 13 °C
Air temperature min - max              : 5 - 20 °C
Wind speed and direction               :  2 m/s , South West

Rising grayling and plenty of insects on the water one day, nothing happening the next day. Why ? I haven't got the foggiest. Even after 30 years of fishing Glomma, this river has a lot of secrets for me. The weather is not bad, some rain, some sunshine, sometimes it can be a bit windy. All in all pretty good conditions, I guess the next few weeks can be the best fly fishing of this whole summer ...

Actual water level                            : 587.59
Average water level 2005 - 2023   : 587.45
Water in Glomma is                         : clear
Water temperature                           : 12 °C
Air temperature min - max              : 10 - 17 °C
Wind speed and direction               :  3 m/s , South

Fly fishing conditions are good now at river Glomma / Kvennan Fly Fishing. The weather is lousy, but that is always good for nice hatches of Baetis may flies. Every day there are plenty of (tiny) insects on the water, and the grayling is feeding on them. Last week, on the only beautiful day of the week, I guided John from UK (again), on a hunt for a "personal best" grayling. So I took him to this special place I know and he landed a few big grayling, all on dry flies. I also should have guided Simon from Germany, but I got sick so I could only give him some tips. Simon reports :  
" Hi Hein, Many thanks for your detailed tips – they really helped me a lot over the past few days of fishing. It’s a pity we didn’t manage to go out together. My leader was quite a bit longer than the 12 ft you suggested, but that’s simply out of habit. By the time I received your email, I was already at Bermuda Island. I fished all of the hotspots you marked afterwards and was able to catch good fish everywhere. I honestly don’t know how many fish I caught over the last days… 🙂 Most were between 25 and 40 cm. I also managed to land a few bigger ones in the +45 cm range, though the big ones over 50 cm didn’t show up. Yesterday and today I fished around Otter Island and had an incredible BWO hatch both days – truly dreamlike fishing! I had to go down to hook size 20 and use lighter colored patterns to catch consistently. Today I even stopped at 4 pm because there were simply too many flies on the water! Thanks again for those super detailed maps and all your advice. They were a HUGE help in fishing the Glomma efficiently and making the most of my time here. All the best, Simon"

Actual water level                            : 587.49
Average water level 2005 - 2023   : 587.50
Water in Glomma is                         : clear
Water temperature                           : 9 °C
Air temperature min - max              : 5 - 11 °C
Wind speed and direction               :  4 m/s , North West

Still quite normal fly fishing conditions. It can be cold sometimes, it can be windy. The water level is just fine, and from time to time there are small hatches of Baetis may flies and small needle flies. Searching the water with a caddis pattern in size 14 - 16 most times will do the trick. Last week I guided John from the UK and he had good sport with plenty of nice grayling. No big fish, just nice grayling on dry flies. A parachute ant worked also fine.

Actual water level                            : 587.54
Average water level 2005 - 2023   : 587.59
Water in Glomma is                         : clear
Water temperature                           : 12 °C
Air temperature min - max              : 9 - 16 °C
Wind speed and direction               :  3 m/s , North

Fly fishing conditions are normal, it can be a bit windy. Now it's time for flies such as Daddy Long Legs, large midge emergers and bibio's. Especially the last one, the Arctic version with the bright red legs, can be surprisingly productive ...
Jerry from Holland, a fly rod builder working in the oldest fly fishing shop in the Netherlands, has been at KFF many times. He send me this report about this years trip :

"Hey Hein, Whilst in the train from Tynset to Oslo, I’m writing you my experiences of the past six days fishing, one of my favorite rivers, the Glomma. I would summarize it as leaving my comfort zone. Long, hard days’ work do, as almost always, pay off.

The first day was spent, due to the colored and high water level, chucking streamers with a sink tip on a five-weight rod. This was surprisingly good fun for a dry fly aficionado like myself. Rather large size 6 long-shank black or white streamers with a tiny bit of flash proved almost magical. Just prospecting interesting spots, casting slightly (85 degrees or so) downstream at the banks, mending the line once to let it sink and swing — mend, swing, mend — then a fierce pull or gentle tug of nice graylings.

The water, as rivers do, cleared and dropped ever so slightly. Conditions improved and dry fly fishing was again possible. High water levels made sure the fish were bank-side, so I knew where to find them. Just, again, prospecting my flies close to the bank made me catch about 30 to 35 graylings a day, with a nice healthy average size of 38 to 42 cm. Most effective patterns were bubble wing emergers and anything caddis-like — F-flies or CDC & Elk in sizes 12/14 for the faster stuff, and size 16 for the slower water."

(text continues below the photo)

"Not a lot of insect life, except for the occasional caddis and bibios, the latter not being a staple in my box.

To summarise — because I do like to talk — I had a great week of fly fishing river Glomma in horrendous conditions, and I don’t think there are a lot of places where you will find the same quality fishing.

Hein, I would like to thank you — first, for being the voice of reason before I left; second, for making me feel welcome. It’s appreciated, and I do hope your special (must-be-special) air valve will stay in one piece for your trip back home. " 

Actual water level                            : 587.75
Average water level 2005 - 2023   : 587.59
Water in Glomma is                         : clear
Water temperature                           : 14 °C
Air temperature min - max              : 7 - 18 °C
Wind speed and direction               :  4 m/s , South

During the last week about 80 mm of rain fell in the Roros region, resulting in high water level in river Glomma, and all the waters in the area. Even the Hodalen lakes are a bit higher than normal, and so is little river Hola that drains from the Hodalen lakes. 
The fishing in Glomma is not at it's best now, but if you adjust to the circumstances, and tie on a streamer, for instance, you can still have good results. That's exactly what Jerry from Holland is doing, right now, and he reports plenty of very nice grayling in the 40 - 43 cm range. He uses a sink tip line, and quite large streamers.  

Actual water level                            : 588.05
Average water level 2005 - 2023   : 587.47
Water in Glomma is                         : almost clear
Water temperature                           : 17 °C
Air temperature min - max              : 13 - 21 °C
Wind speed and direction               :  3 m/s , South

The river came up quite a lot in a few days, and today there will be more rain. They say there might fall about 18 mm in the next 24 hours. If so, the river will rise further. I will keep you posted. In the meantime, try the Hodalen Lakes ...

Actual water level                            : 588.19
Average water level 2005 - 2023   : 587.48
Water in Glomma is                         : a bit dirty
Water temperature                           : 15 °C
Air temperature min - max              : 15 - 20 °C
Wind speed and direction               :  2 m/s , North East

So now the hot weather is gone, today it will be no warmer than about 15 degrees, it rains all the time, and that's great ! More water in the river, and the water temp is going down fast. Last week the fishing was not bad at all. Sure, the water was warm and the sun blistering, but there were some rising fish every day. Thomas from Holland told me about a morning session of about 3 hours, he landed 15 grayling: 3 big ones, 3 decent, the rest smaller. He was delighted with his results. 
I guided Akos from Hungary, he hooked and landed a grayling on his first cast ... (the fly fishing guide's dream of course !). In the next hours Akos landed about 10 more grayling, all on dry flies. In fact, all on F-fly , brown, size 12 to start and down to size 16.

Until now, this summer we have had fly fishers from 20 nationalities. KFF is a very international fly fishing destination ! There were fishers from : Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, Finland, France, Germany, Holland, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland and USA ....  
 

Samuel from Denmark e-mailed : "Hello Hein, Just a fishing report from the Danes from our short stay at Glomma this year. We are now going to Rena River for a few more days. We had some amazing dry fly fishing the last 3 days. We fished around Otter Island and a side river to Glomma. We managed to catch +100 grayling and +30 Brown trout with some very nice examples in between. A lot of grayling from the side river around the 45cm mark. A lot of brown trout with the biggest landed yesterday by Daniel on a size 12 CDC beetle. 45cm pure gold. What a fish! We had most success with caddies flies size 8-12 and the CDC beetle in size 10-13. Best Regards , Samuel, Johnny & Daniel"

The photo's below show a few fish the guys from Denmark landed last week.  

Actual water level                            : 587.40 (but rising)
Average water level 2005 - 2023   : 587.47
Water in Glomma is                         : clear
Water temperature                           : 19 °C
Air temperature min - max              : 10 - 15 °C
Wind speed and direction               :  2 m/s , North 

Low water level and high water temperature - the result of almost two weeks with blazing hot summer weather. In the mornings the fishing can be reasonably good, but in the afternoon nothing much is happening. Fish the riffles now, high up in the fly fishing zone. Try for instance black foam ants, they will float nice and high in the water. The forecast is that medio next week the hot weather will come to an end, with plenty of rain again. Let's wait and see ...

Last week Donna from the USA visited KFF on her fly fishing holiday in Europe. She wrote : " Hi Hein, my 1st time fishing the Glomma River in Norway!  Lost 2 grayling earlier, finally landed my 1st beautiful and fat grayling, 38cm! So so thrilled, it ate my Caddis dry!  :-)"

Actual water level                            : 587.42
Average water level 2005 - 2023   : 587.55
Water in Glomma is                         : clear
Water temperature                           : 20 °C
Air temperature min - max              : 12 - 28 °C
Wind speed and direction               :  2 m/s , South

Suddenly it is summer in Norway ! Nice and warm days, falling water level in Glomma, and no wind. Lovely. Most good places in the river can be reached by now. A fly that works for me almost all the time now is the F-fly, in different sizes & colors. It really needs to be in your fly box !

Check out the Newsletter I send out this week, if you want to subscribe here is a link.

And If you get hungry, need a break from the fishing and want dinner or lunch: we recommend Bunåva Kafe in Vingelen. Only 5 km from Kvennan. Open 11 am - 5 pm every day except Mondays. Excellent locally produced food. 

Martin from Holland send me this photo and a small report : "This was a nice one from the Labyrinth on a CDC sedge. It made it clear to me once again that the ring on the water of a rise is no indication of the fish that caused it; otherwise, this would have been a 10cm fish. When the water in Glomma  rose again later that week, I mainly fished in the surrounding area. And I have to say, that was better. Not even because of the numbers, but mainly because there were relatively many large ones (+45cm) among them. "

This week's photo's below : Anders and Christer from Sweden + unknown fisherman in the middle ...

Actual water level                            : 587.80
Average water level 2005 - 2023   : 587.60
Water in Glomma is                         : clear
Water temperature                           : 15 °C
Air temperature min - max              : 11 - 25 °C
Wind speed and direction               :  2 m/s , North East

Actual water level                            : 588.11
Average water level 2005 - 2023   : 587.63
Water in Glomma is                         : almost clear
Water temperature                           : 13 °C
Air temperature min - max              : 9 - 18 °C
Wind speed and direction               :  2 m/s , North East

Again a lot of rain, last night and this morning, and while the water level was falling nicely now it is rising again as I write this. Grayling don't like rising water, often they stop feeding on the surface until the level has stabilized. The forecast for the next days is a mixed bag: rain, sun, overall a bit warmer.  

This week I guided Johnny, Anna and their sun Wilmer from Sweden. I showed them good places in Glomma and the nearby area, and we had good fishing with grayling up to 53 cm on dry flies. The whole family is using cane rods, made by Johnny. He himself was fishing a Leonard rod from the USA - an 100 years old rod from the 1920's that he restored. Johnny showed me some great casting with that splendid rod, while Anna and Wilmer were landing big grayling ....  All in all a good fly fishing day !

Johnny later send me this message: "We went to the curve just after we spoke. We didn't see any rising fish when coming in and then all of a sudden the heavy rain came in so we decided to fish the stream section and the upper section of the pool where the stream come together after the split of the small island. Anna caught two smaller trout and a couple of smaller graying. Later when we switched places I spotted a very nice graying feeding in that little section, it looked like it was nymphing on Baetis but I think it was taking something else. However, I tried a couple of smaller things and finally it gave in for a tiny size 18 Griffith gnat. 50cm in great condition that took us down to the pool and slower water where Wilmer finally could net it for me. Thank you very much for a great guiding session. "

Filip from Belgia reports : “The last day of our trip to Kvennan Fly Fishing we drove to this spot in Hodalen again. It was very difficult casting into the strong wind, but my nymph (olive hare's ear with silver bead size 14) was taken enthusiastically. Resulting in about 10 40+ and 45+ cm grayling and as a bonus two more of 51 and 53 cm. A few days earlier in the Hodalen Lakes I landed some beautiful grayling on a dry fly - a Vulgata pattern. So despite the difficult fly fishing conditions, we can look back on a great trip !”

Twan from Holland reports : "Hi Hein ! Last 4 days we fished at KFF and 1 day in Hodalen. Sometimes the water level in Glomma was a bit high, but good enough to fish. We saw rising fish regularly and from time to time there was quite a bit of insect activity. We fished a lot with dries, such as black and brown Klinkhamers, Europe 12, Egg laying caddis, F-fly and other CDC patters. My young nephew Yorn (16) joined me on his first trip to Kvennan Fly Fishing. He loved it and we caught some nice fish !!"

Ben from England reported "brilliant fishing" and Henrik from Denmark told me about good dry fly fishing yesterday with CDC patterns and Klinkhamers.

Photo's below : Anna, Wilmer and Johnny from Sweden

Actual water level                            : 587.80 (but rising)
Average water level 2005 - 2023   : 587.70
Water in Glomma is                         : clear
Water temperature                           : 12 °C
Air temperature min - max              : 5 - 12 °C
Wind speed and direction               :  3 m/s , North / North West

A lot of rain this morning, and the temperature is about 10 degrees lower then it was yesterday. We have very unstable weather, and it is still windy from time to time. So difficult fly fishing conditions, and the water level is a bit high for this time in the season.

Michael from Germany reports : "Hello Hein, we're back in Bavaria. I'd like to send you another picture. On the way back, we fished for half a day on the Folla River, and I was able to land this beautiful 54cm fish on a dry fly. After a quick photo session, it was released. Best regards Michael " 

I guided Philipp from Germany on Glomma, showed him how I think you could fish a nymph, using an indicator. We also worked a bit on dry fly presentation, but the wind made that almost impossible. So we talked a bit about good fishing spots nearby, I showed him a few on the map. Later he wrote me :  " Thanks for the tips again. Today I explored the spot at Hodalen Lakes you showed me. Your nymphing technique worked really well. I got to witness multiple hatches and even fooled some grayling with a small latorte hopper after they hit the bite indicator again. Even got my first(and only) 48cm mountain whitefish! Best, Philipp "

And the next day: " Hey Hein, today was amazing! I caught 8 grayling between 40-50 cm and even my first pike in the ... pool, which was unexpected. Most amazingly though I caught a 53 grayling on a balanced leech. Thanks again for the tips ! Philipp "

The pictures below show Eduard and Henrico from Holland. They booked me for guiding, we fished Glomma with very disappointing results. I showed them some alternatives close by, and they landed both some good fish. This area has so much to offer ! Within a radius of say 50 km from KFF there are plenty of good rivers, and of course the amazing Hodalen Lake system !

Actual water level                            : 587.94
Average water level 2005 - 2023   : 587.80
Water in Glomma is                         : clear
Water temperature                           : 12 °C
Air temperature min - max              : 9 - 15 °C
Wind speed and direction               :  2 m/s , North West

A few cold days and nights made the water temperature in Glomma go down. There was not very much insect activity to start with, yesterday I only saw a few caddis and hardly any rising fish. During guiding sessions with Sabina and Dimitri from Holland we found several pods of grayling willing to come to the surface to take Klinkhamers and CDC emergers, but Sabine's parachute ant pattern seemed to work best.  

Today, Sunday, will be a bit warmer day and I guess there will be more insects on the water, and so more more rising fish. But the wind from the South is quite strong, and you really need good presentation of your fly, so it is very important to choose your fishspot wisely ! Check out our fishing map, and download it to your phone...  

Actual water level                            : 587.82
Average water level 2005 - 2023   : 587.97
Water in Glomma is                         : clear
Water temperature                           : 10 °C
Air temperature min - max              : 5 - 18 °C
Wind speed and direction               :  5 m/s , South

No changes in the fishing conditions : the water level is reasonable, many places can be fished. The forecast keeps changing so I don't dare to do any predictions about the water rising or falling. Most important I think is that there is not too much wind.
Fly choice : try caddis patterns, let me suggest a simple CDC F-fly - it works great for me. Tippet : 14/100.

Yesterday I fished during the afternoon a few hours in the middle section of the FF zone. Only at a few places I saw some rising fish, and there were hardly any insects on the water. The water was not completely clear today. The rising fish took my size 12 F-fly, brown, I landed about 10 grayling. A few small ones, most of them nice size, one was about 45 cm. I also tied the stretch behind the Isles at the campsite. There was not much going on there, but search fishing with a small nymph and strike indicator was successful. Biggest fish was again about 45 cm. I ended walking downstream back to my car, casting a black streamer on a sinktip line and there was one more big grayling, again about 45 cm. All in all a normal fishing afternoon for me: about 20 fish in about 4 hours, a few big ones around 45 cm. Just another day at the office, you know, someone has to do the job .....

At the picture below :  Timo and Calvin from Holland sight fishing nymphs, while Niko lands a good sized fish.

Actual water level                            : 587.84
Average water level 2005 - 2023   : 588.00
Water in Glomma is                         : clear
Water temperature                           : 13 °C
Air temperature min - max              : 7 - 15 °C
Wind speed and direction               :  2 m/s , changing

The water level is slowly falling now and this weekend we have warm summer weather. Water temperature in Glomma is rising fast, lot's of caddis can be observed and on more and more places in Glomma there are rising fish. Next week will be cooler again, a bit clouded, a bit rain and not too much wind. Sounds perfect to me ! 🙂

Michael from Germany reports : "Hello Hein, fishing in the labyrinth is very good, the water is right and the fish are rising, attached is a picture of a good one" .

Actual water level                            : 587.92
Average water level 2005 - 2023   : 588.09
Water in Glomma is                         : clear
Water temperature                           : 13 °C
Air temperature min - max              : 15 - 25 °C
Wind speed and direction               :  2 m/s , South

The weather has been a bit cold these last days, and it could be windy from time to time. The water level in Glomma is higher than I expected, there has been quite a lot of rain. The forecast for the coming week is looking promising, it should be warmer, dry and less windy. 

On the picture today a very big grayling that was landed last week by Dutch fly fisher Dimitri from Rotterdam. He landed and released this beauty on a size 14 dry fly, a kind of no-hackle Rhodani imitation. Dimitri told me it measured 55 cm ..... What a great fish !!  

Attention, from today there is a change in the fishing rules :

          In cooperation with license zone "Os - Erlia" to the north we have decided to change the rules to take
          care of the big, breeding grayling and trout.
          - All grayling bigger than 30 cm must be released.
          - All trout is protected and must be released.
          - All pike is protected and must be released.
          - Bag limit: max 1 grayling under 30 cm per day. We strongly recommend C&R.
          - Handle caught fish with extreme care and make sure to release it promptly.

Actual water level                            : 588.08
Average water level 2005 - 2023   : 588.13
Water in Glomma is                         : clear
Water temperature                           : 9 °C
Air temperature min - max              : 6 - 12 °C
Wind speed and direction               :  1 m/s , changing directions

The first days of this fly fishing season at river Glomma have been a mixed bag - the weather was changing, it could be windy from time to time and fish was rising for short periods during the day. I didn't see many insects on the water, but there are plenty of large grey / brown stoneflies active. This nice grayling on the picture took my stonefly imitation on the stretch just upstream of the campsite. 

The weather forecast fore the coming weekend tells us there will be more rain and it can windy again. The wind will turn to the  North, and this will make dry fly fishing more difficult. My advice would be to have a good look at the fishing map and choose a fishing spot with plenty of wind cover. 

I guess the water level in Glomma at Kvennan Fly Fishing will not change a lot during the weekend, if the amount of rain is as predicted. The level right now is around 588,00 (meters above sea level) and plenty of good spots are fishable. However, the slow flowing stretches such as the Labyrinth might still be difficult wading and only for big guys, wading sticks and some courage ... 

Actual water level                            : 588.00
Average water level 2005 - 2023   : 588.13
Water in Glomma is                         : clear
Water temperature                           : 9 °C
Air temperature min - max              : 9 - 13 °C
Wind speed and direction               :  4 m/s , South 

Tomorrow is opening day at river Glomma / Kvennan Fly Fishing. The water level is a bit high because of lots of rain that fall upstream last week. Nevertheless, I noticed rising fish yesterday in the Labyrinth. They were taking small Baetis may flies and midges. The forecast for tomorrow and the days after is not bad, the wind will turn to the South they say, there will be some rain and some sunshine, and not too much wind ....  

Actual water level                            : 588.11
Average water level 2005 - 2023   : 588.24
Water in Glomma is                         : clear
Water temperature                           : 8 °C
Air temperature min - max              : 5 - 12 °C
Wind speed and direction               :  2 m/s , changing 

Actual water level                            : 588.09
Average water level 2005 - 2023   : 588.57
Water in Glomma is                         : almost clear
Water temperature                           : 6 °C
Air temperature min - max              : 6 - 12 °C
Wind speed and direction               :  2 m/s , changing 

Two weeks before the opening of another fly fishing season at famous river Glomma ! The river is in good condition already, most of the snow in the mountains has melted, and I guess we will have a very good early season this year ! 

Actual water level                            : 587.85
Average water level 2005 - 2023   : 588.24
Water in Glomma is                         : clear
Water temperature                           : 5 °C
Air temperature min - max              : 4 - 11 °C
Wind speed and direction               :  4 m/s , North

License sales for the 2025 season is open. Use the link below.