The spring migration starts in early spring – from freshwater or brackish water towards the open sea. The exact timing will depend both on the climate and the location. The migrations are governed by factors such as temperature and salinity.

If the winter is mild or the water is brackish, the migration from streams and inner fjords may take place in the early part of the year. The converse will happen in cold winters and in places of high salinity. Then the migration will happen much later in the year – typically March-April. And if spring arrives very suddenly, the move is hectic and of short duration. Otherwise it will take much longer.

If the winter has been long and cold with ice on the fjords, it will often be possible to experience incredible fishing immediately after the ice breaks. The fish are then gathered in the brackish inner fjords, where they are very hungry. The supply of food in the cold water is very limited.

On the other hand, if the winter has been very mild, it will be possible to find the fish scattered all over the open coast, and it is much more difficult to locate them out here than at the bottom of the fjords.

”Greenlanders"

After spawning the sea trout moves out to the abundant larder of the coast, where it quickly regains some of its lost weight. The lean kelts are often followed by another kind of sea trout – the so-called “Greenlanders” .

These are small, immature sea trout that have moved into the brackish water or the lower parts of the rivers to spend the winter. They are in good condition – shiny and predominantly females. Unfortunately, they are often just below the minimum size limit, for which reason they have to be put back.

It is the combination of high salinity and low water temperature that has made them move inwards to brackish water or even freshwater. This combination is not good for any trout. Neither for the small Greenlanders nor for the big kelts. When the temperature drops they have to seek out fresher waters.

When the water temperature increases, both types will move towards more salty and open waters. And both have only one thing on their minds – the large deposits of bristle worms, crustaceans and small fry in the sea. The sea trout stuff themselves with bristle worms, shrimps and shoals of herrings as well as many other things.

As the water temperature increases, so too does the sea trout’s salt tolerance. All through the summer it hunts actively, even in oceanic seawater with a salt content of 35 parts per thousand.

But the water temperature may become too high at the coast. When the water approaches 20°C, the sea trout will move further away from the shore – towards deeper and cooler waters. This typically happens in July, which marks the arrival of summer. May and June still offer excellent sea trout fishing – especially if the light northern nights are used too.

The low coastal water is still very rich in food, however, and the sea trout knows this, and will move towards the shore under cover of darkness. Here it may forage at its leisure until the sun rises again and makes the water too hot.

When night falls

Contact with the coastal trout during the summer heat will have to be made during the darkest hours. With a boat it is possible to find them during the day in deeper waters, where they are often digesting. The easiest time to contact them is during their nightly forage raids near the shore – best with live bait offered near the surface. Then it is easy for the fish to see it.

However, during the day it is possible to find them in places where deep water and a fresh current reach the shore. The only requirement is a sufficiently low water temperature, and it is therefore a good idea to bring along a thermometer.

The sea trout has spent the spring and summer on getting fat in order to be able to manage the strenuous migration and build-up of roe and soft roe. The autumn migration is often triggered by the first period of bad weather in August-September. The fish immediately sense that autumn is approaching – that the migration is imminent.

The very big fish have often moved up in the larger rivers already in May-June. The smaller fish – i.e. the majority – stay out in the larder of the sea for another couple of months. Then, in the late summer or early autumn, all these fish start their migration back to the stream where they came from.

Very often these migrations are of vaguely coloured fish of 3-6 pounds in weight – males and females that may already have formed couples. On meeting such a shoal, an angler may experience the very best fishing of the year, with several fish within a short space of time.

Autumn storms

Do not be afraid of bad weather with windy conditions when fishing for these migrating fish. Good weather makes it difficult to lure well-fed fish. On the other hand, a good old autumn storm may make them go for anything they meet.

Often these vaguely coloured spawners will be caught in exactly the same places as were the kelts in early spring after spawning. And it often pays to fish exclusively for them at night, when the fish move the most.

Points and promontories that jut out from the coastline are always to be preferred. Here the migrating fish often take a break.

When all mature sea trout have moved into the rivers to spawn, it is still possible to find shiny, immature fish in the sea and fjord. They may be the small “Greenlanders” or a few large “skippers” – fish that, for some reason or other, have decided not to spawn that year. Nature’s reserve if anything should go wrong up in the freshwater.

These fish continue to feed in the saltwater as long as there is enough food. But as the water temperature drops, they move towards waters with lower and lower salinity – from the open sea towards the closed fjord areas where the water is made fresher by the flow of streams.

They still feed, but as the temperature falls so does their metabolism and with it their need for food. Quite simply, it becomes more and more difficult for the angler to lure the fish

Sea trouts with hearty appetites

It is extremely difficult to generalise about the importance of water temperature for the sea trout’s appetite – especially as the water’s salinity also needs to be taken into consideration. But if you have to do it anyway, avoid high-salinity water with a temperature of below 5 degrees. If the water temperature is between 5 and 15 degrees, the sea trout feels great – irrespective of the salt content.

In winter the open and salty waters are usually completely free of sea trout. They have either moved into the rivers to spawn or to the bottom of the fjords for the winter. And this is where we find them when the ice breaks in early spring. And their hunger and inclination to hunt will increase day by day as the temperatures increase.

It is not surprising that the best fishing is now on warm and sunny days when everything comes to life after winter’s hibernation. The low water of the inner fjords heats up quickly – more quickly than the water on the open coast. Once the spring migration has scattered the fish over a large area, it is again more difficult to locate them. They still hunt actively and resolutely rise to the bait – if they can be located! The increasing summer heat will by now have turned over their winter grounds at the bottom of the fjords, so that they are cloudy mud holes which will keep both fish and anglers at a distance.

The year of the sea trout is over, and a new one can begin.