Winsnes Fly Fishing lodge, Gaula River, Norway

Hi all - here’s my latest blog for our website describing the the latest version of the fishery and how the rotation fishing will work along with beat descriptions in the “fishery” pages of the site💪🎣

New Shape to our Fishery in 2026 // Winsnes Flyfishing Lodge 2.5km Both Banks – 6 Rod Limit With the 2025 season behind us and new rules for the river, it’s a time of change on Gaula and it’s appropriate that we have taken this opportunity to freshen-up our fishery. After more than a decade of wonderful memories, we no longer have control of the river [...

BACK TO THE FUTURE - THE NEXT CHAPTER 💥💥💥

👉Our fishery is changing in 2026! Thanks to everyone for being so patient over the past few weeks but I think that this news will prove worth it!
We are handing over the management of the upper part of the fishery (Which stretches from the bottle pool up up to the junction with the Fora river) and we have extended the lower boundary to include a wonderful new beat!
👉The new beat is Håvåhølen, aka “the hover pool.” Historically (going back to the 1800’s) this pool was part of our property but it was sold off and we lost our access to it. In a nutshell, it’s a fantastic piece of water that we have long cast envious glances toward!
👉This is a top, top pool and will make up for the loss of the top end of the fishery which will now be sold by another operator on behalf of the landowners. I think that we can all agree that we have loved our time fishing on FHO water. I will cherish memories of the fabulous “Bottle Pool”and some shining times we enjoyed there and would like to wish the new management the best of luck and hope that they enjoy the water as much as our guests have.
👉Moving forward, I am delighted to be working with the landowners who control this fabulous slice of Gaula. After years of turmoil, the river management is in good hands and we are ready for a new era. I know that our new partners love the river and between us we now control a beautiful oasis that extends from Kroken to just above Kotsoy. Here, the river is at the peak,of its beauty and road noise is not an issue.
We have both sides of the river and accommodation on the far side (near to the big rock), giving us six beats, all double bank with a limit of initially 6 rods.

👌IN SUMMARY
6 BEATS AND SIX RODS ON ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL AND HISTORICALLY PRODUCTIVE STRETCHES OF THE RIVER.
FISHERY BEGINS ON KROKEN AND STRETCHES TO APPROX 500 METERS BELOW KJELLFLOA
BOTH SIDES UNDER OUR CONTROL.
ACCOM THIS SIDE AND FAR SIDE OF THE RIVER

Will publish more about the new beat etc., and I’ll update the website to show the new boundaries ASAP but for now….

LFG 💪🎣

Lots going on right now and some announcements to come but in the meantime you might like to listen to my podcast appearance on “The Last Salmon” with host Jim Murray and fellow lodge owner and force of nature, Ann-Brit Bogen.
There’s nothing held back and I’m told that our discussion on the huge problems that have affected Norway’s salmon rivers in the past decade is must-listen stuff.
It’s certainly honest, pithy and with plenty of humour.
Jim’s doing a great job with this podcast. Please give this ep a listen and subscribe because it’s right across anything that’s happening in salmon fishing and salmon river conservation.

Matt Hayes & Ann-Britt Bogen on the future of the Gaula Podcast Episode · The Last Salmon · 19/09/2025 · 1h 11m

A small male fish around 3.5 kilos from the head of Kroken. Same fly as yesterday. Allfather🙏

RODS IN AUGUST
Hi folks!
We have rods available in August!
At least one rod available in every week, including self-catering options and full board.
It’s a good time to fish for the big male salmon and to try switch rods/ single hand.
We class this as “off-peak” and prices are reduced accordingly.
Contact us if you are interested👍

Gaula open today from 16.00!
Sokna to remain closed until further notice, Bua and Fora open same time/date as Gaula👍