Lofoten Fishing Trips

Lofoten is the best-known fishing destination in Norway, and many people who fish here were coming for the mountains and villages anyway. If that is you, a guided half-day trip from Svolvær gives you a real chance of cod or coalfish with no gear of your own. If you are a serious angler planning a whole week, base yourself further west near Nappstraumen or Å and hire a self-drive boat.

How Lofoten compares with the rest of Norway

Lofoten has the best all-round mix of fishing, scenery, village culture and easy access in Norway. It is no longer where the very biggest fish are most reliably caught: trophy cod and halibut now come more often from Senja, Vesterålen and Finnmark, further north, as our skrei guide and halibut guide explain. If you want the Lofoten setting and do not need a personal best, it is still the place to go.

Where to base yourself

Each village suits a different kind of trip:

• Svolvær: the transport hub, with an airport and the harbour most guided trips leave from. It hosts the World Championship in Cod Fishing every March. The easiest base for first-timers without a car.
• Kabelvåg: a short drive west of Svolvær, older and quieter, and home to the Lofoten Museum.
• Henningsvær: the photogenic harbour village often called the “Venice of Lofoten”, with some guided trips of its own.
• Reine, Hamnøy and Sakrisøy: the postcard villages in the far west, best when scenery matters more to you than fishing time.
• Nappstraumen: a tidal channel between Vestvågøy and Flakstadøy, and one of Lofoten’s best fishing spots for halibut and coalfish. It suits dedicated self-drive anglers.
• Å: at the end of the road, close to the Moskstraumen maelstrom, with strong halibut fishing.

The currents that make Nappstraumen and Moskstraumen productive also make them dangerous in a small boat. Fish them with a local skipper, or check the tide tables and ask your camp host before you take a self-drive boat into either one. Our page on tides, weather and sea conditions explains how to read them.

The fishing by season

Winter (January to April) brings the skrei, the spawning cod that migrate from the Barents Sea; the fishing peaks in February and March. Our skrei guide covers timing and the boats that target them. Summer (June to August) is the calmer midnight-sun window for coalfish, cod and mackerel, and the season most families choose. Halibut run largest in late spring and are most numerous in autumn. You must release any halibut caught between 20 December and 20 April north of 62°N, which includes all of Lofoten.

Guided trips and self-drive camps

Short guided sea-fishing trips of two to four hours leave from Svolvær and Henningsvær, and the crew supply the rods, bait and rain gear. The From Svolvaer: Lofoten Fishing Boat Cruise (from $112, rated 4.7/5 from more than 800 reviews) is a four-hour trip with tackle and rain gear included, and the dates for it are above. For a smaller group, Svolvaer: Fishing Trips with a personal touch costs from $135 and is rated 4.6/5 from 71 reviews, far fewer than the bigger boats have.

Self-drive rental camps, concentrated around Nappstraumen and Å, suit serious anglers who want a full week on the water. You rent a boat and a cabin by the week and fish on your own schedule; our guided vs self-drive guide sets out what that involves.

If someone in your group would rather watch than fish, a traditional wooden-boat trip is a gentler option. The Lofoten: Traditional Fishing Trip runs for about three hours from Svolvær (from $114, rated 4.5/5 from 187 reviews). RIB sea-eagle safaris also run from Svolvær for anyone who would rather see the coast at speed.

Beyond fishing

Reinebringen, the steep viewpoint hike above Reine, the beaches at Kvalvika and Haukland, the Lofotr Viking Museum at Borg and boat trips into the Trollfjord all give companions something to do, and give you a plan for the days when the boats cannot go out. That matters most in winter, when storms regularly cancel fishing trips.

Getting there

Fly to Svolvær or Leknes, usually with a connection in Bodø, or take the Bodø–Moskenes car ferry, which takes about three to three and a half hours on the direct sailing. Book a car space ahead in summer. A car is close to essential once you leave Svolvær.

Practical warnings

Summer accommodation and the weekend of the March championship sell out months ahead, so book early. Winter roads and ferries are often disrupted by snow and storms, so build a buffer day or two into the start and end of your trip. Our cabins and rorbuer guide covers where to sleep.

To budget the trip, see what a Norway fishing trip costs; for winter timing, the skrei guide has the season in detail.