Fiskher uncovers 45.000 fishing spots. Asgeir Alvestad lets you in on how to find the rest for yourself.
– After launching the app, we have updated it with thousands of new fishing spots and are now in a total of 45.000 fields along the entire Norwegian coast, where the chances are high to catch 16 different species of fish. We get a lot of questions on how we can possibly know all of this, Asgeir Alvestad says.
Think like a fish
The merited recreational angler explains how he and the map expert at fiskher, Tomme Egra, have discovered the fishing areas with a great deal of help from local anglers all over the country.
– Me and Tommy have both been fishing along the entire Norwegian coastline, and devoted large parts of our lives to fishing. This experience means that we know how the fish thinks, what it needs – and thus where it is, Alvestad says.
– All the species are different, with different demands regarding living conditions. They eat differently, and therefore they don’t all stay in the same place. Therefore, we look for different conditions when we look for haddock, than when we look for sea trout. This is knowledge we possess, and it makes it possible for us to locate the fish, he explains.
– We have studied the best available charts and aerial photos, and hand-drawn fishing grounds based on information about depth conditions and bottom formations. When we add this information to what we already know about the species’ food migration, spawning migration, the seasons, and other conditions, we have a good foundation for stating what kind of fish there is in the different areas. We know which species prefer shallow water, which thrive on gravel or sandy bottoms, and where they swim to find food, Asgeir says.
How to discover your own areas
Most people don’t know this much about fish, and that is why for the last ten years he has travelled across the country to give lectures about the art of locating fish.
– People are incredibly eager to learn the tricks and are always wondering how I get the fish on the hook. No matter how great of an angler you are, and what fishing gear you have, it won’t do you any good unless you know where the fish is hiding, says Asgeir.
That is why he has written 16 short articles, one for each of the fish species you will find in fiskher. In the articles he lets you in on how the fish behaves all year round, and what kind of conditions it prefers to be in.
– With this knowledge comes great opportunity. Although we have many fishing spots in our app, around 45.000, this is only a small fraction, maybe as little as ten percent of the good fishing areas along the Norwegian coastline. We have chosen the best places for you, but that does not mean that these are the only places you can catch fish. Use the information from our fields and look for similar areas elsewhere on the map. If you know one specific fish’s needs, you also know where to look for it, Asgeir says.
Combining old with new
– Our grandfathers did the same, when they researched the terrain and pointed out where the big cod was swimming. This knowledge is about to be lost and has already been lost for many of us. Tommy and I are happy to share our knowledge with others. Today we have tools that makes it possible for us to study the terrain below water in the same way as above water. With fiskher we have had the opportunity to pass on this knowledge, Asgeir says.
