A note from Scoty de Bruyn:
“Simon Furniss from Scotland; who has been a return guest on the Ã…røy for some years now, had been fishing with me for the afternoon session down at the home pool. I was hoping for a fresh liced salmon on the tide for him as we continued swinging big flies on a sink tip.
Once the tide had reached its peak, we made a last ditch effort to find a fish holding in the fast water at the top of pump pool, before they make their way up the river. He managed to reach the holding spot after a few casts and as the line started to swing a big fish smashed his fly at the bottom of the pool.
We tried coaxing the fish across the current, but unfortunately she got the better of us and got snagged on the sløgaard, (wooden barriers that break the current). In 2017 Simon lost a big fish, and I wasn’t going to let this one get away without a fair fight, so I jumped into the river to try and free the line. Luckily the fish was sitting in the seam of the current and didn’t move. We managed to get the line out and the rest is history. A stunning 23lb Atlantic that was released to fight another day.
The Årøy sport fishing history dates back to 1840, and has been through nine generations in the Munthe family. The river was made popular in the 1890’s by an Irish sport fisherman, Wilfred Kennedy who subdued a monster 68 lb fish in the prawn pool.
Subsequently many famous travelling anglers made a pilgrimage to this hallowed place in the 1900’s, from the likes of Charles Ritz, who wrote “A Flyfishers’ Life†which the river is featured in the chapter: “The platforms of despair.”
L.R Hardy made a commercial film in the 1930’s to test the Hardy range of rods and reels. And rumors of Coco Channel visiting the river with dukes and lords from England in the 1920’s.
With the river only a mile long, it soon gathered a reputation for anglers to challenge their skills against the strong current and massive salmon that still return to this day.”
To follow more of the Årøy, follow Scoty and Knut on Instagram @cartel_flyfishing and @aaroy_river.
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