Spate · Mixed · Trøndelag

Orkla

Orkla venue image
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The second jewel of the Trøndelag salmon belt — shorter than the Gaula but equally productive and with a strong fly culture.

Species

Closed season

Season reopens 1 June. File this water for the right month.

Closed — confidence not applicable today.
Water temperature for atlantic salmon
Cool — slow
5°C est.ideal 10–14°C
0°14°28°
Conditions
Level
1.47 m
Water temp
4.7°C
Estimated
Clarity
Very coloured
Colouring up
Air temp
5°C
Wind
NE 6 km/h
Light breeze
Pressure
1000 hPa
Rain · 48h
0.0 mm
No meaningful rain
Rain · ahead
0.0 mm
No meaningful rain · next 48h

Live readings — water temperature is an estimate where the gauge does not record it.

How to fish it · for atlantic salmon
When
Peak late June into early August. The Orkla fishes more wadeable water than the Alta or Gaula. Fish the dropping water 24 to 48 hours after rain.
Where
Wadeable beats from Vormstad through to the lower river. Heads, tails, and named lies — the Orkla rewards anglers who fish at short to medium range.
Method
Tubes and large doubles on intermediate or sink-tip in cold spring water; smaller flies on a floater through the main season; drop sizes in late summer warmth.
Kit
13 ft #8 double-hander is the daily default; 14 ft #9 in spate; 11 ft switch on smaller water. Floating, intermediate, fast-sink. 12 to 15 lb fluoro tippet.
Through the year
0–3 scale · May highlighted
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Salmon runRun
1
2
1
March BrownHatch
2
3
2
GrannomHatch
2
2
Large StoneflyHatch
2
3
2
Yellow SallyHatch
2
3
2

Numbers are intensity 0 (none) to 3 (peak) — a guide, not a guarantee.

Gallery · 1
  1. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
Permits & access
Permit required — see local rules.
  • Fiskeravgift plus local Orkla beat permit required
  • Equipment disinfection and catch reporting are mandatory, and the practical experience depends heavily on which beat or lodge water you draw.
Directions
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About this water

The second jewel of the Trøndelag salmon belt — shorter than the Gaula but equally productive and with a strong fly culture. Black & Orange is a personal favourite on the Orkla among experienced anglers. Multi-sea-winter salmon with excellent grilse runs. Mix of private and public beats. June–August season with mid-summer often strongest. Equipment disinfection mandatory.

Under the surface

The Orkla falls roughly 1,058 m over 179 km from Lake Orkelsjøen high in the Oppdal mountains to Orkdalsfjorden at Orkanger, giving an average gradient near 0.6% — similar slope to the Gaula but a very different river because the Orkla is heavily regulated. Five power-generation reservoirs built between 1978 and 1985 control the upper 39% of the catchment, suppressing winter-spring spates and buffering summer flow at a stable 60–70 m³/s while holding water temperatures down around 4–5 °C at the dam outflow and rarely above 15 °C in the main stem. The upper river is a partly-confined step-pool and pocket-water reach on Caledonian metasediment boulder and cobble; the roughly 88 km of anadromous salmon water above Orkanger settles into an unconfined pool-riffle reach on medium gravel and cobble with the flow-regulation signature of a stable, predictable bed — very different from the wild freestone Gaula next door.

Wading: Regulated flow pulses from hydroelectric releases

  • Mixed
  • Mixed
  • Step pool
  • Pool riffle
Seasons & zones
  • Salmon1 June → 31 August
  • TroutOpens June–September
Other water nearby · 5
Booking & contacts