Regatta 911 flotation suit (Photo from www.regatta.no)

Of course what clothes you choose for your fishing trip to our Northern shores depends on the weather. The only problem is that before you can get your floatie on, it will have changed.
The north is not very warm either. Well, the climate is surprisingly mild for an area of the globe that is further north than Alaska. Oslo in the south of Norway, where we keep our capitol city so us northerners don’t have to be bothered by the urban cafe latte types, is as far north as the southern tip of Greenland, and when you pass my hometown at 68 degrees north you passed the Arctic circle 6 hours before if you where driving. Not that the time would tell you anything, with what they tell us are roads up here. But in the year of 2011 we sort of travel about and have seen roads. What we have is not it.

But we do have plenty of nature, and sometimes it’s necessary to protect the body from it. Personally when I go out in a boat in the summer, I just wear some fleece wind some wind proofs over it. Perhaps with an extra thick fleece or wool sweater in my bag along with an extra pair of dry socks and hat. And then I just shed a layer if it gets warm. I’d also bring some light weight rain gear. I picked a set up today for 99 NOK that can be compressed into a small ball, hardly taking any space at all, with a jacket and trouser.

But if the weather turns nasty, I’d just head for shore and go fishing another day. But I live here, and could theoretically go out fishing any day of the year here. Tourists who pay for a weeks worth of intensive fishing a year up here may need to take more nasty weather into consideration. So bring your Gore tex, flotation jacket and Bib’s, or even a full on flotation suit. We’ve had snow and sleet in June and july before up here.

You may not need it 95% of the time, but then again, you may. And you won’t have your fishing experience of a lifetime get wasted becosule you did not come prepared for the weather.

If you come here in the winter, definitely bring your flotation suit. I got a  Regatta 911 and it kept me toast fishing in February in minus minus 10 degrees at sea and while ice fishing in the mountains in minus 30, with the chill factor from the wind included.

One thing however is a must on the boat. Always wear your flotation device. We don’t need more dead tourists in our waters….