Been farting about with the inflatable boat some this summer. But it was time to upgrade it, and with the refund from the Greys Greyflex S beach casting rod that the retailer in York
never managed to send in a workable condition, I purchased a Lowrance 4x pro fish finder for it. That and a couple of rod holders is so far my version of pimping my inflatable boat.

The problem of adding stuff to my boat, is that I don’t have a trailer to cart my boat about on. So I have to deflate it and pack it up in the back of the back of the old Ford Scorpio Estate that my wheels consist of these days. That’s not so good for such things as fish finders and rod holders. So the solution for the fish finder was simple, if not so pleasing for the eye.

I mounted the transducer on a block of wood, yeah I am going to some lumber place to find some better looking stuff one day, that I attached some L-steel to. Now I can hang it of the transom and secure it with a pair of carpenters C-clamps. This should be enough on a boat that does only 5 knots going on full speed.

The screen module I likewise attached to another block of wood, that I secure to the bench seat with a pair of bungee cords.

For rod holders I got one traditional one, that can be taken off it’s mount on the transom with a single twist. I also purchased one C-clamp type rod holder, but this is really bad quallity, and I don’t trust it, so any rod in this one will be secured with a rope or something.  This also goes on the bench seat.

Thats my pimped out boat. It’s only an 8 foot little thing, and I need space for my gear, and to bring a guest fisher i.e my stepson Heart (12) or one of my other fishing buddies.
Unfortunately I have not been able to test the fish finder yet, as I started a new job this week. But hope to do so in the weekend, when the weather is also supposed to calm down. We have had 2 weeks of north easterly wind…

Anyway, don’t be afraid to comment on my set-up. Specially if you think I have goofed it up.

The screen on a block of wood, secured with bungee cord. C-clamp rod holder on the right.

Transducer mounted on block of wood.

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….

So I ordered the rod, and as usual on Ebay, it was payed for trough Paypal.

Normaly when I order things, in this case from a dealership in the UK, the goods are in my hands within days. For example a part for the flash gun of my Canon DSLR camera arrived from San Diego, California within a 3-4 days. And I am in the north of Norway, in a small town way north of the Arctic circle. Recently I also received a fishing reel from the UK. This was also in my hands within days from the order was made and payed for.

Unfortunately the seller of the Greys Greyflex S does not seem to be so professional. First it took them a whole week after the order was placed and payed for, until they managed to send the goods, and that was only after I had prompted them twice to confirm shipment and provide a tracking number. When I checked the tracking number, it came up as “Delayed”, so I inquired with UK Mail why this was. And the explanation given was that the sender had failed to provide the necessary customs paperwork.

So I gave them a heads up last Friday,  about that, whereupon they said they had sent the papers…and since then, despite several messages to both the sender and UK Mail,  I have heard nothing from them, and the shipment is still delayed. We are nearing 3 weeks since I ordered, and as far as I know, the rod has yest to leave the UK.

So, should I name and shame?

Well the feedback for the seller is still there to be filled in on Ebay. And I am a member of every major English and language fishing forum  out there. So I could do that. No problem. But I’ll write one more message to the seller and see if he wakes up. If not, I am not prepared to wait much longer.

To bad for the seller, who has a business selling fishing tackle on Ebay. I plan to write a lot about this rod once I have it in my hands. Trip reports will be written on several web forums, as well as on this blog.

Norwegian sports fishers have a very limited choice in fishing tackle. Multiplier surf and bach casters for example, are near impossible to find, but people are reluctant to order from the UK where the range of rods and other tackle is enormous, because of the insane shipping prices. But this seller and a few others have more reasonable shipping costs, and would have been popular here. All it would take was a recommendation, and people would flock to the sellers website to order. To bad it won’t happen, and the business will go to someone else.

This morning as I checked Norwegian Post tracking system for my latest purchase, an original ABU Ambassadeur 7000 “Made in Sweden” from 1991, I was pretty much resigned that it would still be stuck in some mail terminal in Oslo, where it had been for nearly a week. But there it was, arrived in Harstad. I just had to go to the post office to pick it up, where for a 230NOK customs fee I could take it into my possession.

As I am only 40 years old, I ripped into the well packaged box (what on earth!), and found gold. Exactly the reel described by the seller, who goes under the name W1144 on Ebay, who has provided examplary service, and even going to the length of waiting a few days for payment, until I got the money to make the purchase, as I was skint when he made med aware of the reels existence.  But  in the sunny, warm arctic weather, it looked even better than the Ebay pictures .

The reel is almost mint, with a few minor scratches in the finish, and couple of marks in the stickers. It even has the original grease and inspection sticker still loosely attached as it came from the Swedish factory 20 years ago. And I cant wait to fish it!

Well i did not of course. Well, arriving at  home I did not  waste much time getting the fish-mobile kitted out for at day at the beach. We’ve been blessed with 2 weeks of sunny, warm weather so my wife wanted to go to, provided we went to a place with sand so that baby Staale could have a go at it with his spade and bucket. That would certainly mean a mark with no serious fish around here. But at least i would get to cast with the reel.

So off we went to the local beach. And wasted no time setting up. So while the wife and the baby where building sand castles, I got to try out the reel. And with me feeling confident with my gear again, and having sand under my feet, I reallly dared to, and managed to put some power into it, and the lead have never flown so far from a rod I have wieded before.

No China plastics, just Swedish quality metal!

Partly it’s because I am no longer scared I will break something, and partly because I have started using a couple  casting techniques that seem to suit me better than what I tried before. The South Africa style, or the Brighton cast. But the main thing is the confidence in a tried and tested reel design, that seem to be almost devoid of the plastics the made in China 7000i model Ambassadeur reels are plagued with. Reels that will fail within a year or two, at least mine did. It sits in the shed now, where it will remain a reminder never to fall into that trap again.

A shame that ABU Garcia and Pure Fishing is letting down their faithful customers and losing their reputation  by putting such utter crap on the market. Good then that their older reels was made with such a quality, that you can purchase a 20 year old reel off Ebay, slap it straight onto your rod and go fishing. And with a nice aftermarket for spare parts, I see no reason why this reel should not be with me for the remainder of my career as a dedicated fishing fanatic!

And casting it was a pleasure. Well, I fumbled up the first cast. Seeing lead fly away, then plummet straight down, because the spool has stopped in a massive birds nest is always disappointing. Well, I learned to remember to check my brake settings, and eh…switched on my brain so that my thumb could be used to control the spool.

And the next cast left in the direction of the horizon. I thought the spool would never stop in a cast that was clearly a new record for me. And that was true, cast after cast.

So after a nice little casting session that yielded no fish as expected, I rejoined my wife and our little bundle of joy, who himself could not wait to get his stubby little fingers on my reel. Well, that will be when I am not around anymore. Wait your turn!

Because its nice to have a reel where the bait clicker works, and will continue to work. Where the spool engages automatically when you start reeling in, and that does not have bits of cheap plastic and tiny little springs flying in every direction, if you dare to open it for some maintenance.

So ABU Garcia, if you want to keep your customers in the ABU 7000 segment, you need look no further than putting your red 1991  ABU Ambassadeur  7000 back into production, and people will sleep on street corners outside tackle shops for days waiting to get their mackerel smelling hands on one. Oh, and make it in Sweden, so we will now it wont be scared of water! Simply  please ABU Garcia and Pure Fishing, wake up, it’s not to late to come back from the dark side!

The other rod I use with baits is a Fenwick Seahawk Pro Surf 14′ rod. This one is a fixed spool rod, but I have been using it with a multiplier reel, as I prefer that type of reel over fixed spool these days. But my plan is to rebuild it into a multiplier rod during this summer.The reason I use a fixed spool rod, is that in Norway, it’s almost impossible to find a multiplier surf rod. It would seem that those Norwegians that have discovered beach fishing with heavy lead and long rods for chucking a bait into the horizon, all preffer fixed spool rods, so the vendors don’t keep anything else in stock, which is a shame really.

I have been looking far and wide, but the only people who seem to stock any multiplier beach casters/surf rods at all are Chr Baardsen & Søn AS in Haugesund. But they only have the high end Century rods immediately available for sale via their web page. These rods will set you back around 3500NOK here in Norway, hence they are way out of my league. The only alternative I have found is a Mustad Viking Power 126 MTP Rod, and at 699 NOK its quite affordable. But I fear that the rod will be to weak. But there does not seem to be any alternatives available.

I could always order from the UK. There they have swimming in multiplier surf and beach casters. But again, the finances stop me. The shipping costs is ridiculous. For example the web shop of the World Sea Fishing  website, wants around 65£ to send a rod across the north sea. I could buy an extra surf rod for that money.

The alternative is to buy a heavy salmon rod. Shimano and others has salmon rods in the 80-150gram range. And I just saw a 14′ Tica Salmon rod in this class on sale for less than 600 NOK. I suppose this will tie me over until I can find a good, reasonably priced multiplier beach caster in Norway. And when I am such a lousy surf caster that I cast just as far with my current salmon rod with a 50 gram lead, as i do with my surf rod with a 150 gram lead…I guess the choice makes sense…

The Classic Red ABU AMbassadeur 7000

I tried to do some maintenance on the ABU Ambassadeur 7000i C3 i purchased a couple of years ago. It was not the first time I opened it up, but the sinking feeling of disappointment was still there as the plastic-fantastic guts of it was revealed. My confidence in this reel was initially quite okay. But it has grown worse as the reel as deteriorated in front of my eyes. And it has not really been used that much. The heaviest load it has experienced was a 6.5 kilo ling off Arnøya in Harstad, Norway.So the decision has been made to replace it with an older model. One of the “Made in Sweden” 7000 reels.”

Now the reel is still functioning. But I doubt it will last me a lifetime. Or even close to the 15 years or so, my made in Sweden, ABU Ambassadeur 6500 CS Rocket has been in service. That reel has had some bits and pieces replaced over the years, but it is still as beutiful, and going strong as when it was new out of the box. Well, even better, as it got Carbon-tex drag washers these days. That’s the quallity I, and everyone that likes to fish with equipment that won’t fail you want. To bad that the people at ABU Garcia, or whomever makes the decisions thereabouts seem to have forgotten this, in favour churning out cheap plastics from China to the consumers.

The modern plastic-fantastic 7000i brake release plate on the left, compared with the original, classic 7000, all metal brake release plate on the right. No doubt where the lasting quality is.

So the hunt was on for the original Sweden reels, full of nice strong metal parts, with a quality far surpassing today’s China reels. In 2011 the natural starting point was the Internet. Which soon revealed that in the 7000 size Ambassadeur market, the 7000i was completely swamping the market. All the 7000i reels are made in China. Here is the list:

The chinese made ABU Ambassadeur 7000i C3

Ambassadeur 7000i C3
Ambassadeur 7000i Syncro
Ambassadeur 7000i Pro Rocket
Ambassadeur 7000i
Ambassadeur 7000i C3 CT
Etc.

Some internet vendors would sport  pictures of the old style classic made in Sweden reel on their web page, but when I enquired, the actual reel sold, was the new “Made in China” reel.

I then focused my attention on places like Ebay, and Norwegian equivalents. Here I found a few examples of the original Sweden reels, but there was not much to chose from. At least not right now. But good deals could be had from there. And the good thing about the classic reels. If you buy a used one, it does not really have to be in perfect condition, unless you buy it as a collectors item, and not as the working tool it really is. It is still fairly easy to get hold of parts to maintain, and even upgrade these reels, making them even better than they already where, leaving the factory in Sweden.

But Ebay has it’s limitations. I am in Norway, and most of the reels sold are in the USA, or the UK. And most sellers won’t ship worldwide. Leaving me with an even more limited choice. And searching the Norwegian and other Scandinavian Ebay clones did not come up with anything that tempted me into parting with my cash. But doing all that research had put me onto the classic Ambassadeur 7500C as a likely candidate for my”new” reel.

Finding little online about it, I launched a few questions about this reel on the World Sea Fishing forums in the UK, and on it’s Norwegian equivalent, the forum of Fiskersiden in Norway. And soon the resident Ambassadeur gurus where coming out with the info. And an idea for a plan “B” should I not find an original “Made in Sweden” Ambassadeur 7000 size reel to suit my needs.

It turns out Lawson has started to sell a reel called the Lawson Atlantic Salmon Baitcast 7000CS. The reel is supposedly identical to the ABU Ambassadeur 7000 reels that where made in Taiwan, with the “Made in Sweden” specifications before ABU Garcia moved the production of the 7000 series to mainland China and started churning out plastic-fantastics. The reel is pictured here as for sale by a Norwegian Internet outlet. The reel comes with a 5.3:1 retrieve.

And when the manufacturers name, OMOTO came up, it was easy to find their web page with pictures of the reels. And what do you know. The Lawson 7000CS, is identical to their Chief series 7000CS reel. I could even pull up the exploding parts list for the 7000CS and compare it with the original ABU Ambassadeur 7000 and they look identical.

Now parts for this reel may not be so easy to come by. But if they are like the original, I may be able to use original Ambassadeur parts, if the tolerances are the same. So this is looking like a good alternative to the plastic Ambassadeurs. But there are other reservations to this as some comments I came by online mentioned that on some reels it’s difficult to fill the spool evenly. While others where quite happy with the reel. But then there are those that like the plastic China reels to, and claim there is nothing wrong with them.

The ABU Ambassadeur 7500 C3 is beutiful!

Meanwhile I continue the hunt for an original ABU Ambassadeur 7000 series or equivalent is on, with an expanding candidate list. So far in random order they are:

From ABU Garcia:

Ambassadeur 7000 (classic red)
Ambassadeur 7000 CS Pro Rocket (I like the looks of it)
Ambassadeur 7500C

From OMOTO:

Jungle (Wavecaster ) 7000CS
Chief 7000CS

From Lawson (made by OMOTO)
Lawson Salmon Baitcaster 7000CS

I will be back with more on that, when and if I find a reel to satisfy my needs. Meanwhile plan “B”  – The OMOT/ Lawson reels is there. To bad for ABU Garcia, a reel maker I have been with since I got my first fishing rod at age six.

© Dr Michel Royon / Wikimedia Commons

In 2010 Norway introduced a mandatory boating license. That is you need a licence to drive a boat with some exceptions:

• If you are born in 1980 or later, and will drive a boat that is more than 8 meters (26,2 ft) or that has an engine that has more than 25Hp, you need a licence.
• Smaller boats than mentioned above you may drive without a licence from age 16.
• If you are born before 1980, you don’t need a licence at all. But boat rental companies may demand that the drivert of their boats have one.
• If you are age 16 or older, and have a licence, you may drive boats up to 15 meters (49,2ft).
• You may take the test from age 14, but you will not recieve the license until age 16.
• If you are younger than 16, you may drive a recreational boat if it’s under 8 meters in length, and have an engine up to 9,9hp, provided the boat can not go faster than 10 knots.

I assume (not sure as I write this), that licenses from foreign countries is accepted, provided that the license is in the English language, or you have a translation of the licence into either Norwegian or English.

Salmon lice infected salmon with open wounds from the lice. Photo: Norges Miljøvernforbund

In peaceful Norway a war is raging. And now the first victories from the battle front is being reported. This time from Norwegian TV2, who yesterday informed us that one of the major supermarket chains in the country, ICA, Rema 1000, NorgesGruppen and Coop has laid down an ultimatum against the farmed salmon industry.

Basically it goes as follows: ICA demands that the fish farming  industry gets environmentally sustainable, and moves it’s production to closed facilities within 3 years. And that they document that there is no health risk associated with eating farmed salmon. If not ICA and the other supermarket chains that virtually control the entire Norwegian food market, will cease the sale of farmed salmon in their stores.

Alternatives to the open net farming practiced today is under development, but the fish farming industry has been reluctant to invest in them.

-If fish has a tendency to attract certain diseases, one tries to prevent these diseases with agents that can be hazardous. Not only for the consumers in high concentrations, but also for other species in the environment says Antonio Soares, C.E.O of ICA to TV2

And he is right. Norwegian fish farmers have now started large scale medication against salmon lice.

The Norwegian salmon industry is now ready to embark on the grand scale poisoning of the norwegian coastline from Lofoten in the north to Lindesnes in the south.

At least 554 fish farms has applied to use Ektobann or Releaze to cure their multi resistant lice infected salmon over the next 5 months.  This is about 50% of all fish farms in Norway. In Rogaland more than 70% of the fish farms have applied to use the poison says TV2.

A report from the Norwegian Institute of Marine Research from 1999 says that these are poisonous for crustacea even in minuscule concentrations. A new report from the institute confirms this (NJFF).

– There is absolutely reason to worry over grand scale use of medicine against salmon lice. If the veterinaries say that they need these amounts, we have approved the applications.  says Tonje Høy of the Norwegian Medicines Agency to the newspaper Firda

So how much of this are they planning to release? I have looked at one salmon company, Pundslett Laks in the northern Lofoten Area. Some of their farms is situated in Raftsundet, near the famous Trollfjorden that thousands of passengers of Hurtigruten visits every year.

Pundslett Laks have applied to release 35 tons of feed pellets containing 2 grams of Ektobann per kilo. That is about 70 kilos of Ektobann released into the sea from the 8 fish farms that they have in the area. Most of it will however not be consumed by the farm salmon. Most of it will be consumed by wild cod and coal fish in and around the farms.

Unlike the farmed salmon that will be in quarantine  and can not be slaughtered for human consumption for 100 days after medication with Ektobann, there is no such restriction on wild fish. And when we now that feed pellets from fish farms have been found as much as 20 km from the nearest fish farm there is reason to be alarmed.

A Giant halibutt of 435lb (202kg) cought by a tourist in Nordland. Photo by: Wildwater Fishing AB

- Tourists takes about 3300 tons of fish in Norway each year according to the Institute of Marine Research. A large percentage, 1600 metric tons are cod,  reports the NRK.no in an article on their website.

The numbers appear in a report from the Institute of Marine Research and is based on numbers sent in to the institute over the last 3 years.  And they represent a major contrast to the estimated 15 000 metric tons today’s fishing policy is based upon.

In Norway, tourist fishing has it’s own quota, from the general ammount that commercial fishermen is alowed, and this is likely to be drastically reduced now that this report appears.

Jan Helge Vølstad of the Intitute of Marine Research says to NRK.no that:

– The numbers is based on catch diaries from around 4000 fishing days from the representative tourist businesses. But there will be some businesses  and companies we have not identified, and this we have taken into account in our report.

NRK.no adds that catches are small. On average between 10 -50 kg of fish.

Tourist fishing has however led to some conflicts between commercial fishermen and the tourists. At Sørøya in Finnmark a local fisherman says to NRK Nett TV:

- When the tourists fish under a raised pirate flag (The Jolly Roger) it’s **** provoking. They should at least raise themselves above such acts. Especially when we know the problems fishermen face under the current fishing policies.

And perhaps he has the right to be irritated. On the other hand, tourist fishermen is starting to react against tourist fishing abuse themselves. The person writing under the nick Linehanma on the World Sea Fishing Forum , just returned from a fishing trip to Skjervøy, griped that:

- One of the employees  (at the fishing camp) told us that the week before, some Germans took home 600kgs of fillets, but why do the fish camp not report this !

And recently two Estonians where stopped with more than 100 kg of fillets on the border with Sweden, as the limit is currently set at 15 kilos of fillet. They where fined about 1400 Euros for it.

Two Estonians admitted to carrying 97 and 115 kilos over the limit, and was fined NOK 11000 or about €1400.

I guess the advice is that if you come here, do not exceed the 15 kilo limit or the trip may get a bit more expensive than you bargained for.

Here are the rules:

Export quota for fish and fish products
No more than 15 kg of fish filets or fish products can be exported from Norway per person.

The export quota applies to catch from sport fishing in Norwegian territorial waters.

• The quota applies to whole/gutted fish or processed products, such as fish filets.
• Fish or fish products will not be included in the quota if it can be proved that they were purchased from a registered business.
• Freshwater fish, salmon, trout and char are not subject to the export quota.
• The quota applies to everyone, including Norwegian citizens.
• If the quota is exceeded, the quantity of illegal fish may be confiscated.
• The customs service performs inspections to ensure fish are not exported in breach of the order.
• It is permitted to export a whole trophy fish for taxidermy, etc. The quota rules do not prevent the export of single whole fish larger than 15 kg in addition to the quota.

The fishing authorities recommend restraint is exercised in relation to fishing tourism.

You can read more about the rulkes and regulations here:

http://www.fisheries.no/management_control/Regulatory-measures/quotas/Fishing_tourism/