We’ve all been counting down the days to the 2026 season opener, and the Gaula did not disappoint! With prime conditions—flows hovering around 200 m³/s at Gaulfossen and water temperatures sitting pretty at 8–10°C—it was never a question of if our guests would hook into the first Gaula chrome of the season, but when.
With massive excitement surrounding our new lower Gaula beats in Lundamo, it felt only right that the first action of the season kicked off there. First-time NFC guest Robin Svendsen didn’t waste any time, landing the season’s opening salmon at 1:50 AM on our new L2 beat. A stunning 97 cm beauty at around 9 kg (19 lbs), which was safely released after a quick photo.
Robin Svendsen with the first salmon of 2026 from the NFC Beats
It clearly looked like a fresh pod of fish had just moved into the pool. Just an hour later, Robin’s friend and NFC regular, Kim Jørgensen, hooked and landed the second fish of the season from the exact same spot on L2! His fish measured a whopping 102 cm and weighed approx. 10.5 kg (23 lbs).
Stefan Holst, who first fished with us in 2025, also joined the opening-week party, hooking into his first salmon of 2026 on our E3 beat—a beautiful 101 cm fish weighing around 10.7 kg (23 lbs).
Stefan Holst with his fish of 101 cm from our beat E3
After that, the run on the upper beats started. We’ve been fishing our beats above the Gaulfossen since June 1st, and while it required some patience early on, Kim Jørgensen proved beyond doubt that the fish had arrived in the Støren and Rognes area.
Kim had an absolutely legendary session, landing three fantastic Atlantic salmon measuring 119 cm, 98 cm, and 94 cm (two from B2 and one from B1). In a wild twist of fate, he was battling his massive 119 cm (approx. 36 lbs!) monster at the exact same time his buddy Robin was hooked up to an 89 cm fish on B1. Because of the double-hookup chaos, he couldn’t get a perfect photo of the big one—but we’re pretty sure Kim will never forget that afternoon on our Støren beats!
Robin with his fish from Beat B1
With the fish moving fast, the main action shifted to the water above the Gaulfossen, resulting in a fantastic string of catches across beats like G1, B1, A1, C2, and B2.
Daniel Stephan with his salmon of 101 cm from our beat G1
While we’ve already seen a good number of big fish landed, the run of medium-sized salmon has started early this year. Everything is lining up for an unforgettable summer, and we can’t wait to see what the coming weeks bring.
Want to be part of the action? The river is alive, the fish are here, and we still have a very limited number of rods available for the upcoming weeks. If you want to secure your spot on the water this season, don’t wait until it’s too late.
Drop us a line at info@nfc-online.com and let’s get you on the Gaula!
