(2009-2010) What the devil do you expect to catch at the Faroe Islands?
I got this question from a friend of mine, and I understand why he asked: The Faroes consist of a bunch of small islands, located far out in the North Atlantic Ocean; the islands are unbelievably rocky with steep cliff faces; the climate is not actually holiday material, mostly overcast, rainy, windy and almost never warm. So what does drive an angler out there?
I will tell you: worldclass seafishing, in uniquely beautiful surroundings!
We were invited by the Faroese government to promote sportfishing at the Faroe Islands, and the target fish were porbeagle shark and Atlantic halibut, which are prolific there at certain times of the year. For my part, I was just as happy to experience, fish and photograph a new and beautiful place.
The first thing you will realize, when visiting the Faroe Islands, is that the countryside looks like a model world built with cute little villages, where many houses look like something out of Hobbiton, and the extremely green hills are inhabited by sheep and millions of wild birds.
Porbeagle Shark
We usually fish for the sharks on the Oceanside of the islands, however if the seas are too rough we troll with big jigs and dead-baits along the steep cliff ridges between the islands. However, the most fun I tried was to fish with dead-baits under balloons in Mykinessfiord, and wait for the sharks find us. To attract the sharks we tie a rubby-dubby bag with fish intestines to the side of the boat. Shark have an unbelievably efficient sense of smell, so we can draw in sharks from far away with only relatively little rubby-dubby.
You often see the shark come whizzing past the boat in the clear water, and it really gives you an adrenaline-kick, when it happens. Not many seconds pass before the balloon disappears and the powerful braided line flies off the big multiplier reel. After that it's just hard work - but wonderful hard work. Sharks are very resilient; they are easily released after the tough fight, and they don’t seem to take any damage.
It's not just anyone we fish sharks within the Faroes. There really is only one guide who is experienced enough to take anglers out and fish for the sharks, and that’s Magni Blástein. Magni operates out of Westmanna, where there is easy access to several good fishing spots, even if the weather is bad. The record for porbeagle shark caught on rod and reel in the Faroes is 222 kg, caught from Magni’s boat.
Other species
To say that the Faroe Islands have “worldclass seafishing”, obviously demands further clarification. No matter where we fished, there were lots of fish and not just any fish, and not just any size, all sorts of codfish, sandeels, halibut and many other flounders. There was never anyone who was bored. As for codfish, it was a wonderland of species. We caught as many cod and saithe as we wanted to, and even a saithe of 9 kg, besides haddock to over 3 kg, ling, whiting and tusk. We fished at depths of 10-60 meters, and fished for the most part just above the bottom where the fish took both pirks, jigs and sabikis.
Cod and saithe we caught at almost all depths, whereas the tusk, ling, whiting and haddock, were mainly caught on the bottom. You could even let the bait lie on the bottom, and the fish would still pick it up - fortunately the bottom is mostly sand, where we fished, so this method was effective without losing tackle.
Halibut, the king of flounders, is also abundant at the Faroe Islands, but they are usually not as big, as we see it in Norway. We fished for the halibut with either whole sandeels, rigged on circle hooks, or big jigs. There are also plenty of dab and plaice to be caught and even large specimens. They are not difficult to catch on Gulp or fish-meat.