The Beat

The salmon is still the big attraction, as it was when the first salmon anglers came to the Namsen in the 1830-ies. On the Moum/Heggum beat we still fish according to old traditions, with regular fishing-, and resting times. Generations of experience has given us the knowledge and understanding about the interaction between the salmon and the river. It is this knowledge that is shared with the anglers, so that the chance of catching the salmon is as good as possible.

It takes about 10 minutes from the time we start in the boat below the estate, to get up to “Speikan”(the upper part of the beat). From there and down, the beat is about 1,5 miles where the Namsen runs both calmly and rapidly, with both shallow and deep parts. The upper part was called “The thousand yards” by the old English anglers. On the left-hand side of the river there is a shinglebank that runs about 200 meters down river, it is suitable for fly-fishing from the shore both with medium and low water levels. On the right hand side there are landmarks such as Knoelen, Loddoberget and Sundquist-backwater. Here the river turns to the left, and shortly after that we find ourselves in Markrommet, the deepest pool on Speikan.

From Markrommet it gets gradually more shallow down towards Red Rock where Speikan ends in rapid waters. Below Red Rock, the river takes a sharp turn to the left, then the river narrows and the current there is very strong – Moakaaren. When the salmon takes here, it’s always thrilling to see if we can manage to keep it above the rapids, if not, we get to experience the delightful trip down the rapid stream with a salmon on the hook.

Gradually the river becomes broader and takes another turn towards the left. We have now come to Kroken, where the expectations usually rise. The shinglebank still goes a bit further down on our left, with rocks on our right. On top of the hill above the rocks is the estate, with a good view to whatever happens on the river.

Below Kroken the stream goes on the left-hand side of the river past Maasgrana, Steinmuren and Toemmervelta while there’s a big backwater on the right hand side, -Oddo. We are now on Groenengkaaren, where the landing places for Moum and Heggum boats lie on either side. On the right hand side the riverbank is steep all the way down to the boundary, and on the left hand side, there are famous landmarks such as Groenengberget, The guide, Marker Rock, Penny Island, The Sealstone, Little Rock, Mettiodden and Long Rock. There is relatively shallow water down to Long Rock, where it again becomes deep.

From there the river runs deep and calm down to the Seem boundary, and further on the remaining 30.miles into the Namsen fjord and the ocean. There, the future salmon generations are swimming, and they will hopefully give us great and unforgettable experiences in the future….