# The fishing season in Norway > Which fish bites when? Month by month for trout, grayling, char, perch, pike, whitefish, salmon and sea trout, in the lowlands and in the mountains. Ice-out, water temperature and spawning run the year, and the rules are set locally. Source: https://finnfisk.no/en/fiskesesong Language: en Alternate: https://finnfisk.no/fiskesesong (nb-NO) --- Guide When is it worth going, and for what? Ice-out, water temperature and spawning run the year more than the calendar does, and they fall weeks apart between a lowland lake and a mountain lake an hour away. ## What drives the season ### Water temperature Fish are cold-blooded: they feed when the water is at the right temperature and little otherwise. Trout and grayling want 10 to 16 degrees, pike and perch take more, char want less. A couple of degrees moves the fishing more than a week on the calendar does. ### Ice-out The year starts when the ice goes, and that is April in the lowlands and well into June in the mountains. The first weeks after ice-out are among the best of the year: the fish are hungry and holding shallow. ### Spawning Trout, char and whitefish spawn in autumn; grayling, perch and pike in spring. Fish feed hard just before and are near impossible to fish for during. Many waters are protected in exactly those weeks, and which weeks is a local matter. ## Month by month Lakes and rivers below the treeline, from Østlandet to Trøndelag. When each species is worth fishing for, month by month: Lowland and south | Species | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [Brown trout](https://finnfisk.no/orretfiske) | Through the ice Jan | Through the ice Feb | Through the ice Mar | Good Apr | Peak May | Peak Jun | Good Jul | Good Aug | Peak spawning Sep, spawning, check the local rules | Slow spawning Oct, spawning, check the local rules | Slow spawning Nov, spawning, check the local rules | Through the ice Dec | | [Large brown trout](https://finnfisk.no/stororretfiske) | Slow Jan | Slow Feb | Slow Mar | Good Apr | Peak May | Good Jun | Good Jul | Good Aug | Peak spawning Sep, spawning, check the local rules | Slow spawning Oct, spawning, check the local rules | Slow spawning Nov, spawning, check the local rules | Slow Dec | | [Grayling](https://finnfisk.no/harrfiske) | Slow Jan | Slow Feb | Slow spawning Mar, spawning, check the local rules | Slow spawning Apr, spawning, check the local rules | Slow spawning May, spawning, check the local rules | Good Jun | Peak Jul | Peak Aug | Good Sep | Slow Oct | Slow Nov | Slow Dec | | [Arctic char](https://finnfisk.no/royefiske) | Through the ice Jan | Through the ice Feb | Through the ice Mar | Through the ice Apr | Good May | Good Jun | Slow Jul | Slow Aug | Good spawning Sep, spawning, check the local rules | Slow spawning Oct, spawning, check the local rules | Slow Nov | Through the ice Dec | | [Perch](https://finnfisk.no/abborfiske) | Peak Jan | Peak Feb | Good Mar | Slow spawning Apr, spawning, check the local rules | Good spawning May, spawning, check the local rules | Good Jun | Good Jul | Peak Aug | Peak Sep | Good Oct | Slow Nov | Good Dec | | [Pike](https://finnfisk.no/gjeddefiske) | Good Jan | Good Feb | Peak Mar | Slow spawning Apr, spawning, check the local rules | Peak May | Good Jun | Slow Jul | Good Aug | Peak Sep | Peak Oct | Good Nov | Good Dec | | [Whitefish](https://finnfisk.no/sikfiske) | Good Jan | Good Feb | Good Mar | Slow Apr | Good May | Peak Jun | Good Jul | Good Aug | Good Sep | Slow spawning Oct, spawning, check the local rules | Slow spawning Nov, spawning, check the local rules | Good Dec | | [Atlantic salmon](https://finnfisk.no/laksefiske) | Slow Jan | Slow Feb | Slow Mar | Slow Apr | Slow May | Good Jun | Peak Jul | Peak Aug | Slow spawning Sep, spawning, check the local rules | Slow spawning Oct, spawning, check the local rules | Slow spawning Nov, spawning, check the local rules | Slow Dec | | [Sea trout](https://finnfisk.no/sjoorretfiske) | Slow Jan | Good Feb | Peak Mar | Peak Apr | Peak May | Good Jun | Slow Jul | Good Aug | Peak spawning Sep, spawning, check the local rules | Good spawning Oct, spawning, check the local rules | Slow spawning Nov, spawning, check the local rules | Slow Dec | - Peak : The best weeks of the year for this fish. Go now. - Good : Worth a trip. Fish are feeding. - Slow : Hard going: the fish are deep, spawning, or the season is generally over. - Through the ice : Fished through the ice, where the ice is safe. The table says how the fishing usually is, not whether a water is open. That is set locally, and is covered below. ## Species by species - [Brown trout](https://finnfisk.no/orretfiske) Trout follow the water temperature. They wake around ice-out, peak when the insects arrive, go deep and nocturnal in the heat, and feed hard again in autumn before spawning. - [Large brown trout](https://finnfisk.no/stororretfiske) Large lake trout follow the baitfish. Trolling from ice-out in May is the classic, and then they run up the rivers towards autumn to spawn. - [Grayling](https://finnfisk.no/harrfiske) Grayling spawn in spring, not autumn, so they are protected in many rivers exactly when trout fishing gets going. Summer is their time: dry fly on still evenings from July. - [Arctic char](https://finnfisk.no/royefiske) Char are the ice fisher’s fish. They feed all winter, hold deep and sluggish through the summer heat, and spawn in autumn. - [Perch](https://finnfisk.no/abborfiske) Perch are the easiest fish to find all year. They spawn in May, shoal all summer, and are the ice fishing species once the lakes freeze. - [Pike](https://finnfisk.no/gjeddefiske) Pike spawn early, right after the ice goes, and feed hard both before and after. Summer heat slows them, and then comes the best period of the year: September and October. - [Whitefish](https://finnfisk.no/sikfiske) Whitefish take a fly when they rise to insects at midsummer, and a jig through the ice. They spawn late in autumn, often in November. - [Atlantic salmon](https://finnfisk.no/laksefiske) The salmon season is set river by river and changes from year to year, as a rule somewhere between June and August. Check the river before you plan anything: this is the row least able to answer for you. - [Sea trout](https://finnfisk.no/sjoorretfiske) Sea trout hold in the sea, where fishing is free and open all year, but they are protected in and around river mouths when they run up to spawn. Spring and autumn are the peaks. ## The rules The season above is practical, not legal. Which weeks a given water is actually open is set locally and changes from year to year, and no single list is right for the whole country. - Salmon, sea trout and sea char: the season is set river by river. You pay the state fishing levy, buy a local licence, and report your catch. - Inland fish: often open all year, but many waters and rivers have their own closed period around spawning. The licence or the landowner says which. - At sea, fishing is free and open all year to everyone, but sea trout and salmon are protected in and around river mouths when they run. Always check the water you are going to, on the day. The licence, the landowner and Miljødirektoratet are the only ones who answer for it. [Find a spot](https://finnfisk.no/fiskeplasser)[What time of day](https://finnfisk.no/bitetider) ## Common questions ### When is the fishing season in Norway? - There is no single season. Inland fishing is often open all year, but many waters have their own closed period around spawning, and salmon and sea trout have seasons set river by river that change every year. In practice the main season runs from ice-out in April or May until the end of October in the lowlands, and from June to September in the mountains.[Month by month](https://finnfisk.no/fiskesesong) ### When is the best time to fish for trout? - The weeks right after ice-out, and again in September before spawning. May and June are the peak in the lowlands, July and August in the mountains. At midsummer trout hold deep during the day and feed most at first light and dusk.[The trout guide](https://finnfisk.no/orretfiske) ### Can I fish in winter? - Yes. Perch and char bite well through the ice all winter, and whitefish take a jig. At sea, fishing is open all year. The ice must be at least ten centimetres of core ice before you walk out, and the licence applies as usual.[The ice fishing guide](https://finnfisk.no/isfiske) ### When are fish protected? - Around spawning, but exactly when is set locally. Trout, char and whitefish spawn in autumn; grayling, perch and pike in spring. Salmon and sea trout are protected in and around river mouths when they run. The licence, the landowner and Miljødirektoratet are the only ones who answer for the water you are going to.