Røssåga has long-standing traditions as an attractive destination for those who pursue «the gentle sport» of angling. The first English salmon fishers arrived in the early 1870s, boarding with local farmers. They returned every summer, only interrupted by World War I, and built a stately timber villa on the site of the present Municipal Hall. A second «Engelskvilla» was built in the early 1930s.
Between the wars, the river was rented by Englishmen and Norwegians both.

A fishing diary kept by the Schjølberg family of Bodø, for the years 1917-18 and 1920-30, makes for interesting reading. It shows that catches have varied over the years. A peak in 1925 boasts a catch of 1186,7 kg: 135 salmon, averaging 8,8 kg. Stunning figures, bearing in mind that the river was on an exclusive lease with very few active anglers, and that only the upper 3 km of the river were used for the sport.

Picture: July 1st, 1925. One day's catch: 22 splendid salmon caught on the same rod by father and son Schjølberg.


Development of the hydro-electric Røssåga Works had a great impact on the salmon fishery. The river was dammed from 1955, and there was no longer a basis for leasing the river. However, the fishing recovered somewhat, and as the years went by the river again became attractive to local anglers. Sadly, our river was among those infected by the salmon parasite Gyrodactilus Salaris, and was therefore (though not without a fair amount of controversy) subjected to rotenone treatment in 2004. The end result has yet to be seen, but hopefully Røssåga will see some of its former greatness in the years to come.

Røssåga is also known as one of Norway's best sea-trout rivers. This species is not affected by the salmon parasite, but as all the fish then in the river were killed by the rotenone treatment, we are looking forward to the full recovery of the sea-trout population.