The River Mandal has had a total catch of salmon and sea trout around 11.5 and 6,5 tonnes the last years. This puts the river among the top 15 salmon rivers in Norway. 

The River Mandal is the second largest river in the Sørlandet region with 48 km of salmon fishing. Until the end of the 19th century, the River Mandal was among the most productive salmon rivers in Norway with annual catches of between 20,000 and 35,000 kg salmon. Early in the 20th Century catches of migratory and other fish gradually declined as a result of acid rain originating from Continental Europe and Great Britain. Wild salmon eventually became extinct but sea trout survived, probably because they were able to spawn in the smaller tributaries where the water was less acid.

In June 1997, a liming project was instigated in the River Mandal with the aim of reducing the water acidity. The project is the biggest of its kind in the world, requiring 13,000 tons of lime yearly. The aim is to establish a new stock of salmon and allow the original aquatic life of the river to recover.

The Finså hatchery has been updated to provide a modern facility capable of producing 500,000 fry annually for restocking and research. Fry are released during the summer having been reared from eggs removed from adult fish captured the previous autumn.

The River Mandal offers a variety of fishing from the town of Mandal, 48 km upstream, to the Kavfossen waterfall at Bjelland which salmon are unable to pass. The river varies from slow water, to glides, rapids, deep pools and includes a lake which means that it can provide opportunities for fly fishing, spinning and worming. In addition to salmon, the river offers good fishing for sea trout and eels in the lower reaches and attractive fishing for trout and arctic char in the upper reaches. The river runs through an exciting landscape which, in part, has a touch of wilderness and is, therefore well suited for recreation ö you can even take a swim in one of the clean lakes.

Average water flow at the mouth of the River Mandal is 88 cubic m/s, in season about 45-50 m3/s.
Visitors may find our information folder on fishing the river useful. It is written in English, German and Norwegian and can be downloaded at our main webpage.

River map

Fishing permits

Fishing Rules

Accomondations

Catch statistics

Catch registrations