CAMP NORTH

ENDLESS ADVENTURE

When opening this camp in 2010, we realized that naming it after the river we were fishing would be asking for trouble. Camp North just seemed easier on the tongue than Camp Eqalugsugssuit.

Located some 60 kilometres north of Sisimiut, Camp North soon became known as the choice for fly fishermen with good legs and big dreams. No one knows why the arctic char in this river grow bigger than elsewhere. They just do. Since we opened Camp North, this river has produced the biggest fly caught arctic char in Greenland every single year.

READY TO GO

The dream starts when you wake up: The fresh air blowing from the mountains, the river running gin clear in front of the camp, the promise of another great day. After breakfast, it’s time to get into your wader gear.

Your friend, who is already packed up and ready to go, sends you a certain look that says: “Are we going, or what?”. A little annoying, perhaps. (Isn’t this supposed to be a vacation?) Nonetheless, you suddenly find yourself speeding things up. Afterall, there’s good reason behind that unmistakeable stare: There are fish to be caught.

MILLION DOLLAR POOL

After a forty-minute hike, you reach Million Dollar Pool. As the name suggest, it always holds fish. A lot of fish! But even if you can clearly see the shadows of what must be more than a hundred char stacked up, you move on. At Cut Bank, you spot several bigger fish holding in the middle of the river. It’s tempting but you don’t stop for more than a minute or two. Today, you have something else in mind.

The tributary runs into the Eqalugsugssuit just below a big lake. The lower part isn’t the fishiest but after another half-hour-hike it changes from a fast river meandering through big boulders to one that runs through a plateau at a slower pace. It’s a gem of a river, just referred to as “The Creek”. You wonder, when was the last time you fished an unnamed river? The answer is easy: Never.

TRAVELLING TO CAMP NORTH

SEASON: July-August.

FLY TO: Sisimiut via Copenhagen, Denmark.

TYPICAL ITINERARY: 
Day 1: Arrival in Copenhagen, stay at hotel (optional).
Day 2: Morning flight to Sisimiut via Kangerlussuaq, transfer to Hotel Sisimiut,
afternoon sight seeing in town or relax at the hotel.
Day 3: Boat transfer to camp, fishing the rest of the day.
Day 4-9: Six days (and nights) of fishing.
Day 10: Boat transfer to Hotel Sisimiut, farewell dinner.
Day 11: Morning flight back to Copenhagen.

PRICE: On request – get in touch!

BOOKING INQUIRY

    TRUE MONSTERS

    The Eqalugsugssuit strain of char are different. They are bulkier and grow bigger than the char you find in any other river in Greenland. They also tend to be moodier, especially when you skate foam flies for them. Sometimes, they hit them dead hard for half an hour, only to totally ignore them for the next several hours. That’s when you need to pull out streamers or nymphs to keep the action going.

    The average size of fish here can be really good. Like, “Oh, this is another nice six-pounder”-good. Every season we spot some true monster char in this river, and sometimes we land them, too. The biggest char landed – unfortunately clubbed on the head years ago by a guest that had misunderstood the most important part of catch & release – weighed 8,3 KG. That’s just short of 19 lbs. Since then, several potentially bigger (and surely longer) char have been landed by our guests.

    GRAND SETTING

    Classic Camp North moments include feeling tiny in a truly grand setting. The midnight sun casts a soft light on the mountain behind you while you and your friend hike the last part to the third, and last, small lake that The Creek passes through. You’re far from camp, and everyone else is either sleeping or fishing elsewhere. As you wade into the lake, close to the inlet of the river, and get ready to skate a foam fly on the glassy surface you feel small in a really big way.

    TUG-OF-WAR

    A big head breaks the surface and engulfs your fly. Without the current, it’s a different fight: More like a tug-of-war, each of you taking and giving line, until the big fish finally shows signs of fatigue and your friend nets it for you.

    It’s a big, coloured male that must have entered the river three or four weeks ago, maybe as a part of the first big push of fish. He had parked himself in the lake and was probably thinking about when to go look for some hot mamas until that skating thing on the surface disturbed him – so much that he decided to teach it a lesson. The built-in scale in your landing net says 5,1 KG. It’s your biggest fish of the week. You can’t wait to show the pictures to the guys back in camp.

    BOAT TO UPPER RIVER

    For years, the upper river was out of reach for most of us. It was a two-hour hike along the banks of the lake that separates the lower and upper river. That’s after a 45-minute hike from the camp to the lake. Then you had to cover a lot of the river, now that you had finally made it up there. And when you were done, it was another three hours back to camp. Those, that actually did fish it back then, all deserved an Upper River Pin for their vest!

    These days, we have a boat in the lake. It has been worth all the hard effort to get it there, pulling it across during a late spring before the snow melted. Now, all our guests get to fish this magnificent piece of river between the first and the second lake, all the way up to a waterfall that is high enough to make the char stack up in great numbers but not steep enough to prevent us from seeing fish passing it every time we’re up there. In other words; there must be fish to catch after the second lake as well. Estimated hiking time: Another three hours, minimum. We’re not sure. So far, no one has felt the need to find out.

    CAMP NORTH FAQ

    If you need more general information, check our Greenland FAQ here.

    We only fish during prime weeks, which is the reason our bookings are usually well spread out. It’s not like the same one or two weeks always sell out first.

    At Camp North, fresh fish seem to enter throughout the season, and they don’t color up quite as much, so there’s not much difference in the week you choose.

    All weeks are good, so we usually advise guests to choose the week that suits their calendar well.

    The camp is located approx. 60 kilometres north of Sisimiut, Greenland’s second largest city with 5600 inhabitants. It sits on the banks of the Eqalugsugssuit River, around 500 meters from the river mouth.

    To get to Sisimiut, you will need to fly to Copenhagen, Denmark (overnight in a hotel) and then to Sisimiut via Kangerlussuaq, Greenland. It’s approx. 4,5 hrs from Copenhagen to Kangerlussuaq, and then a short domestic flight of 30 min. to Sisimiut. You arrive early in the afternoon, settle in at Hotel Sisimiut, and have the rest of the afternoon for sightseeing and relaxation. The next day you transfer to the lodge by boat (approx. 2,5 hrs transfer time).

    On the Eqalugsugssuit River, both below and above a big lake, on a tributary, and sometimes in inlets and outlets from the lakes on the tributary. Occasionally, also in the fjord for cod or char heading for the river mouth.

    In a tent camp overlooking the river. All guests stay in individual tents. The camp lodge has a big, steel framed tent for dining and socializing. We run generators so it’s possible to recharge cameras etc.

    While it’s not fine dining as such, the meals are tasty and made with the chef’s full dedication.
    Most of our guests are impressed with what our chefs comes up with, especially when taking the remoteness of the location into consideration.
    Breakfast will be eggs, bacon, bread, cereals etc. And for lunch, we put out bread, cold meat, and toppings so you can make a couple of sandwiches to keep you going throughout the day.



    Get up around 7.00 when breakfast is served, make your own sandwiches after breakfast, get in your fishing clothes and head upriver whenever you feel like it.
    You can fish the main river, hike up the side creek or coordinate a trip with one of the guides and some other guests to the upper river. In that case, the guide will ferry you across the lake, saving you two hours of hiking! All options are yours to explore over the course of the week.
    Head back for dinner somewhere between 6 and 7 PM, unless you choose to fish a little longer. Most guests will also go out once or twice during the week for some evening, or even night fishing. And then sleep in until late the next day. It’s an easy-going and flexible schedule as there is light enough to fish 20-24 hours a day, depending on the season.

    From thirty minutes to two hours. Most of the time, a forty-minute walk will take you to some of the most productive parts of the river, and then it’s up to you to decide how much more water you would like cover.

    It’s typically either swinging streamers, skating foam flies, or sometimes nymphing. While some methods are more productive than others, we encourage the methods that are the most fun. Nothing beats catching char on foam flies skated across the surface – but the fish aren’t always in the mood for that. Other times, you can sight-fish for them with small streamers. And when you really need a pull, swinging a weighted streamer or fishing a nymph will usually get it done.

    Enough! While we have certainly seen our weeks of “silly numbers”, we are not at all into encouraging our anglers to hammer the water and land as many char as humanly possible. And you will never see us advertising weekly catch rates to fill more spots.

    Even if there are probably tens of thousands of char running the Eqalugsugssuit River, it is still a natural resource, and every fish landed – and released – represents pressure on this resource. On good days, you can easily catch fifteen or twenty char – on methods that provide you with a lot of fun and pleasure. There are ways to sometimes double that number, possibly even triple it. But why? It’s not a competition.

    Foam flies, streamers and nymphs. We provide a Pre Trip Planner with detailed information on flies.

    A nine-foot six weight, preferably with a fight butt is our go-to rod but a seven weight can be a nice alternative in windy conditions. It is a good idea to bring at least two rods, in the event that one breaks.
    While a single hand rod will cover all situations, it can also be great fun swinging streamers on a light spey rod.
    We fish full floating lines and sink tips. Leaders are 12-16 lbs (0,28-0,33 mm), occasionally lighter when nymphing.

    No. The Eqalugsugssuit River is under concession and it is not allowed for other anglers to visit.

    In certain spots it might make sense to wade in, but we fish in breathable waders mostly because it’s nice to be able to cross the river to reach all the spots. It’s super easy wading in water that is never more than knee-deep, and there is no need for a wading stick or special soles etc.

    We don’t have guides in the traditional sense. Our English speaking camp manager and camp assistant will be happy to help you get started and show you around, introducing you to the many different beats.
    While they are not there to tie your knots or unhook your fish, they will do what ever they can to help everyone have a great week.

    Nope, no Internet service at Camp North, and no cell service. Just a whole lot of peace and quiet.

    CAMP NORTH MOMENTS

    We have collected a selection of moments from the river to capture the feel and atmosphere of this magnificent place. Sit back and enjoy!

    P.S. You might get a head start in getting to know some of the spots.

    If you want to read more about the fishing at Camp North, check out our season reports:

    Camp North Season Report 2023

    Camp North Season Report 2022

    Waterfall Pool on the Upper River is very productive for obvious reasons: the fish struggle to swim up the waterfall and therefore stack up in massive numbers.

    Sirius, our long-time trusted partner in Greenland, is transferring guests between camp and the anchored passenger boat after a great week of fishing.

    Chair Pool on the upper river is one of our favorite runs for swinging streamers. Skating foam flies all the way across can be killer too.

    The insulated tents at Camp North offer standing height and a good night’s sleep on a comfortable field bed.

    The camp’s large steel frame tent, where breakfast and dinner are served, also acts as our social area for an after-fishing drink and stories from the river.

    Max, our enthusiastic camp assistant, is getting ready to assist with the net in Streamer Alley.

    Catching and releasing big sea-run char on colorful flies in gin-clear water — what’s not to like?

    Fresh char enter the river throughout the season. For a day or two before the fish move on and spread out across the river, this is what a drone view of a pool can look like!

    The view upstream from the camp: Kiddy Pool, just around the second bend, is the first big resting pool on the river.

    Camp North is our most remote camp and offers lots of wildlife sightings: white-tailed eagle, reindeer, Arctic fox, and the occasional musk ox, to name a few.

    The boat trip to the camp offers some spectacular views and is a great bonus to the piscatorial reasons to visit one of our camps.

    One of our regulars, Sebastian, with a fresh, silvery char from the tributary.