The Jølstra is a river in

Sunnfjord Municipality Sunnfjord is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sunnfjord. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Førde. Other villages in the municipality include Naustdal, Sande, V ...

Vestland Vestland is a county in Norway established on 1 January 2020. The county is located in Western Norway and it is centred around the city of Bergen, Norway's second largest city. The administrative centre of the county is the city of Bergen, where t ...

county,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. The long river flows from the lake of Jølstravatnet (at an elevation of above sea level) down to the Førdefjorden (which is at sea level). The river begins at the village of

Vassenden Vassenden is a village in Sunnfjord Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located along the river Jølstra on the western shore of the lake Jølstravatnet, and about north of the lake Holsavatnet. The village has a population (2019) ...

, on the shores of the lake, it then goes past the village of

Langhaugane Langhaugane is a village along the river Jølstra in Sunnfjord Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located along the European route E39 highway, about west of the village of Vassenden, near the western end of the lake Jølstravatnet. ...

, then past the

Moskog Moskog is a small forested area in the municipality of Sunnfjord in Vestland county, Norway. It's located along the river Jølstra, just northwest of the lake Holsavatnet Holsavatnet is a lake which lies in the municipality of Sunnfjord in Vestl ...

area of Førde, past the village of

Bruland Bruland is a farming village located about east of the town of Førde in the municipality of Sunnfjord in Vestland county, Norway. The population (2001) of Bruland was 212. It is located just south of the river Jølstra, along the European rou ...

, and it finally flows to its mouth at the town of

Førde Førde is a former municipality in the county of Sogn og Fjordane, Norway. It was located in the traditional district of Sunnfjord. The administrative center was the town of Førde which in 2016 had 10,255 inhabitants. Other villages in Førde ...

, on the shores of the fjord. There are four hydroelectric power stations in the river. The average rate of flow in Jølstra is given as , measured at Høgset over the period from 1993 to 2011. The highest recorded flow rate during this period was , while the lowest recorded flow rate was . Lake Jølstra

Fishing

The lower sections of the Jølstra are rich in

salmon Salmon () is the common name for several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family (biology), family Salmonidae, which are native to tributary, tributaries of the ...

and sea trout. Although the salmon species have been protected by law since 1992, the authorities open the river for

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

for a brief period every year. The fishing window usually begins in mid-July of each year and lasts until the end of August. There are also natural barriers to fishing on the Jølstra. The river is a fast flowing one, so fishing is not safe or suitable everywhere. One of the best fishing areas on the river is where the waters from the lake Jølstravatnet flow out into it.

References

Sunnfjord Rivers of Vestland Rivers of Norway {{Norway-river-stub