GREENLAND – FLY FISHING THE LEAST-DENSELY POPULATED REGION IN THE WORLD
Yellow Dog is thrilled to announce the launch of our all-new Greenland fly fishing program. We have partnered with two of the most sought-after operations in the region for some of the world's finest Arctic char fly fishing opportunities:
Erfalik Lodge - One of the more unique and adventerous programs that we offer at Yellow Dog Flyfishing, fly fishing in Greenland is ideal for people that love rugged, off-the-grid, semi-demanding locations and the chance to catch some of the strongest, most beautiful sea-run fish found anywhere in the world. Erfalik Lodge differs from other locations and camp operations in Greenland in that this is a full-service, high-end lodge operation. Great fishing and access to miles of productive waters are coupled with warm and comfortable accommodations, great amenities, delicious food, and one of the most incredible settings in the entire country of Greenland. It takes a bit of time to travel to Greenland and to make it to the lodge, but the time and effort is worth it!
Greenland is one of the biggest places in the world, and yet very little about this fascinating country is known to the outside world. Greenland is actually the world’s biggest island – by area – that is not a continent, with a total area of almost 835,000 square miles. More than 80 percent of the country’s land mass is covered by a year-round ice cap, with the ice-free coastal areas of Greenland definitely in the minority. Collectively, however, these smaller ice and snow-free areas are still around the size of Sweden. With a population of only 57,000 people, Greenland is one of the least-densely populated countries in the world. There are no roads or railway systems that connect the country’s few towns and to one another. While there are of course roads within the towns, they abruptly end at the outskirts. All travel between towns is done by plane, boat, helicopter, snowmobile, or dogsled.
Although Greenland is geographically a part of the North American continent, it has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for more than a millennium, and even today Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark. While in 1979 Greenland was granted home rule and the opportunity to establish their own political system, the two countries remain extremely close and very much linked when it comes to trade, supplies, culture, and travel. Since most of Greenland is covered in ice, snow and glaciers, the Arctic nation is mostly white. It actually got its misleading name from Norse explorer Erik the Red – a famous Viking and notorious murderer who was exiled to the island from Iceland in the late 900s. He called it “Greenland” in the hopes that the name would attract future settlers.
For the past several decades, a small number of Danish fishermen have been fishing the coastal rivers of Western Greenland during the short summer season for sea-run arctic char. Almost every river on the world’s biggest island holds good numbers of char from late June through September, and anglers “in the know” would make the trip to catch large char in impressive numbers. Greenland became known as a fishing mecca for the Danes (and their Scandinavian neighbours in Sweden and Norway) during the 1970s and 1980s, although at the time there was very little in the way of fishing infrastructure. Most anglers struggled with transportation logistics and – when they could finally reach the rivers – dealt with basic and rustic camping conditions. Subsequently, the 1990s, interest in traveling to Greenland to fish remote rivers began to drop in the Scandinavian market. Around 2010, our outfitting partners began work on new camps and programs, and today their developed offerings and exclusive fishing concessions have become the standard for great fly fishing in Greenland. Through our outfitting partners, Yellow Dog is excited to offer these amazing fisheries to the world, and we believe strongly that Greenland offers an exciting, adventurous, and totally unique new frontier for the traveling angler.
