The usual pre-trip excitement and shopping spree was somewhat bittersweet on this occasion. Our initial destination, Norway’s Gaula River, had been closed as one of 33 rivers across the country in an unprecedented move by the government to protect salmon stocks due to a low initial run of fish. Some furious last-minute planning and a few favours called in, saw my group and I boarding a plane in the other direction and heading to Iceland. Our destination, the Stora Laxa on the south coast.
The river has undergone some substantial changes in recent years with a view to improving the river and protecting its unique salmon run. All four river beats are now run under a single long term lease holder; Beats 1 to 3 are fished in one rotation from a beautiful lodge that has only just been completed for six anglers. Beat 4 remains a standalone venue for four rods as it is a much more physically demanding option that does not suit all. Beat 4 also has a new and upgraded lodge that is usually taken on a self-service basis.
The fishing on the river is mainly about the quality of salmon rather than the quantity. It sees strong runs of two-sea wintered salmon with a genuine chance of catching fish over 100cm/20lb+.
Arriving in Iceland, the group and I were greeted with strong winds and driving rain. As we were driven to Selfoss, the minibus was constantly pushed and pulled by the wind. A quick lunch stop and then onto the lodge, the weather was calm, overcast and mild.
We were greeted by head guide Hrafn, hostess Isabella and our chef for the week Hildur, and shown to our rooms. It was time to start raiding the bags and setting up for the afternoon session. I opted for my Guideline LXI 11’6” #8/9 switch outfit with full floating line and smallish Sunray Shadow.
Pairing up, I joined John and guide Brynjar to head up to Beat 3. Wow, what a wonderful place to start. We parked up and walk along the foot of a cliff face into a stunning canyon pool called Katlar. John dropped into the main pool whilst I headed a bit upstream to fish a couple of holes in the fast water.
Brynjar spotted several fish in the pool in different locations, and a couple more made themselves known by jumping one or two in running fish areas. This really got the juices flowing. Our first runs down, though, proved fruitless. We then dropped down to pools Iða and Heljarþrem to see if we could encounter any running fish.
There were no signs of fish despite the pools looking great, so we decided to head back to Katlar where we knew fish were. Again, we got little action on various small and light weight options. The weather was closing in somewhat now, with that sticky moorland rain and a stiff breeze that cools you to the core.
We were approaching the end of the session, so I thought I’d try a black and orange conehead Francis to provoke a reaction. John and Brynjar had headed back to the car to get out of the weather. This time, rather than fishing the whole pool down, I hopped in around 10 paces above the area we’d seen the most active fish. 10 casts later, I got tap tap tap and everything locked tight. We were on! Suddenly line was ripping off and flashes of silver and blue marked the sign of a really fresh salmon. A couple of great cartwheeling leaps increased the heart rate further. Upon the second leap I could feel the line wrapped on the fish, a few moments later it sorted itself only for the fish to part ways soon after… heartbreak, but fantastic in equal measure.
Back at the lodge that evening, as we tucked into a beautifully prepared dinner, we traded stories of our first look at the river. David led the way with a grilse landed on beat 2 but otherwise it was a story of fish seen but nothing much more.
Morning came round quickly, and despite feeling a little sluggish the prospect of fishing (and caffeine) had that feeling short-lived. This time, John, Brynjar and I were heading upriver to Beat 2 – one that I think we all agreed was our favourite by the end of the stay. Our first stop was the pool of Bergsnös, one of the best pools on the river so far this season. A sweeping bend with easy gravel dropping away to a deep cliff edge. A couple fish showed themselves but our first efforts there, and a small, unmarked pool above, proved unsuccessful.
Hopping back into the car, we drove up into the hills and parked on a bluff overlooking the river. From here, there was a pathway and two stair sets leading down to a long pool. The high vantage point made for a spectacular view of the river, and the crystal-clear water made your eyes scan for any sign of a fish. John started on the main pool, Khálfhagahylur, and I went a little higher to try my luck in a smaller pool called Illaker. The top of the little pool was challenging with a large back eddy but the swing got better as you got further down.
The first run down with a sunray showed little sign of any life in the pool, but it was deep and felt like there should be fish there. Giving the water a little rest and changing back to the conehead Francis from the night before I began a second run through the pool. For a brief moment the sun appeared, and my line locked up mid-river. The fish fought hard but luckily stayed in the pool. Flashes of silver as it twisted and turned in the current. Brynjar slid the net under a beautiful 76cm (9lb) salmon and my Stora Laxa account was open. Within moments the fish zipped off strongly back to continue its important journey.
With no further action in the pools, we opted to return to Bergsnös where we knew there were fish holding. John, this time, opting to try a conehead Willie Gunn. It proved to be a fine choice as he hooked up just off a rocky outcrop. A hard battle and two attempts at netting brought about our second fish of the session, and a stunning one at that. An 84cm (15lb) female salmon. A quick couple of snaps and off she swam back to the river. It was definitely time for a celebratory lunch.
There was a little action amongst others in the group, a couple of fish lost and Jim landing a grilse from a newly discover pool… known for now as Jim’s Hole on Beat 1.
The afternoon session I decided to switch up and head back to Beat 3, this time with David, Jim and Sindri. First stop was back to the main canyon holding pool of Katlar. Knowing that fish were here Jim and David cover the water with several different flies. On the second run down, Jim changed to a small red Francis, this brought about immediate excitement as a fish splashed at it and then hit it right in the zone where the salmon were. Midway through a strong tussle, the flashes of brownie gold indicated it was not a salmon… possibly a big Arctic char. As it hit the net, we were left to admire a beautifully marked 4lb brown trout – a rare capture here.
The Red Francis now completed destroy was exchanged now for a small conehead rubber legged sunray. Jim continued down the pool, there was little action through the main section where we had seen fish until we reach a little rock protruding from the far bank. From my elevated position on the bank, I saw a fish porpoise on the fly as it came round. I watched the line, waiting for it to pull tight but it didn’t. Several more casts were made but the fish never reappeared.
From here, we hopped back in the car and drove the long way round to the lower pools on the beat. Stopping for an important riverside wine break, Jim and David then fished down pools Stapi and Sveinsskar, but there was little sign of any more salmon action for us that evening. Returning to the lodge, it seemed that there was a bit more action for all; Seth had landed a grilse and Simon had lost a good fish on beat 2, and John had taken two more cracking fish of 12 and 15lb on Beat 1 indicating that new fish were moving in.
We were now just over halfway through the trip on Stora Laxa, for the morning session I joined Seth and Simon along with their guide Thórólfur on Beat 1. This was my first look at the lowest section of the river, whilst it is not as picturesque it is a very intriguing stretch of river. It is a maze of braided shingle channels that must change from year to year. Primarily a running fish beat, it really is a case of being in the right place at the right time.
We started on Stuđlastrengir and Laxárholt, working the deeper water under the high banks, but there was not much activity. We moved just downstream to the new pool of Jim’s Hole. Seth, fishing down first, had a salmon boil at the sunray close to our bank that then came back and slammed the fly. A beautiful sea liced 72cm cock salmon.
Simon, fishing with a small conehead, continued down the pool with the added pressure of three of us offering constant advice. Lower down the pool, we all saw the line begin to pull back early in the swing. Simon reacted with a half lift of the rod tip and the fish was gone. Turning back to us, he appealed “it was only a little lift!”.
From here, Thor drove us down to Stekkjarnef which is one of the lowest pools and the first main stopping place upstream of the river mouth into the large glacial river Hvitá. A long sweeping pool requiring long casts to cover the deeper channel along the far bank. Simon hooked up first, lower down in the pool on a sunray. A beautiful large fish ran and gave fantastic jumps. During one jump, the fly suddenly pinged out of the fish’s mouth as Simon’s run of bad luck continued. Shortly after, Seth was covering a similar area and hooked up again, this time on a red francis. It was another frantic fight, with striking flashes of electric silver through the water as a sea liced cock grilse came to the net.
With 15 minutes of the session left, we returned to Jim’s Hole. This time though it didn’t provide any further action, although I was momentarily captivated by several good sized Arctic char rising in the shallows… maybe on another day with a different rod!
That afternoon I returned to Beat 2 with John and Brynjar. The joy with the three-day rotation across three beats means that you get to cover each beat twice during your stay. This gives you a chance to revisit pools with unfinished business or do a little more exploring. For the first half of the session, we returned to pools we had fished; Bergsnös, Illaker and Khálfhagahylur. I frustratingly dropped a grilse on Illaker on a small conehead sunray.
The second half of the session was a chance to explore some new areas. Firstly, a stunning shallow pool littered with boulders as it swung under a cliff called Ófærustrengur. Despite its beauty, we were unable to locate any fish on this occasion.
From here, Brynjar dropped me off just below Bergsnös, where he and John returned, in order to do an interesting water-covering walk of about 2km back to the lodge. This is a style of fishing I really enjoy, particular for early season running fish when you just need to find the spot where they are taking a breather. Less enjoyable though was the need to every so often helicopter the rod above my head to ward off protective Arctic terns from attack – a small price to pay though.
For the walk, I stuck with the conehead sunray that had work earlier and worked my way at relative pace through the pools of Fjósahvammur and Ytri hvammur. Whilst they were only small pools, it was easy to see why the salmon might stop in them. Upon reaching Gvendardráttur, a pool that extends past a high clifftop, three midstream boulders could be seen breaking water offering an obvious holding lie.
Fishing down, it was hard not to race straight down to the inviting rocks. With each cast I moved a metre closer. Sure enough, I swung my fly about a rod length above the rocks. As the fly reached the middle of the river, the surface exploded. A small, yet strong and feisty grilse gave a good account of itself in the pacy water before coming to hand. Another quick run down over the same stretch proved ineffective, and on I continued towards the lodge.
Next stops were Hólkotseyrar and Launfit, small shingle bottomed pools. They were lovely to fish but I didn’t have a feeling that there were fish holding in them. Next, and final stop, was Skarđsstrengir. Now this was a pool I thought would hold a fish or two. Several deep holes were separated by thin veins of bedrock with plenty of holding areas off the main flow. Numerous casts though brought about no interest and my journey back to the lodge was complete.
On my return there was joy at the fact Simon had finally landed a fish, Jim a further two grilse and David a stunning fresh-run 18lb salmon on Beat 1. That evening we celebrated with a few drinks with the guide team.
In a flash, the final morning session had come around. John and I were assigned to Beat 1 for our final few hours on the Stora Laxa. It was my first time fishing the beat but I had got to grips with the pools when with Seth and Simon the day previous. John kicked us off with a grilse from Stuđlastrengir. We then continued through Laxáholt and Brúarhylur with little sign of a fish. I then had a quick run through Brúarbreida where I had seen a fish jump the day before, despite no action, I did stumble across a lone ptarmigan grouse sheltering amongst the lupins.
Next stop was Gunnbjarnarhylur, the location of David’s fantastic catch the previous night. It was a lovely continuous run stretching along a high bank. Towards the lower end I saw a fish jump as I work my way down, I covered the area hard but with no luck. John followed, and upon reaching the spot, marked by a small cluster of lupins, he hooked up momentarily to another grilse only for it to part ways early on.
Onto Stekkjarnef where the wind was problematic, and I upgraded to my 14’ #10 weight to help counter it but to no avail. There was just enough time for one last run through Jim’s Hole before the end of the trip. I had a short bit of excitement as a brown trout hit the fly at the end of the swing, more or less marking the end of the trip with a final fish.
At the end of the three days, we finished on 18 salmon and a couple of trout to the six of us. A fantastic outcome given the last minute switch from Norway. It was a joy to fish the river, and whilst the numbers of salmon landed may not be quite as impressive as other rives in Iceland, the quality of the fish certainly does. Also, the wonderful lodge, house team and delicious food make it a must for a return visit.
For more information about the Stora Laxa and other fishing in Iceland please do not hesitate to contact Peter McLeod or Alex Jardine or call our office on +44(0)1980 847389.