As many of the rivers across Iceland wind down we reflect on what has simply be one of the most fantastic seasons in the last decade, and even in September the runs have been strong. The Iceland fisheries department have declared 3,515 landed last week alone with the season so far reaching 43,488 salmon. Although the season started a couple of weeks late the prime time fished very well with strong runs well into August. Some rivers struggled a little for water in August, but after some rain many of the rivers were refreshed and the fishing hit incredible levels. As I predicted at the start of the season although we have seen a couple of poor seasons over the last five years these blips are not indicative of the Icelandic salmon stocks as a whole. We are now already looking forward to next season and we are already starting the booking process for next year. It is going to be busy, so if you are thinking of fishing in Iceland next season please book early to avoid disappointment. There has been a large influx of fishermen from Europe this season so demand will be high.
It has been very gratifying to see Langá bounce back in such a huge way. As one of our favorite rivers as it so easy to access the river is approaching 2,300 salmon. A Dutch group landed 67 salmon in two days fishing. Another angler landed an incredible fish of 83 cm that took a small Undertaker on a floating line on the hitch, and after an extraordinary battle was landed gently and released. He then went on to hook another monster further down the river but unfortunately it escaped. The upper part of the river has fished extremely well this year holding more fish than for many years.
After the heavy rain on the west coast the Laxa in Kjos came back into perfect water levels and the fishing began to fire again. The river has landed over 1,100 salmon at the moment currently. With one weeks left of the season the Laxa I Kjos is still fishing well, with over 140 salmon caught for the last 4 days. It goes to prove that if you are looking for back end fishing in Iceland this river is one you should consider. Laxa I Kjos has also had fantastic runs of large sea trout , with many landed in the 14-16 lbs range, mostly caught on nymphs.
The Laxa I Dolum has been the surprise on the west coast this year. A group fishing there a couple of weeks ago landed 140 salmon for 6 rods and the river has produced over 1100 salmon for the season with still 15 days to go. These catch statistics are a reflection on how the river is now being managed with few number of rods fishing it. This has really helped the fishing and if you are looking for a private river to have for an intact party next year Laxa I Dolum should be on your list.
The north coast has been an interesting one this year with some rivers having exceptional runs and some not so fantastic. The Svalbardsá is drawing to a close with just a week to go, and the current score is 742 salmon to 2-3 rods. There are no other rivers that can offer a private river to 2-3 rods with such impressive catch statistics of large multi sea winter fish and some of the tales we have heard of battles here have been truly epic.
Our other firm favourite for large salmon are the Nes beats on the Laxa I Adaldal. The picture above is one out of two salmon over 10 kg on Nes beat landed the other day yesterday. Elvar Magnusson is holding a 10.3 kg fish from Oddahylur pool. We don´t know for sure who is the owner of the finger….
The trout beats at Laxardal have continued to produce some massive trout over the course of the season. The average weight in the river valley was about 5.17 lbs and the lodge has recorded over 500 fish landed.
For more information on availability in Iceland or to book for the 2016 season please contact Peter McLeod and Alex Jardine or call our office on +44(0)1980 847389.