After one of the driest summers in Iceland in living memory, the rains finally arrived right at the end of August. The drop in temperature and proper water has stirred up all the fish and as many of the cock fish begin to jostle for position we are seeing some crocodiles being caught. Although it has been a frustrating season for many, the good news is that there are still good numbers of fish trying to run these rivers to start the spawning cycle once again. Lack of fish has not been the issue this season, just an inability to actually run the rivers.
Those at the backend of the season are making the most of it with catches of 34 fish in a day recorded on Laxa I Dolum and 40 fish in a day on Laxa I Kjos. Although many of these fish are colouring up into their Autumn spawning colours there are still fresh fish running in on the East coast with some cracking specimens coming off Hafralonsa. Midfjardará too has been seeing increased activity with some monsters from the canyon section and some much better numbers finally appearing on Langa.
As the rivers slowly wind down this month and another season draws to a close we normally reflect on how it has gone. It has been a very strange year. No water on the west coast, almost too much on the east coast. The north and south have fared reasonably well with the West Ranga hitting good numbers of fish as always and the north coast on Adaldal producing some really big fish. As always our salmon fishing clients have remained remarkably philosophical as sadly nature is out of our control and we often ponder at the complexity of the conditions.
I think the most important thing to consider is that fish stocks are in good shape and hopefully the conditions we experienced are extraordinary. As always in an extraordinary season a huge amount is learnt. When fishing is tough guides and anglers alike step up and think outside the box to produce fish and this year was no exception. Totally different tactics were called for and many of our fishermen embraced upstream nymph fishing after they saw how effective it could be.
As we move into the Autumn time the leases will be renegotiated, prices set and first right of refusal to all this years anglers is checked. We look forward to a ‘normal season’ next year as many of our anglers have already said they wish to return. If you are thinking about travelling to Iceland then please contact us now so that we can respond as soon as we have the availability. Despite a tough season space in Iceland is always at a premium as most go for their regular weeks.
For more details on fishing in Iceland please do not hesitate to contact Peter McLeod or Alex Jardine or call our office on +44(0)1980 847389.