Situated on Iceland’s west coast, the Hitará is one of the country’s most charming and historic salmon rivers, with a fishing heritage stretching back to the days when British anglers first began exploring Iceland’s remarkable salmon fishing. Despite its long-standing reputation, the Hitará remains something of a hidden gem, offering an intimate and wonderfully varied fishing experience over its 29km length. With just six rods sharing the entire main salmon river, there is an enormous amount of water to explore, and the river is particularly well suited to private groups looking for a more personal Icelandic salmon fishing experience.
The Hitará enjoyed an exceptional 2026 season, finishing with 838 salmon, an increase of approximately 57% on the previous year. Perhaps even more encouraging than the numbers was the quality of the fish, with a particularly good average size and a healthy proportion of larger multi-sea-winter salmon. The river has always had a reputation for producing some impressive fish, and the opportunity to encounter a substantial salmon on relatively light tackle is undoubtedly one of its greatest attractions. The combination of improved catches, larger fish and the sheer variety of water has once again demonstrated why the Hitará deserves its place among Iceland’s most appealing salmon rivers.
One of the great pleasures of fishing the Hitará is the constantly changing character of the river. Fast, boulder-strewn runs and intricate pocket water give way to long, smooth glides, deep holding pools and beautifully defined streams. Much of the fishing is wonderfully visual, with clear water often allowing anglers to spot salmon holding in the pools and, on occasion, watch them react to the fly. Small flies, hitch tubes and floating lines are particularly effective, while a single-handed rod or light switch rod is ideally suited to much of the water. It is a river that rewards thoughtful fishing, careful presentation and an understanding of how salmon lie and move through different types of water.
The upper reaches take on a wilder character, offering some particularly attractive fishing as salmon spread further upstream during July and August. In addition to the salmon, there are excellent opportunities to target Arctic char with some remarkably large char present in the system. Pools such as Langidráttur and Grettisstillur are particularly memorable, while the famous Breiðin, immediately below the lodge, provides one of the most extraordinary home pools in Iceland. With so much variety and only six anglers on the river, there is always somewhere different to explore, whether searching for newly arrived salmon or carefully working through a pool holding larger fish.
The lodge, Lundur, is undoubtedly one of the features that makes the Hitará so special. Built by Jóhannes, renowned for Reykjavík’s famous Hótel Borg, it occupies an extraordinary position on the rocky banks overlooking the Brúarfoss Falls and the magnificent Home Pool. Few fishing lodges can boast a setting quite like it, with anglers able to sit in the comfort of the lodge and watch salmon moving through the water immediately below. The atmosphere is relaxed and welcoming, with comfortable accommodation, excellent food and attentive service. The proximity of the fishing to the lodge, combined with the fact that only six rods share the river, creates a wonderfully private atmosphere, making it particularly attractive for an intact group of friends.
As with many of Iceland’s established salmon rivers, prime weeks on the Hitará are often retained by the same groups year after year, and opportunities to secure an entire rotation are relatively unusual. Following the excellent 2026 season, we have some attractive options available for 2027, including:
29 July – 1 August: 3 rods – £8,900 per rod (Hosted by Peter McLeod)
1 – 4 August: 3 rods – £6,400 per rod (Hosted by Olly Thompson)
Both dates offer the opportunity to fish the Hitará during an excellent period of the season, when salmon should be well distributed throughout the river and there is a genuine chance of encountering some of its larger multi-sea-winter fish.
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.
