The last week in Iceland has been interesting to say the least. After the rain the previous week the sky cleared to be replaced with some stunning summer weather. Sadly, this is not ideal for salmon fishing which made going a bit slow. After some light rain at the weekend the temperatures have plummeted with northerly winds dropping temperatures to 2° C and highs of 10° C – from one extreme to another! The runs of fish have continued to be strong though with most rivers reporting fish coming in on every tide. We are just seeing a turn in the last few days with overcast skies which should help considerably. Heavy rain is forecast across the country on Wednesday which should stir things up a bit.
The Laxa I Kjos was wonderful as always and my team last week had a huge amount of fun. Although the bright conditions hampered us a little we still picked up a few fish on every shift, including some specimens and some wonderful stories. There are fish in numbers right the way through the system with the largest fish of the week going to Jane Hall in the upper canyon at 93cm on a size 18 hitched tube fly! The Meadows has good number of sea trout in at the moment, and we tempted a few up to 80cm (10lbs) on dry fly and nymphs. As always we were looked after very well by the guide team and the lodge staff with some fabulous food.
The Midfjardara is fishing very steadily and producing 30 – 35 fish per day. The bright conditions dropped that to approximately 16 – 18 fish, but as soon as it became overcast these numbers rose steadily. The Midfjardara did receive a large amount of rain though which has put the water levels up nicely and will keep the river in good condition into August. The river has now hit over 800 fish landed this season.
The Langá has been fishing very consistently and has just hit 425 salmon for the season. There has been a strong run come into Langá in the last few days with over 200 fish coming through the counter Skuggafoss in the last 24 hours. This could mean as many as 300 – 400 salmon have entered the river as not all salmon go up the counter. Langá too has been affected by the bright conditions though making fishing tough with the very top and the bottom of the river being particularly challenging. When conditions change it looks like the river will fire on all cylinders.
The Nordurá has shown a big improvement over the last couple of weeks with numbers we have been hoping for showing up. The river currently stands at 645 fish and approximately 800 fish have now gone through the counter at Glanni Falls.
West Rangá so far this season has produced just under 900 salmon which compares to 330 fish landed at the same time last year. This year they are definitely in for an improvement. At the moment the river is producing 30-40 fish every day and we expect this daily number to increase when we come into August as this month is normally were the West Ranga really starts to deliver. The river always runs gin clear water even after heavy rain which is a huge benefit.
Now that we can travel to Iceland this summer without the quarantine restriction on our return into England and travel insurance is now valid there are still some prime space available where some cant travel. Please click HERE to check availability and reduced prices and HERE for a vdeo.
For more details on going to Iceland this summer or to discuss the different rivers please do not hesitate to contact Peter McLeod or call our office on +44(0)1980 847389.