After paying for a trip in 2019, our group was finally able to travel to Iceland for a long-delayed trip.
Iceland is an interesting country to visit. The total population is only 370,000 with 2/3 living in and around Reykjavik. Reykjavik is a very modern city that caters to many international conferences. The residents all speak English and are very accommodative to tourists. Iceland also has a glacier in the south-central part of the nation and an active volcano.
Our trip involved driving to the Myrarkvisl Lodge near Akureyri, in blizzard conditions – a story in itself. The lodge is very comfortable with all modern conveniences and excellent food.
Guides Gilbert and Daniel (both from Sweden) were excellent in finding fish and providing an excellent experience. We were able to fish 4 rivers during our stay with varying degrees of successThe resident brown trout provided fine fishing on the days we targeted them. Our catch was typically 5-10 decent trout in a day. We were less successful targeting the sea trout (sea run brown trout) and migratory arctic char. May is a bit early for the best trout fishing, we intend to target June in the future. July and August mark the runs of Atlantic Salmon, the lodges normally fill during this period.
Iceland fishing normally involves more colorful flies than are popular in other parts of the world. The most successful nymph was the Blowtorch. Montana guides would laugh me off the river, if I ever tried to catch a brown trout on their rivers with a “British Columbia salmon fly”. The trout also bit San Juan Worms and a array of Pheasant Tails and Prince nymphs if they had some color to them. The favorite streamer was the Black Ghost, but the fish also bit wooly buggers and even a Mickey Finn.
Most fishing was done with 5WT and 6WT gear.
In Iceland, you never have to worry about putting your back cast in a tree, as pictures will show.
The cost of the trip was $3100 for 5 nights at the lodge and 4 days guided fishing. The fishing is set up in segments of 8:00AM – 1:00 PM and 4:00 PM – 10:00PM (or until we quit). Almost all the water is privately owned, with the lodges or individuals purchasing fishing rights.
Daily flights from Kennedy International arrive at Keflavik International Airport (30 miles from Reykjavik). Domestic flights travel from Reykjavik to Akureyri or other destinations.
If you travel to Iceland, be prepared for wet, cold weather. Most days were in the 40’s and 50’s.
Some of our fishing was north of the Arctic Circle. During May there was only about 4 hours of twilight each night.
We found excellent dining in Iceland, but as a caution – Don’t Eat the Hakarl!!! (fermented Greenland shark). Icelanders love it, but it has a very strong ammonia odor.
Tight lines,
Al