Fighting Iceland's Brown Trout and More – Boulder Daily Camera

The guides were waiting for us when our Icelandair flight from Reykjavik Regional Airport landed at Akureyri Airport in northern Iceland.

The guides, provided by Iceland Fishing Guide, would transport us to Arnes Lodge where we would check into our rooms and drop off our duffel bags full of gear. We would then put on our waders, grab our 6-weight dry fly rods and maybe a nymph rod and head out fishing for the “evening” shift which runs from about 4pm to 10pm. After fishing, we would return to the lodge for dinner and then go to bed while it was still light outside. That’s summer in Iceland.

The fishing schedule reminded me of a trip I took to Argentina where we fished in the morning, returned to the lodge for lunch, napped and fished late into the evening after which we returned for dinner.

We stopped for lunch in Akureyri and made a quick stop at the liquor store (the lodge does not provide alcohol) before the hour drive to the lodge.

At the lodge we quickly settled in, unpacked and assembled our fly rods, equipped ourselves with everything needed for fishing that evening and were assigned a guide.

Our guide, Valdimar Halldorsson, told Dale Coy and me that we would be fishing in the Presthrammur area of ​​the Laxa River. The last name “Vald” and the name of the area we would be fishing were my introduction to the world of long, hard to spell, and unpronounceable Icelandic words. He advised us to dress warmly because we would be wading in deep water. I took his advice and wore my long johns under my fleece pants. I also added a lightweight expedition fleece top under my shirt and took a jacket to leave in the truck in case we needed it.

It is difficult to describe the width of the Laxa in the Presthrammur area. The current was barely perceptible from the high bank where we had parked the truck. It was more like a lake. The area is renowned not only for Atlantic salmon fishing, but also for having one of the largest populations of brown trout in the country.

Our visit to Iceland was timed to have the opportunity to catch brown trout on dry flies, but we also had the opportunity to catch Atlantic salmon that had just returned from the rivers. For those willing to travel further north, to the Arctic Circle, there were chances to catch Arctic char and anadromous brown trout. I was drawn to this trip specifically to catch brown trout on dry flies, but I realized that nymphing and streamer techniques would also be productive.

Before going down to the river, Vladimar showed us a series of long sheets of glassy water in the river.

“That’s where the trout are,” he said. He pointed to a rock halfway down the river and said we could fish the slicks right up to the rock. I figured that rock was pretty far out there, and I gathered my fishing pole.

The river bottom was solid with occasional lava rocks as I waded toward the first slick. Vladimar suggested we start nymphing and switch to dry flies when we see trout rising. Dale caught and released the first trout using a modified European nymph setup. I stuck with a nymph rig with a bite indicator. I had not yet caught a trout when Vladimar approached me and pointed out a few rising trout. He suggested we try them out and switch my nymphs and bite indicator to the famous Icelandic dry fly known as the Galdralopp. It is tied on a #12 or #14 hook with a small 8mm diameter red foam cylinder attached to the bend of the hook. The body is black wool or Ice Dub with a brown palmer hackle. He said it is nothing in “nature” but the trout can't resist it. He was right. I caught a big 15 inch brown trout right away.

Before we finished fishing, Dale and I had to return to the truck to change into new clothes. Wading through the chest-deep Icelandic water was exhausting. By the time I yelled “enough,” I was shivering in a pre-hypothermia jig.

Before the end of the trip I fished the Laxa in the Adaldal (the big Laxa), Hraun Beat, the Myrarkvisl river and the Reykjadalsa. The Myrarkvisl and Reykjadalsa are smaller rivers with great nymphing and hatching opportunities for tiny chironomid midges and at times provided decent dry fly fishing.

There had been a historic late season snowstorm a few weeks before we arrived in Iceland. When the snow melted in the rivers it cooled them down and slowed the dry fly action a bit, but the nymph and streamer fishing was good every day.

Bird watching in Iceland helped fill in the few moments when fishing was slow. Many species of shorebirds were nesting while we were there. Arctic terns were quick to dive-bomb us to warn us not to nest.

Nick Conklin, the fly fishing category manager for Temple Fork Outfitters, who accompanied us on the trip to fish and demonstrate some of TFO's rods, said at the end of a particularly good day of fishing that it was unlikely any of us would reveal Iceland's fishing secrets because we couldn't spell or pronounce any of the river names.

That's probably true, but we'll all remember one or two special trout we've caught and released.

For more information, contact Iceland Fishing Guide (icelandfishingguide.com). This service is a family business founded in 2009 by Matthias Por Hakonarson (Matti). It is a full-service guide service that can help you plan your trip, provide you with fishing licenses and a qualified fly fishing guide. In addition, the service runs lodges where anglers can stay during their fishing trips.