Iceland

Overview

Iceland offers an Atlantic salmon and Arctic char fishing experience that exists in a class entirely its own, combining some of the most productive salmon rivers in the world with a volcanic landscape of otherworldly beauty that makes every day on the water feel like an expedition to another planet. The island's roughly eighty salmon rivers, fed by glacial melt, springs, and rainfall draining through ancient lava fields, produce remarkably consistent runs of Atlantic salmon that have been managed with care and discipline for centuries. The rod-rotation beat system that governs most Icelandic salmon rivers ensures that each angler has exclusive access to a defined stretch of water for a set period, eliminating the crowding that plagues salmon rivers elsewhere and creating an intimate, unhurried fishing experience.

The salmon fishing in Iceland is characterized by clear, relatively small rivers where the fish can often be seen holding in pools, making it possible to target individual salmon with specific fly presentations. The rivers of the west and north, including legendary names like the Laxa in Adaldal, Nordura, and Midfjardara, produce multi-sea-winter salmon that average eight to fifteen pounds, with fish over twenty pounds a realistic possibility on the best rivers. The hitching technique, in which a riffle-hitched fly is skated across the surface film, is a uniquely Icelandic method that produces spectacular surface takes from salmon that would refuse a traditionally swung fly.

Arctic char fishing provides an equally compelling reason to visit Iceland. Highland lakes and rivers throughout the interior hold abundant populations of Arctic char that range from half-pound stream fish to lake-dwelling specimens exceeding ten pounds. The char fishing is often best in areas that are overlooked by salmon anglers, making it possible to enjoy outstanding sport with these beautifully colored fish in complete solitude. Many anglers combine a salmon beat with char fishing to create a varied and rewarding itinerary.

The Icelandic salmon season runs from mid-June through mid-September, with the exact timing varying by river and region. The best salmon fishing on most rivers occurs in July and early August. Arctic char fishing extends later into the autumn on many waters. The midnight sun provides nearly twenty-four hours of fishable light during peak season, and many of the finest takes occur in the golden hours of the Icelandic evening when the sun hangs low on the horizon and the volcanic landscape glows with an ethereal quality that exists nowhere else.