The DIY fly angler is likely to find Iceland to be a frustrating destination to organize a fishing holiday. The fishing beats are mostly on private land controlled by fishing clubs or professional outfitters, through which a destination fishing package is booked. Some arrangements can be made to book rod fees only, but many packages are all inclusive of rod fees, guiding and accommodation.
The fishing license comes with the purchase of a rod fee that entitles the angler to fish a designated stretch of water, called a beat. These fishing sessions are for six hours in the morning with a lunch break, followed by another six hours in the afternoon, which makes for a long day. But the expense and effort is more than compensated by the reward of landing world-class, native Icelandic brown trout!
Brown trout on the Laxá River
We split our excursion into a four-day stint on the Laxá in Laxádarlur in self-catered accommodation with no guide, although two of our party had fished these waters before and became guiding surrogates. The beats consisted of seven different sections that accommodated two rods on each. So, we alternated in angling pairs between the various beats over the course of the seven fishing sessions, beginning at 7am for six hours, with a three-hour break before resuming at 4pm for another six hours.
This was followed by a second, four-day stint on the the Laxá in Myvatnsveit section, where we were accommodated in a rustic lodge and had expert local guiding support from Ísak V. The lodge provided three hearty meals each day, a heated mud room for drying waders and boots overnight and a hot tub for a relaxing soak following a long day of fishing. The number of beats was even more extensive, and in certain cases accommodated up to three rods per session. The morning session began at a more civilized 8am, with a two-hour break for lunch before embarking on the second session at 4pm.
Our arsenal of fly rods comprised a 4wt for tossing dries, a 5wt for nymphs and a 6wt or 7wt for streamers. For the stouter rods we utilized shorter leaders of 1x diameter (14 pounds breaking strength), and 9ft 3/4x leaders for the dries and nymphs. When fishing dries a sink paste (called mud) was used to camouflage the tippet and the fly line was dressed with flotant to keep it high on the surface.
Colder temperatures and winds dampened the dry fly fishing on this trip - there were few instances of fish rising to aquatic insect hatches. On the occasion that the fish were feeding on the surface, it made for exciting hookups. The most productive dries were caddis patterns, black sedges and a bibio hopper that mimics a local heather fly. This latter dry fly was a favorite amongst our angling group.
Gearing up for fishing on the Laxá River
The tendency was to defer to a tandem of size 12 to 16 nymphs fished under an indicator with the 5 wt rod. Usually, the tandem comprised a silver bodied or silver bead head nymph as the dropper (such as a hare’s ear) and a heavier bead head pheasant tail as the point fly (such as a flashback pattern). The takes on this rig were fairly dramatic, but if the strike was a split second delayed, those fish would be gone. Most of the hookups were on the trailing pheasant tail and the resulting battle and acrobatics seemed to last forever.
In the absence of viable dry fly fishing, I opted to fish streamers, which is not my usual approach on my home waters. This added a higher degree of difficulty because I am not very practiced at an effective strip set. Thankfully, the strikes were solid enough to trigger a reactionary set and I was able to hook up on my share of trout. In fact, about half of my catch came from fishing streamers – the most productive being an olive bead head Wooly Bugger, an olive Bunny Muddler and a green fish skull Zonker. A deadly Sunray Shadow salmon fly supplied by our guide, Ísak, was responsible for 24” and 25.5” monsters on consecutive afternoon sessions.
Big brown trout on the Laxà River
The brown trout fishing on the Big Laxá was epic and exceeded expectations. Most fish caught over the course of the week were in the 14” to 18” range, and close to a dozen were above 20”. Regardless of size, the ferocity of these fish when hooked up was by far the most impressive of any trout species I have experienced. Fish lost outnumbered those in the net by a big multiple and any compromised tackle gave the fish an advantage they willingly accepted. In fact, three fly rods among anglers in our Laxá in Myvatnsveit lodge were shattered while in action, including my coveted 5wt Orvis Helios H2, which was transformed from a 4-piece to a 6-piece by a sizeable trout that was inches from the landing net.
Fishing tales do not get much better than that!
Note: I am not being compensated for my mention of trout guide, Martin Cottis. I am simply a happy client. You can learn more about his guiding services on his website.
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