TROUT & SALMON IN BEAUTIFUL NORTHERN ICELAND

Fnjóská & Laxá in Aldadalur Rivers

We propose a trip to fly fish for salmon and trout in two of northern Iceland’s great rivers. In the Fnjóská River, our primary focus will be on the big salmon for which the river is reknowned. This great river is a delight to fish with a two hand rod. In addition to salmon it also produces good numbers of sea-run char and brown trout in appreciable sizes. During the second part of our trip we will be fishing the famous Laxá in Aldadalur River. Over the years this river became famous for its large msw salmon. In more recent years it has also shown itself to be one of the best rivers in Iceland for brown trout.

Located on the northern coast of Iceland, the Fnjóská River flows a total of  117 kilómetros from its source  at Sprengisandur to where it dumps into the north Atlantic Ocean bery close to Akureyri. In Icelandic terms it is a mid to large size salmon river. Generally it is best fished with a two hand rod although spin fishing is also allowed. Due to the low water temperatures in the main river it was originally known exclusively as a char river. However, in 1930 an English fishermen released salmon fry into one of the Fnjóská’s tributaries and the prospered. Since that time the river has sustained good runs of Atlantic salmon  in addition to sea-run char and brown trout. In 1938 a fish ladder was built to allow the salmon to surmount the Laufasfoss falls and thus colonize the upper river.

The first salmon usually begin to arrive in June. However, the best salmon fishing is usually had between mid-July and early September. These peak dates are sometimes pushed back even a bit later if mid-summer conditions are overly dry and low water levels impede the migrating fish from going up the fish ladder and arriving in the upper areas until later in the season.

In 2020, despite the reduced number of rods on the river throughout the season due to the COVID-19 travel restrictions, a total of 315 salmon and another 307 sea-run brown trout and char were reported to be caught. The salmon area of the river is linited to a total of 8 rods which are distributed throughout 4 different beats.

Pools in the upper sections of the river tend to be shorter and deeper as the rvier passes through narrows between rock croppings. Downriver os pozos en la parte alta del río tienden a ser más cortos y profundos obedeciendo a la orografía de la zona donde el río pasa por estrecheces entre las piedras. Río abajo a medida que se abre el valle,el Fnjóská se va ensanchando y los pozos tienden a ser más largos ofreciendo bonitos lances para los pescadores de cañas de dos manos.

Laxá in Aldadalur

The Laxá begins at the headwater lake, the world famous Myvatn, which literally translated means “Midge lake”. It is broken up into a number of sections as it flows down to the north Atlantic Ocean, the names of every one of them familiar to Icelandic trout fisherman: Laxá in Myvatnssveit, Laxá in Laxardalur, Laxá in Aldadalur. In its upper stretches the river is made up of islands, channels, runs and assorted wide bay-like mini lakes called “flóar”. 

Below the dam there are five smaller trout beats for one to three rods and they are named Presthvammur, Hraun, Stadartorfa, Mulatorfa and Arbot. Additonally below the area below the hidroeletric dam is the domain of the large msw salmon which have made the Big Laxá a household name among salmon fishermen. Although the upper beats are the more famous trout beats so to speak, the trout fishing on the lower beats can also be exceptional. This is where we will be fishing. Everywhere there is lush vegetation and a rich representation of bird life, including a wide variety of ducks. Among them “American” species Harlequin and Barrows Goldeneye which do not breed anywhere else in Europe, being natives on the North American continent.

The trout are of all sizes but apart from the stunning natural environment, the main attraction is the sizable average weight and the amazing fighting qualities of the brown trout. They are deep bodied and have a lot of water and a lot of strong current to help them out. Most of the time, anglers will be hooking and fighting 2 to 5 pound browns but 6-7 pounders are not uncommon at all and bigger fish are caught every season. The biggest browns here usually exceed 10 pounds and specimens of up to 13 pounds have been taken. Streamers seem to work best early on but very soon the big flies fade a little and weighted nymphs fished upstream with strike indicators take center stage. During the summer, warm sunny days may create perfect conditions for dry fly fishing and large fish may come to the surface for caddis or bibio imitations. As we head into September, good weather will continue to produce excellent dry fly fishing.  

During sunny days we may find large pods of trout in the 16 to 20+ inch range sipping down midges just feet from the river bank. These are large wily and very selective trout. The dilemma of fly fishermen will often be whether to go with lighter tippets and small midge imitations to fool them more easily but risk breaking, or to go with heavier tippet and larger flies. Generally it is not recommendable to go any lighter than a 4x tippet as  the first thing these fish will do when hooked is head for the nearest rock and wrap your leader around it. A delicate approach with long leaders can make all the difference towards success. Though at times, a big fly such as a Madam X on size 8 hook with a 2 or 3x tippet will also bring success. 

The area we will be fishing also offers very good posibilities of hooking up with large msw salmon. Here a two hand rod will be the instrument of choice to best cover the river. September is a great time to go after the large males which become more and more aggressive as the spawn approaches. Salmon in the 20+ lb range are quite common here. All in all the lower Big Laxá offers fly fishermen a great combination of trout and salmon fishing.