Hooked on Iceland

I teetered on the rock, good balance upset every now and then by a bit of extra current from the falls above, making me waiver and check myself. There was a rock about six feet in front of me off to my left, and from there to the other side of the river, dozens of salmon lay in a foot or two of water. Occasionally one would jump or roll, just like a Test trout on a big mayfly day. I knew how many fish there were, how big and vaguely where they were because the water was as clear as Icelandic vodka and my fishing partner was still sitting on a cliff above watching the proceedings.  We knew the routine because this was something we had been doing for years.

From the cliff, especially if the light is right, we can see if there are salmon and know if it is worth going down to have a go. They are fresh fish, the majority are likely to have arrived that day, sea-liced and apparently easy to catch, but as is so typical of Iceland, the challenge is to get them to take. Of course techniques vary depending on the pool but when one is dealing with lots of fish one usually starts light and small. That often means the riffled hitch, which these days means a plastic tube about 1cm long with a few hairs in patterns like Hairy Mary, Arndilly Fancy, Blue Charm or Stoat’s Tail, but really the pattern is for the fisherman not the fish. The real key is the hole in the side of the fly through which one’s 10lbs Maxima goes before being attached to a needle sharp No 14 silver treble. Stringing the fly through the hole in the side makes the fly ride at an angle, that angle makes it skate, the skating creates an oily ‘V’ on the surface (the thinner the tube the oiler the ‘V’) and the oily ‘V’ drives the salmon crazy. Such a technique can be very, very effective if one gets one’s angle, thus speed, right. Not today.

The next technique is to try various wet fly patterns, which can be anything, but the classics are the Madeleine (tiny silver treble with three of four black hairs), Blue Charm, Green Butt or Arndilly Fancy – most important is the size, when I say small I mean small, 16s and 14s to start, sometimes smaller. In this particular case, I was fishing in a highly technical situation. The fish range from closer than the end of my 12ft rod to across the river and level with me to about four metres downriver. This is close-up stuff. If I cast and hold the rod at the traditional 90 degree angle I miss most of the fish, so I need to cast very gently and point the rod upriver or directly pointing across the river so that the line and leader and fly swing properly with some speed. If I move the rod downstream, the momentum of the swing goes. Normally one keeps changing flies, trying them with different angles and speeds. 

One also tries another wonderful Icelandic technique with a cone-head tube but the cone head is about 2mm and the fly in total is about 5mm with the hook often bigger than the fly. If fished right the cone head can sink and draw like a nymph which can be deadly. This is one of the most exciting and interesting techniques. When the takes come, they can be very soft and one has to have the patience of Job to let the fish turn, or they can be violent, which when 12 feet away can make you jump and yes, I admit it, strike in surprise from time to time. There is a knack because if one waits too long one can miss the fish because it is a slow swing and it is not like the fish is travelling any great distance back to its lie; it is in a little over a foot of water and has likely only moved a foot to take the fly. It is, unquestionably, the most intimate salmon fishing one might ever do. Once you have experienced Icelandic salmon fishing as it should be, you will rarely look back. To be fishing for salmon almost on the end of your rod in clear water is truly gripping and challenging. They may not be big but neither is your tackle with single-handers or light six or 7 weight double-handers recommend, the fish are wonderfully powerful and determined.

On that day, the majority of classic methods did not work. The ultimate, a swiftly-fished skated collie tube as a last resort had not been used because it can really disturb the fish. I was frustrated because there were plenty of fish there and I had not spooked them. A few years back I had seen salmon in this river in another pool seemingly taking light-coloured moths off the surface. For experimental reasons I kept a sandy-coloured muddler in my box and tried it without success that day. I decided to skate it hitched with pretty much no response. I unhitched it to try it wet, same result. As I am standing in the same place, I tend to make enough casts to cover the water and then redo certain spots that I feel should get a reaction because I know there are fish there. Suddenly a big aggressive take, the fish was about 10lbs and screamed up in to the falls pool and then roared out of the tail, down the big rush, into the maelstrom of white water and off. Gone. That had been a lot of presentation for about 30 seconds of connection. 

I tried again but nothing. I could not understand why one fish would have a go and not others once I had cracked how to achieve a take, admittedly with a rather obscure technique. I kept trying but nothing. I almost did not want to admit to myself just how picky the fish were but I had observed that the one fish that had taken did not take the fly skated, nor did it take it wet bubbling along just under the water, but took it with the muddler sort of ploughing through the surface like a giant clumsy ‘V’, very rare for Iceland. I made the effort to reproduce how the fly was swimming and the angle or speed at which it was doing so too. This time I really cracked it, today, and today only, it seemed they wanted this obscure fly fished in the most unsubtle way possible. Six takes and four fish later I climbed back up the cliff pleased as punch. It had not been a typical Iceland fishing session, perhaps because it was the ultimate technical situation, but in some ways it was classic Iceland, intimate, visual, challenging and fascinating salmon fishing.

If you want to have the best possible chance of catching a salmon or having reliable salmon fishing then Russia is the place, no doubt about that. But you do need to get a visa and you do need to go for a week unless you can afford £20,000+ of helicopter to fly yourself in or out. Russia is great for space and wilderness fishing, and the freedom of wandering a river on your own under the midnight sun. 

Iceland, home to over 60 salmon rivers, is three hours from the UK on GMT, no visas required. Most salmon fishing is available in three day slots and it is possible to do three days on one river and three days on another making for a doubly interesting fishing week. No matter how close to Reykjavik your chosen river might be I recommend getting there the night before. It is too pricey to miss fishing time due to a travel delay, besides there are some superb restaurants in Reykjavik. Three days fishing is actually four and if you overnight before and possibly after, it becomes five nights away. Day one is an ‘afternoon session’ which on most rivers is 4pm to 10pm, 6 hours. That is close to a full day in Scotland. The next two days are usually 8am to 1pm and then 4pm to 10pm again. That is 11 hours if you choose to fish every minute and forego a little extra siesta time.  The last day is 7am to midday. So, it is fishing over four days, and is a hell of a lot of fishing. You do not have to fish these hours at all and lodges will feed you early if you want.

The rivers are simply stunning and are everything we British salmon fishers love. Seriously clear water, salmon one can see, classic pools one can read, lots of variety, attractive canyons and, if conditions are normal, plenty of fish. Other than the ease of getting there and no need for visas, the attractiveness and interest of the fishing is what really grabs us, plus the opportunity to share a rod (something one cannot do in Russia because essentially one is buying a spot on a helicopter). This reduces the cost; there are plenty of fish to share; if not fishing, there is plenty to see both in the river and around the river (one can watch the salmon take the fly); it eases the body with the long fishing hours; and it is a great place to go with partners, sons and daughters. Sharing in Iceland is a real bonus. Of course, Iceland is not for everyone. For those that want to get in a river up to their waist and wade deep and hard and hurl 40 yards of line, such opportunities are rare in Iceland. The big fish man who is looking for a big battle is going to be disappointed. There are one or two opportunities but generally 20lbs is a whopper with 30lbs the very upper limit. Finally, price. You only have to step off the chopper in Russia to appreciate why things cost what they do; in Iceland, there is no getting around it, fishing is market driven and the market simply loves Iceland and is prepared to pay up to and over £5,000 for three days on the best water though there are of course some good, cheaper options. 

Iceland is not bullet proof, actually no river or country is for Atlantic salmon, and there are good and bad years, but Iceland is like a drug. Light lines for a gentle landing on clear, shallow water (almost always floating line), small flies, clear water, intimate and technical fishing where fly, angle, speed and presentation all make a huge difference. 

For further information on Iceland go to www.frontiersiceland.com or contact Frontiers at info@frontierstrvl.co.uk or on 0845 299 6212 Ext 1.

For best advice and supply of Icelandic flies: Website: www.Veidihornid.is (Icelandic only). Veidihornid, Sidumuli 8, 108 Reykjavik, Iceland Phone +354 568 8410. Out-of-hours service number +354 696 4700. They will deliver flies to your hotel.