Hello friends!
A very mixed salmon season has now drawn to a close. Overall it was a bad season in Iceland, very low water week after week and to compound it, very many rivers had less than average runs. For us it was mixed, could have been better but overall we are Ok with it. Demand for 2020 is still high and outlook is generally good for next year so early bookings are advisable.
Most rivers in Iceland were well below standard this season, only thirteen producing better totals than last year. All but two of them were in the Northeast. Two north coast rivers however were better than last year and one of them was our very own Hrútafjarðará, which ended with a total of 401 salmon (360 last year) which is a very good display as much of the summer was battered by sunshine and low water levels.
Hrútafjarðará river is fully booked for 2020 season already but those who are interested can be put on waiting list for last minute openings.
Jökla, as it did last year, started well and was in harmony with the rest of the northeast rivers, but fell away far to early due to the overflow from the hydroelectric dam coming earlier than anticipated. So the final total, 414 fell short of last years total (528) which was also marred by the overflow. Excellent fishing though as long as it lasted with up to 100 salmon the best weeks! Sea run arctic char and sea-trout fishing was also better than most years with about 700 of those fish caught offering excellent sport on a light tackle. And new pools and beats have been discovered in Upper Jökla and we will be offered new programs up there. See this fantastic canyon pool above as one of them!
Already last week of July and first week of August is fully booked for 2020 and bookings are coming in fast for remain of July so don´t be to late to book this prolific river!
Breiðdalsá on the other hand is a rebuild project. It fell away badly two seasons ago and was very lightly fished this season. It also had very low water levels for long periods. The total was 76 salmon, but despite the disappointing total, there were some runs late in the season when hardly anyone was fishing! We are expecting it to make a come back no sooner than next year.
Char and trout fishing can be great in this river as well and we have flexible openings at the moment in this lovely river for both salmon and trout fishing. And our lodge in above photo is often regarded as the finest in the country!
Then to our brown trout heaven the Minnivallalækur. We do not have the totals in yet but know that it had an excellent season with many, many very big fish, as the river is famous for. Regular groups are keeping there slot every year but we do have some openings here and there for 2020.
Don´t be to late to book for next season, feel free to contact us anytime...
Throstur Ellidason
