Ingo, Hilmar, Loa and I were assigned beats 2 and 4 this morning, our last session on the Laxá Adaldal. To split up, Ingo and I went to beat 4 while Hilmar and Loa went to beat 2. The day was another cold windy one with drizzle and rain. Three hours into fishing, all of us were fishless so to change the scenery we flip flopped beats.
All I can say is thank goodness Ingo and I each caught a big Atlantic salmon two days ago or I’d have been going crazy this morning. We fished right till 1 PM without a sign of a fish. Ingo and I blanked our last four sessions in a row.
If you asked me about the fishing after the morning session I’d of said the bite was off up and down the river. I’d have been wrong. Beat 3 produced excellent fishing for some of the guys and lo and behold, Hilmar went to the pools Ingo and I fished earlier this morning and landed a 94 cm salmon. I have a lot to learn.
After one last fine lunch at the Laxamýri Laxá í Ađaldal we packed up to head for our next destination, Flekkudalsá, in the west of Iceland. Flekkudalsá is another of Icelandic Fly Fishermen’s rivers with a lodge. The difference with this one is that it’s a do it yourself for food. The route was back down to Akureyri where we stopped for groceries, wine and beer and then west. The drive took about five hours which required several cokes each and plenty of Ingo’s favorite treat, popcorn.
While Loa was unable to join Ingo, Hilmar and I, two young guys, Jeremy Habran 23 and Mathias Briquemont 26, of Belgium joined us. They are a couple hardcore fly fishing bums from Europe. They are passionate about fly fishing, talented fly fishing film makers and also excellent still photo photographers. Be sure to check out their website www.rodtrip.com where they will soon be launching their next film entirely about their trip fly fishing through Iceland.
Driving five hours in Iceland goes by in about ten minutes. The mountainous scenery, ocean views and lush green hillsides are breathtaking. And although we haven’t seen the sun since our first day, as we arrived at Flekkudalsá the sun broke through a sliver of clear sky. Sunsets are always spectacular I Iceland.
We were all tired by the time we moved into our new lodge. But Icelanders don’t go to bed without supper. Ingo and Hilmar went to work and barbequed up some spectacular steaks which we washed down with a special wine from Hilmar’s secret stash. Its 1:30 AM again – man – another incredible day in Iceland!
A special thanks to Ingo and Icelandic Fly Fishermen for making my incredible visit possible!
Hi Jeff,
Nice post, It was a pleasure to meet you on the Flekkudalsá and hope to see you soon !
May be in belgium ;).
Tight lines,
Math
You also!