Category Archives: Fishing Reports

Fishing Reports

Laxa River – 05/23/2023

Time: 9:00AM – 10:30AM

Location: Honey Hole

Laxa River 05/23/2023 Photo Album

My last morning in Iceland featured a trip to the Laxa River. The location was named the honey hole, and the structure of the river was quite different from the section I fished on my second day. The river was a bit higher than normal and discolored to a green tinge. In spite of this, visibility remained decent. Gilbert chose the spot because it was in a protected canyon with vertical rock walls on both sides of the river. Our 1.5 hours of fishing were confined to a narrow ribbon of slow water next to the rapid torrent that represented the main branch. The air temperature was fifty degrees F, but the wind was once again a huge factor. The protection of the canyon was essential to my ability to fish effectively.

Subtle Spot Pattern on This One\

Scene of the Action

Gilbert started off with a cased caddis larva and a guide’s choice pheasant tail along with a twist-on Thingamabobber. I started at the bottom of the V-shaped ribbon of water along the left bank and began casting upstream in order to cover the area between the bank and the fast water current seam which expanded from five feet to twelve feet at the bottom. The tail area failed to deliver results, so Gilbert swapped the guide’s choice for a beadhead pink San Juan worm. I cast the double rig to the middle third, and the indicator dipped, so I set and felt an immovable object. Gilbert warned me about getting too close to the bank rocks, so I uttered some malicious words and gave the rod to him, as he is expert at removing snags. He very stealthily moved along the bank away from the river to get away from the “snag”, but after two tugs of the rod, the tip vibrated, and he felt the weight of a fish. He quickly handed the rod to me, and I battled an eighteen inch brown trout. It was a team effort all the way.

Even Better Fish

Upon the release I continued drifting the middle section, and once again the indicator dove, and I lifted for a hook set. This “rock” seemed heavier and more immovable than the first. I attempted to lift several times with no success, so once again I passed the rod to Gilbert, the fly extractor. Gilbert also raised up on the rod to assure himself of a snag, and then he advanced to a position above and beside the bound flies. He began his usual ploy of casting above and lifting, and suddenly the rod bent, and the object moved! In this case a huge fish surfaced and then escaped. Gilbert swore it was 22 -23 inches with a tail that looked like a shovel.

Big Tail

We took some deep breaths and continued working the relatively narrow area, and I landed more spectacular browns. One cleared the magical twenty inch and 50 CM mark, and the other was an impressive, thick specimen. The last fish made moves to the fast water, the rocks and the tail; but I was able to control it within the boundaries of the small area. After the third brown trout I continued fishing with some casts to the upper third, and I generated a momentary hookup with another quite large trout. I caught a glimpse, as the brown trout elevated toward the surface after my quick hookset. Gilbert viewed it as well, and he was convinced that it was the large “rock” that escaped earlier or another one of similar proportions. What a fun 1.5 hours on the famous Laxa River to end my fly fishing adventure in Iceland!

Fish Landed: 3

Myrarkvisl River – 05/22/2023

Time: 5:00PM – 8:30PM

Location: Pool 40 -41

Myrarkvisl River 05/22/2023 Photo Album

Monday evening was perhaps my best session so far in Iceland. The wind abated a bit, and more importantly it shifted direction, and this enabled me to stray from the spey casting routine to back casting and eventually dry/dropper fishing. For the first hour I fished the Mickey Finn, and the continuation of this method allowed me to land three very fine brown trout. These healthy fish  were all in the 18 – 19 inch range and exceptional fighters.

Ram Watching Us

Kype

Thicker Than a Brick

Part way through the evening session we rounded a bend, which put the wind in a different position, and Gilbert determined that we could switch to the dry/dropper method. Gilbert tied on a sausage fly (orange foam cylinder) in the upper position with his cased caddis on the dropper. I began firing casts upstream to all the promising channels. The right side of the river was covered with glare, so I was having a difficult time tracking the fly, but on a drift along the right bank, Gilbert shouted “set”, and I hooked my best fish of the trip, a 51 cm/ 20 inch brown. Needless to say, we celebrated this accomplishment.

Held Forward

I took a break to warm my hands, and Gilbert made some upstream casts through some faster, deep runs, but he cast close to the bank and snagged some deep roots. He was unable to free the flies and was forced to break off his treasured cased caddis and sausage flies. Undaunted, he replaced the sausage fly with another and replaced the caddis larva with a size 18 pheasant tail nymph. Over the next 1.5 hours I landed two more gorgeous brown trout of nineteen inches, and both smacked the pheasant tail.

Arms Getting Tired

The last fish of the day was perhaps the heaviest fish of the trip with an expansive girth on a nineteen inch frame. What a battle! This fish fought back and forth across the moderate center current at least six times and then up and down, before we could land the fish on 4X tippet. What a great day!

Fish Landed: 6

 

Myrarkvisl River – 05/22/2023

Time: 8:30AM – 12:15PM

Location: Pool 40

Myrarkvisl River 05/22/2023 Photo Album

Mud Banks Were Prime Targets

Mickey Finn Delivers

I was offered the opportunity to travel to two new rivers in northern Iceland on Monday, May 22; however, I declined because I sensed a developing cold, and the drive was 2.5 hours each way. The destination rivers offered the chance to catch Arctic char and sea trout (brown trout that live in the ocean), so I struggled with my decision, but in the end, I believe it was the correct one. Monday morning on the Myrarkvisl was a great time! I did much better with my spey casting, which I refer to as the swoop , dip and flip. This describes the motion of the cast which is necessary, when the wind blows from behind and toward the left for a right handed caster.

Again

Once again I spent the entire morning session chucking a streamer, but in this case, my guide, Gilbert, broke off the black ghost, while he was simply messing around, as we moved from pool to pool. He looked at his fly patch, spotted a Mickey Finn, and in a stroke of luck or genius tied it to my line. In total I landed six brown trout, and the first two snatched the black ghost, while the remainder grabbed the Mickey Finn. I am learning that streamer fishing features all manner of takes. Some are hard, aggressive grabs and some feel more tentative and soft. Among the more interesting are swirls followed by aggressive crashes. I also experienced a few, where the fish bumped the fly and then snatched it on a succeeding strip. These Iceland fish are dogged fighters and quite strong featuring runs, dives, headshakes and rolls.

Lovely Butter

Beautiful

All the morning fish were in the sixteen to nineteen inch range, and the nineteen inch beauty at the top of the range was my best so far. What a tussle it was! The girth was outstanding for a nineteen inch fish (47.5 cm in the local measurement system).

Fish Landed: 6

Successful Morning

Reykjadalsa River – 05/21/2023

Time: 5:00PM – 7:00PM

Location: High bank area

Reykajadalsa River 05/21/2023 Photo Album

On the Reykajadalsa River I fished the same black ghost streamer for a couple hours. The Reykajadalsa was slightly smaller than the Myrarkvisl River with very high banks in the area that we fished. The wind actually stopped for twenty minutes during my stay on the river, and I was able to false cast instead of spey cast. I landed two brown trout that measured fifteen and sixteen inches in length, but they did not possess the girth of similar length fish on the Myrarkvisl.

Fine Fish from a Different River

Number Two Also Excellent

My arm and neck were extremely fatigued, so we quit early at my insistence.

Fish Landed: 2

Myrarkvisl River – 05/21/2023

Time: 8:30AM – 11:00AM

Location: Pools 30 – 38.5

Myrarkvisl River 05/21/2023 Photo Album

Typical Water

Great Result

Gilbert and I once again drove the two-rutted lane from the lodge upstream. I fished the same six weight overlined with an eight weight line. The black ghost remained on my line throughout the session, and I cast to the far bank and swung and stripped the streamer through outstanding pools. Over the course of the morning session I landed seven amazing brown trout. They were all fat seventeen and eighteen inch fish. By far this was my best session of the trip. One fish created a wake, as it charged the fly, while it raced from the bank in pursuit of my imitation. In addition, I experienced three or four hits that did not convert into landed fish.

Very Nice Icelandic Brown Trout

Another Big Brown

These browns were powerful fish that dove and held and deployed head shakes in their effort to reach freedom. The colors and spots were superb on the wild and truly native trout of Iceland.

Fish Landed: 7

Jubilation

Laxa River – 05/20/2023

Time: 4:30PM – 7:15PM

Location: Haga Beat

Laxa River 05/20/2023 Photo Album

I began my evening on the Laxa River by swinging and stripping the eight weight with a guides choice hares ear wet fly and a cased caddis larva that Gilbert created. The Laxa is a wide, meandering river in the location, where we fished, and owner Matti along with guest Pamela were present in the same beat. Gilbert instructed me, as we worked our way down a long run with no success. The wind was a constant force. Toward the end of the run, where the river deflected off a bank, Gilbert snapped off the eight weight demonstrating a cast against the wind. It was an example of two very strong forces colliding. We returned to the truck and switched to the six weight and overlined it with the eight weight line to counter the wind.

The Meandering and Wide Laxa River

Upon our return to the river I landed five small brown trout in the eleven to twelve inch range, but they were nonetheless very feisty fighters. Once we covered the area, we moved to a spot below the bridge, and once again covered a long shelf pool by swinging and stripping. No luck was forthcoming, so we departed for another location.

Fish Landed: 5

Best of the Evening Session

Myrarkvisl River – 05/20/2023

Time: 9:00AM – 11:00AM

Location: Beat 2, Pools 31 – 26

Myrarkvisl River 05/20/2023 Photo Album

Guide’s Patch

When I woke up on Saturday morning at the lodge, the wind was once again howling. I wore the same layers as Friday evening. Gilbert maneuvered his 4 Runner over a rough two track, and we began fishing above the wooden bridge in a pool bordered by a high vertical rock wall along the opposite bank. I worked this pool with the eight weight and the black ghost with no success, and then Gilbert switched to a small pink marabou streamer. This move was unappreciated by the fish, so we moved downstream to a horseshoe-shaped bend. I told Gilbert I was concerned about the strain on my elbow due to backhand casting in the wind, so he assembled a six weight and converted to a strike indicator nymphing setup with a locking Thingamabobber, split shot and squirmy wormy. The gel type fly did not produce, so he swapped it for a bright pink San Juan worm, and that did the trick.

Below This Bend Was a Prime Spot

On the first cast into some nervous, riffled water, a robust fifteen inch brown trout chowed on the worm. Gilbert told me the tippet was 2X, so I horsed the fish a bit more than I should have, but it worked out, and I gazed at a very colorful Icelandic brown trout. In another area with many conflicting currents, I landed a second brown of approximately thirteen inches on the San Juan worm. We tried a few more attractive pools between 10:15 and 11:00, but the constantly gusting wind was taxing my arm and casting, so we called it quits by 11:00AM. Based on my two stints on the river, I can foresee the fun that could be in my future should the wind abate.

Fish Landed: 2

Myrarkvisl River – 05/19/2023

Time: 5:00PM – 7:30PM

Location: Pools 51, 50, and 46.5

Myrarkvisl River 05/19/2023 Photo Album

After getting acclimated at the lodge I met my guide, Gilbert, and I found waders and wading boots with a perfect fit for my small stature. I was concerned about this issue, but the waders and boots actually fit better than my own. As we prepared to depart for an evening of fishing, the wind howled, and I was skeptical that we would even fish. I wore my long sleeve Columbia undershirt, a fishing shirt, my melanzana fleece hoodie, my light down North Face parka, and a rain shell; and I was comfortable for my 2.5 hours on the water.

Gilbert is a guide from Sweden in his fifth year of guiding with Iceland Fishing Guides, and we piled into his “new” used Toyota Four Runner with 210,000 miles. During the course of the 2.5 hours we passed through three crude farm gates, and we moved from pool to pool. I think we covered four such sections on the river.

Reminded Me of the North Platte

The fishing approach did not vary, only the casting. I was offered an eight weight rod with a weight forward head, and the working end contained a black ghost size 6. Gilbert ties his own flies, and the black ghost was one of his own. I spent my time shooting casts across or at a forty-five degree angle, and then stripping the streamer back in a big arc across the current. The pools were generally  deep slower moving troughs, but I also applied this technique to a couple nice deep entering riffles at the top of the pools.

Holding the Prize

In the second pool, as I paused the retrieve at the end of the swing, I felt a forceful bump, and reacted with a swift hookset. The fight was on, and after a spirited battle I edged a gorgeous silvery and spotted brown trout into Gilbert’s net. Needless to say, I was thrilled with this start to my Iceland adventure. Prior to the first catch, I also experienced a very brief bump, and Gilbert said it was a short strike. A short swirl was another predecessor to my landed trout.

Number Two

After a second pool we dropped into an area with steeper banks, and Gilbert had me switch to roll casting because of the high wind. Eventually the cross wind became so ridiculous, that I was executing (poorly) a form of spey casting with a downstream roll cast, and then an upstream flip and then a roll. In the third pool, which I assessed as the best, there was a nice deep boil above a series of stream improvement rocks. I made several swings through the pool, and we spotted a single swirl five feet above the rocks. Gilbert helped me swing the streamer through the area of the swirl with verbal direction, and a strong smash ensued. Wham! I stripped and connected with a fat seventeen inch brown. The fight followed, and I succeeded in landing the beast.

Sheep Jam

By the fourth pool the wind accelerated to dangerous levels, and Gilbert suggested that we call it a day, so we headed back to the lodge for dinner. Friday was a great introduction to my Iceland fishing adventure.

Fish Landed: 2

South Platte River – 05/10/2023

Time: 11:30AM – 4:00PM

Location: Eleven Mile Canyon

South Platte River 05/10/2023 Photo Album

When I first considered a day of fishing on Wednesday, May 10, 2023, the weather forecast was very encouraging. The high temperature at Lake George was anticipated to be in the upper sixties with partly cloudy skies and wind speeds in the ten to eleven mile range. The hour by hour forecast predicted a thirty to forty percent probability of rain after 3PM. In retrospect after experiencing the day, the weather was very adverse. Heavy clouds were present all day with only thirty minutes, at most, of sunshine. In the early afternoon my fishing companion, Nate, and I heard rumbling in the western sky, so we found a large rock overhang and huddled there, until the lightning and thunder abated. After resuming our fishing, another storm cell rolled in, and in this case we absorbed heavy rain showers and small hail pellets. The remainder of the afternoon reflected the forecast with periods of rain, wind and overcast for the last 1.5 hours. Fortunately I packed a fleece hoodie and my New Zealand billed hat with earflaps, or our quitting time may have been munch sooner than 4PM.

Once again my young fishing partner, Nate, accompanied me on this adventure. Nate is an experienced spin and bait fisherman, but a relatively novice fly angler, and I really wanted to introduce him to a productive piece of water, that would position him to set new standards for quantity of fish landed. The good news is that he accomplished that goal. The bad news is that he suffered through the same adverse weather conditions that tested me throughout the day.

I chose the South Platte River at Eleven Mile Canyon because the flows were in the 77 CFS range, and the major freestones in Colorado were already demonstrating the impact of seasonal run off with high and murky conditions. In addition, I visited the South Platte quite a few times in 2023 in the area, and I had yet to be disappointed. Nate and I met at a convenient park and ride, and we continued our trip to the river, so that we were positioned to begin fishing by 11:30AM. The river displayed a slight tinge, but the flows were as advertised in the upper 70 to low 80 range. I chose to fish the left bank, and Nate moved along the right shoreline, which was closest to the fisherman path.

Intense

In the early going I featured a yellow fat Albert, beadhead hares ear nymph and salvation nymph, and before we broke for lunch, I managed to net three brown trout in the eight to ten inch range. All three munched on the hares ear. Nate, meanwhile, offered a foam hopper, and then knotted an emerald caddis pupa below followed by a chartreuse copper john. Eventually the copper john was swapped for a beadhead hares ear.

Early Going

Sure Bet

After lunch, Nate began to register trout at a regular pace. I noticed a series of rises, and not wanting to consume the time necessary to make a full conversion to a dry fly, I exchanged the salvation nymph for a RS2. The RS2 produced a fish or two, but the rises stopped, and that signaled an end to the subsurface action as well. I knew from surveying the quality of the water, that I was skipping fish, so I reconfigured with a prince nymph on top and the hares ear on the bottom. This move paid strong dividends, as the fish count began to climb at a steady pace. There was a streak when the prince was on fire, but eventually the hares ear resumed its status as the top producer.

Big Smile

On Display

Protected from the Elements

During this time period the first thunderstorm forced us to seek shelter under a small rock ledge overhead. When we returned, I made an excessive hook set with no resistance and hurled my flies into an evergreen branch behind me. I had swapped the fat Albert for a tan pool toy hopper, and I could see the hopper relatively close to the trailing nymphs. I acknowledged that retrieval was unlikely, so I applied direct pressure and snapped off the three flies. I was not a happy camper. I replaced the prince and hares ear with like flies, but for the surface fly I returned to a fat Albert.

Cast Over White Water?

For the remainder of the afternoon Nate and I worked our way up the river along opposite banks, and we raised our fish counters significantly. Nate tallied eleven landed trout, before we adjourned at 4PM, and I elevated my count to twenty-six. Most of Nate’s success came from the hares ear, but he also notched two feeders on the emerald caddis pupa and one eager trout that gobbled the hopper pattern. In my case I estimate that sixty percent of my catch was attributable to the hares ear and forty percent to the prince. I believe that the larger prince helped sink my flies, and this aided in my strong afternoon showing. Nate achieved double digits on flies for the first time, and he also netted the fish of the day, a fine wild fourteen inch brown trout.

Long and Lean

Most of my fish were in the eight to eleven inch range with a pair of twelve inchers topping the measuring tape. There was one period during the second thunderstorm, when both of us were pelted by heavy rain and then slanted ice pellets, but this lasted for ten minutes and then moved on. My top locations were deep runs along fast moving current and long and deep pockets. The trout seemed to favor positions at the tail of the soft water, where currents merged and concentrated food. Slow moving pools were not productive, although the sections that we fished did not offer much in the way of deep slow moving water. The size of my fish was somewhat understated, but I had a blast moving quickly and prospecting upstream and landing trout at a steady pace. Nate, of course, was euphoric after his record day, and he was the proud owner of the largest fish landed.

Fish Landed: 26

South Platte River – 05/08/2023

Time: 10:30AM – 4:00PM

Location: Eleven Mile Canyon

South Platte River 05/08/2023 Photo Album

I reviewed the flows on Colorado streams, and it was apparent that many of the freestones were already impacted by the developing snow melt on May 8, so I turned my attention to tailwaters. When I noticed that the flows on the South Platte River at Lake George were 77 CFS, I immediately turned my attention to that popular tailwater. The weather forecast suggested high temperatures in the upper sixties with wind speeds peaking in the low double digits.

I began my drive at 7:30AM, and this placed me at a favorite pullout along the river by 10:00AM. The air temperature, as I prepared to fish by my tailgate was in the low fifties, so I tugged on my fleece hoodie and stuffed my raincoat in my backpack. I was properly attired for the entire day, although from 3PM to 4PM some dark clouds rolled in, and this development in turn caused constant cold gusting winds. I was close to the end of the day, so I never took the necessary steps to remove my frontpack and backpack to access my raincoat as a windbreaker. I paid the price for this laziness, as I was quite chilled, while I walked back to the car.

Started Here

I fitted together my four piece Sage R8 four weight, and I decided to walk down the dirt road for .3 mile to a section of pocket water that I love. I passed an SUV with Texas plates along the way, and as I was about to reach my chosen starting point, I encountered another angler next to his Jeep Wrangler preparing to fish. Not wishing to invade his space, I reversed direction and went upstream to the bend next to the road and fished up the river from there through a wide section with numerous pockets and runs of moderate to shallow depth. I began with an amber ice dub chubby Chernobyl, a beadhead hares ear nymph and a salvation nymph, and I probed all the pockets and runs that displayed adequate depth to harbor trout. During this phase of my day I landed four small trout. One smashed the chubby, and two nipped the hares ear, and the fourth trout nabbed an RS2, that I substituted for the salvation nymph.

A Bit Larger Rainbow

At 11:45PM I exhausted the pocket water section, and I was concerned that I would invade the space of the Texan, so I climbed the bank to the road and hiked upstream, until I was a good distance above the Texas couple. The female of the pair was entertaining herself by walking two dogs, as her partner fished the river. I crossed the river and then hiked along the far bank for thirty yards, at which point I fished back up the river through a fast and deep section with a narrow bank of soft water between the heavy main flow and the banks. I was certain that an opportunistic trout would grab the RS2, as I swung it along the bank; but, alas, that was not the case.

Above the narrow chute I encountered a long deep slow moving pool, and a pod of fish began to rise to something quite miniscule. I observed the surface for a bit in hopes of identifying the food source, but I never saw anything on the water or above the surface. I decided to fish on top, and I removed the dry/dropper components and tied on a peacock hippie stomper and size 22 CDC blue wing olive. For the next fifteen minutes I fluttered the double dry to the pod of risers, but they fed around my fly but never ate my fake. The rising activity waned, so I adjourned to the bank and ate my lunch. After lunch a few rises resumed upstream from my position, and after quite a few fruitless casts, a ten inch rainbow trout crushed the hippie stomper for fish number five.

I released the small rainbow and continued my progression, however, the nature of the river changed to another section of fast flows and attractive pocket water. I decided to once again modify my approach, and I converted back to a dry/dropper. For this dry/dropper pass through the pocket water I resorted to a yellow fat Albert, a beadhead hares ear nymph, and I retained the classic RS2. A small brown rewarded me in one of the short pockets, and the fish count rested on six, as I approached a very long pool section.

Next to the Exposed Rock on Right Produced

I was not generating much action in the deep slow moving sections of the river, but I decided to cover the water with a few casts, before I moved to the generally more productive entering riffles to the pool. A strong run flowed along the far bank, so I placed a cast along the seam and allowed my flies to slowly drift downstream. On the third such pass, the fat Albert made a dive, and I immediately set the hook. I was shocked to hear a loud suction sound, as a large fish swirled, upon feeling the hook penetrate. I instantly knew that this fish was larger than the ten to twelve inchers that occupied my net thus far in the day. Sure enough, after several heart pounding dives and spurts, I caught a glimpse of my catch, and it was a huge rainbow trout. The underwater behemoth shot downstream several times, and I responded by releasing line. I maintained steady pressure and coaxed the elongated football upstream. When it reached the middle of the river across and below me, it executed an aerial leap, and then crashed back down with a thunderous splash. In a stroke of unusual fish fighting acumen I lowered my rod tip to avoid tippet shock from the heavy weight landing. I had a great view of my river foe, and it was a rainbow trout in excess of twenty inches with a torpedo shaped body. The fight continued, and I applied steady pressure and coaxed the heavy resistance upstream very gradually. Clearly this trout was larger than my net, so I began slowly wading up the river toward a place, where there was a shallow gravel shoreline. I hoped to guide the beast up onto the beach in case the net would not encompass the entire body. I was almost there, when the rainbow caught a second wind, and it flapped its tail and slid back to the middle to heavier current. Somehow in the process of doing this, it rolled over the line, and I noticed that the hares ear and fat Albert were now wrapped around and behind the head. At this point there was not much I could do other than swear, as the valiant foe turned and snapped off all three flies at a surgeons knot above the fat Albert. I could see the large yellow foam fly move downstream for ten feet, and then it disappeared. The reader can imagine my state of mind after this physical battle on the South Platte River.

Acceptable

Slack Water Was Ideal

I paused to gather my senses, and I waited for my body to stop shaking from the adrenalin rush, and I replaced the lost flies. I pulled out another yellow fat Albert, and did the same for the hares ear and RS2 and continued prospecting. In a short amount of time I landed a twelve inch rainbow on the RS2, but it was small consolation for the prize fish that escaped my capture. The catch rate slowed to a halt, and I considered my next move. The RS2 seemed ineffective, and I saw no evidence of BWO’s, although I never actually saw them during the surface feeding time frame, so I decided to replace the RS2 with an emerald caddis pupa. Why? I have no idea other than the fact that caddis season on the South Platte was approaching, and the emerald colored pupa has historically been effective during tough fishing periods.

Best Brown of the Day

The move worked, and I fished the three fly dry/dropper combination for the remainder of the afternoon, as I boosted the fish count from seven to fourteen. Most of the afternoon fish were in the nine to eleven inch range, but I also managed a pair of thirteen inch browns and a similar sized rainbow. The emerald caddis was the food of choice for all the afternoon fish, and the first pupa unraveled, so I replaced it with a fresh version.

A fourteen fish day in May is a respectable accomplishment, but I never felt the confidence that accompanies finding a fly that consistently produces trout. The emerald caddis was close, but I cast to many very attractive spots with no response, so I was not totally dialed in. Of course the story of the day was the one that got away. I will remember that battle for quite a while. I actually feel like I did quite well to maintain contact for five to ten minutes with a size 20 RS2 on a 4X tippet.

Fish Landed: 14