Fishing in Iceland: Very highly recommended

I've written about Iceland on my site and elsewhere. I continue to recommend the place to anyone who is able to visit. In my opinion, it's one of the best fisheries on earth.
 
For those of you in the Eastern US, Iceland is a short trip offering great fishing for native fish in a pristine environment. There is an abundance of landlocked and sea run fish -- arctic char, brown trout, and Atlantic salmon. In less than 6 hours, depending where exactly you're coming from, you can be on the ground at Keflavik International. Flights are of course available from other parts of the the country too, with connections. You can find good deals at Kayak (if you can't find anything, try flying into JFK in New York, then taking a direct flight from there -- this can save you a lot of money). Long weekend trips are even possible if you plan ahead.
 
The weather is surprisingly mild for a large part of the year. During the fishing season (April - October) the weather is usually in the 50's to low 60's. Bright sun and clear skies is the norm. Angling is available all over. A number of volcanic lakes, rivers and streams are open to fishing, some even within the limits of Reykjavik. Fly and spin fishing is available, but many places do not allow the use of bait. You can pick up a fishing card that gives you access to close to 3 dozen waterways.
 
Most of the water is out in the open, often far from homes and roads, with few to no people anywhere in sight. The usual background is a mixture of green pastures and geological features. 
 
I fished with Heimir Bjarnason on my first visit to Iceland. He was very knowledgeable and had a good approach. He can take you out on guided trips (picking you up at your hotel and supplying all the equipment) or simply give you the info you need to fish on your own (permits, regulations, info, directions, etc.). Iceland's road are in great condition and easy to navigate. Car rental is pretty cheap, and maps and GPS are readily available.
 
It's not too difficult to set up your own trip if you're so inclined. There's a lot of info available online, and much of it is in English (Icelanders speak English in addition to their native tongue).
 
In addition to the fishing, there's a lot to see and do. I think a lot of anglers would be especially interested in visiting places like the massive Gullfoss waterfall, Geysir (which all geysirs in the world get their name from). Thingvellir national park, Vatnajökull glacier and Kerith crater. The Wikitravel entry on Iceland has a lot of good information: http://wikitravel.org/en/Iceland
 
If you have a chance, you should really check the place out at least once in your life. I truly doubt you'll regret it.
 

 

 

 

 
 

Ps y u no use ur terryaKie Pol?

The hat came from Peru. Just brought it along with me.
 
As to the size of the fish, they get much larger than what I was able to catch on that trip. Sure there are places where you can get them bigger. Oak Orchard in NY puts up tons of big browns every year (not so many arctic char however). It's not all about the size of the fish though, at least for me. The air is clean, the water is crystal clear, lots of native fish reproducing in the wild, tons of room/very few other anglers, etc. In my opinion, it's one of the really great places to fish, and it gets very little attention considering how easy it is to reach from the eastern US.

Not a lot of bulk to those fish.Lots of competition for food or lack of it?

Here's a good report on some of the huge browns (up to 20 pounds that came out of Thingvallavatn early this year, with pictures: http://www.anglingiceland.is/FEATURES/nr/4228