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Quest for the ultimate bite... fly-fishing in Iceland
Mother Nature blessed us with this island, and there is no other place on God's green earth like it. It's so special that its very naming was an attempt to disguise the place's true essence. Leave it to a fisherman to give out false information when it comes to a real honey hole. The story goes that a ninth-century Viking traveled from Norway across the north Atlantic following three ravens and stumbled upon this verdant spot. He was so distracted by the excellent fishing when he arrived that he neglected to make hay this first winter and all of his cattle died. Before rowing home, however, he thought of a way to discourage other settlers from going there by naming the new country Iceland.
Far from icy, however, this is a lush and mysterious place filled with geothermal hot springs and enchanted landscapes that many locals believe house hidden creatures such as gnomes, mountain spirits, and faeries. It is a land of clashing elements and volcanic in origin (one-third of all the lava that has sprung forth in the last 500 years has doen so on this island). Parts of Iceland are indeed barren and glaciated, but much of it is green and grassy throughout the soft fjords and headlands. Its 6,000 kilometers (3,700 miles) of coastline are warmed by a gulf stream that keeps the place warmer than New York City in the winter. This country roughly the size of Viginia lies within 4 degrees of the Arctic Circle, accounting for the summer sun that never sets. Some have called this phenomenon the most magical light on earth; some have taken up midnight golf because of it. But me? I was just trying to sleep through the night, having to constantly choke down a feeling left over from childhood that if it’s still light out, I’m ready to party.
The capital city of Reykjavik is the heart of the island, where 180.000 of the 300.000 citizens reside. The city is a renowned party spot, providing fine food, excellent museums, a legendary weekend pub crawl, and beautiful people. (Many red-blooded males may have heard that the most striking women in the world hail from this land of the midnight sun, with their high cheekbones, Nordic angled eyes, and fresh eclectic style.) My partents and I were there to experience what Iceland is even more famous for that its good-looking citizens, however: the fishing. We gave ourselves twodays in Reykjavik (the word means “smoky bay,” referring to all the geothermal steam in the area) before heading out into the backwookds of this wild country. If there were any woods, that is – a hallmark of this country’s landscape is the lack of trees; save for a few dwarf birches, it is unforested. The local joke is, What do you do if you get lost in the woods of Iceland?” The answer? “Stand up.” Figuring the magical beings could be hidden in the Icelandic woods I asked them and the salmon gods if they might grant me lifetime wish on this trip – to land an Atlantic salmon on my fly rod.
Due to environmental pressures and overfishing, there is a heavy premium on the last great Atlantic salmon fishign left in the world. These incredible fish come from the sea into freshwater to spawn, traveling across international lines throughout the North Atlantic, from Lake Ontario to Portugal. Many of their runs in the United States and throught out the world have become extinct, making them more and more challenging to catch. A worm and a spinning rod are the easiest way to get one, but I come from a family of fly-fishermen, so that is how I wanted to experience my first tug. What is considered to most expensive river in the world to fly-fish fro salmon – at $4000 per rod per day – was booked by Eric Clapton while we were in Iceland, but that didn’t keep my father from badgering our outfitter to let us join the guitar god. THe salmon season here is three months long, peaking from mid-July to mid-August. Many rivers allow worm fishing and allow you to keep your salmon, though more and more, catch and released and fly-fishing is encouraged. (The best way to fish Iceland is through the excellent booking agency the Angling Club Lax-á. They arrange it all – hotel and lodge booking, tranfers, licenses and activities for non-fishing guests. On our first day after leaving Reykjavik, we drove five hours north to a town called Helsivik and took in the stunning countryside, marked by free-roaming heards of horses and sheep, majestic waterfalls, and rolling green vistas giving way to snowcapped mountains. The landscape of the north is intoxicating, a fragile green laced with purple lupin, yellow flowers, and moss-covered lava fields. We decided to warm up with some brown trout fishing on the Big Laxa river and were quickly glad that we did. The salmon fishing is so good in Iceland taht most people don’t even worry about trying to catch a brown trout or arctic char while there. On my very firs cast, I landed a 4-pound brown trout, which I took as a good omen for the week of salmon fishing ahead. After another brilliant morning of trout fishing, we made our way two hours southwest to a lovely gueshouse near the river Blanda, the longes and most prolific salmon river in Iceland. ......
To read Greta Gaines article about her fly fishing tour to Iceland last summer, look up Private Air magazine, January/February 2006 issue, page 114
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