Fishing in Iceland

[Jar11591]

My girlfriend informed me that we will be going to Iceland in August, so obviously my first thought was how I’ll be wetting a line while I’m there. 
 

Has anyone been to Iceland to fish, or happened to fish while they were there? There are only 3 freshwater sport fish on the island: brown trout, Arctic char, and Atlantic salmon. And getting licensed doesn’t seem as straightforward as I would have hoped. I believe you need a different license for each different river, and fly-fishing is primarily the only kind of fishing that’s permitted. 

 

So I’ll be brushing up on my fly casting this spring. If anyone has fished in Iceland at all, I’d love to hear any and all of your experience. 

[MassBass]

So, I went on tour of Backcountry Iceland for a study abroad expedition. I didn't fish but I saw the water and talked to some native anglers. There are a lot of streams. If you could have a rental car, a map, and your gear you will have many miles of shoreline to explore, most of which is lightly fished and in remote areas probably never fished. My impression is that licensing is very expensive for foreigners. But some of those streams, you may never be there again, pay up and go for it is what I would do. I can't tell you if fly fishing is the law or just the preferred method. If you are able to read current at your home river, I am sure with a basic selection of proven flys you will catch. You won't have to cast far but you may need to present accurately and smoothly. Artic char is there. Some guy at the bar showed me a video of his catch, maybe a Brown? It looks like good wading water. All grass on the banks, no brush or trees. Stay safe if you are way out there because there will be no help or cell service. Don't eat the fermented shark, but the freeze dried cod is good!

[Jar11591]

@MassBass Thanks for all of that information. We plan on renting a camper van and driving the loop around the country, so that was my hope, to stop at some streams and rivers that we happen to come across. 
 

I’ll definitely have to work on the accurately and smoothly parts of my fly casting. About the only thing I know how to do is just get the fly out there. It’s far from smooth or accurate. Don’t want to miss my shot at a big, wary brown because I’m a clumsy caster. I’ll have to practice a lot between now and then. 

[theTroutBoss]

22 hours ago, Jar11591 said:

My girlfriend informed me that we will be going to Iceland in August, so obviously my first thought was how I’ll be wetting a line while I’m there. 
 

Has anyone been to Iceland to fish, or happened to fish while they were there? There are only 3 freshwater sport fish on the island: brown trout, Arctic char, and Atlantic salmon. And getting licensed doesn’t seem as straightforward as I would have hoped. I believe you need a different license for each different river, and fly-fishing is primarily the only kind of fishing that’s permitted. 

 

So I’ll be brushing up on my fly casting this spring. If anyone has fished in Iceland at all, I’d love to hear any and all of your experience. 

Never been...sounds awesome. My grandmother was Norwegian. For Xmas dinner every year she would cook ludefisk and lepsa bread lol. Delicious white meat.

[Jigfishn10]

23 hours ago, Jar11591 said:

My girlfriend informed me that we will be going to Iceland in August, so obviously my first thought was how I’ll be wetting a line while I’m there. 
 

Has anyone been to Iceland to fish, or happened to fish while they were there? There are only 3 freshwater sport fish on the island: brown trout, Arctic char, and Atlantic salmon. And getting licensed doesn’t seem as straightforward as I would have hoped. I believe you need a different license for each different river, and fly-fishing is primarily the only kind of fishing that’s permitted. 

 

So I’ll be brushing up on my fly casting this spring. If anyone has fished in Iceland at all, I’d love to hear any and all of your experience. 

Man, does that sound like a fun trip. 
I can’t help ya but, should things go south between you and your gf, I don’t mind rolling the dice with fake identification.  

 

J/K

Have a great trip

[Jar11591]

@Jigfishn10 I’ll let her know you’re first on the list ?

[MassBass]

Something to add, you can drink the water out of the streams. It's pure glacial fed.

[Jar11591]

1 hour ago, MassBass said:

Something to add, you can drink the water out of the streams. It's pure glacial fed.

Actually just read this last night. No life straw needed. Seems like an unspoiled paradise, if you don’t count the fact that Vikings laid waste to all the forests on the island 1000 years ago. 

[MassBass]

5 hours ago, Jar11591 said:

Actually just read this last night. No life straw needed. Seems like an unspoiled paradise, if you don’t count the fact that Vikings laid waste to all the forests on the island 1000 years ago. 

The natural source of lumber in Iceland is driftwood from Siberia. For some reason it just washes up there. If you are going during summer, it will be light all the time. Might need an eye mask to sleep. Then in winter, it's dark all the time. There is a lot of ghost stories, and tales of fairies and trolls. As far as I know there is no large canid or dangerous animal on the island. Supposedly they can get polar bears from Greenland, but only in winter when ice connects the lands, and that doesn't usually happen these days with the climate situation.

 

Their history is all about the Vikings. There were some Irish hermits on the island before the Vikings appeared. So, the big bad Vikings showed up and they wanted to settle, but they needed more women. So they sailed/rowed to Ireland and took red- haired women. You will see it in today's demographics to.