Our last day of fishing in Iceland and she threw us another curve ball. We woke to rain and wind as strong as I’ve ever experienced anywhere. Nick from Gin-Clear wasn’t joking when he said that the weather in Iceland can be brutal. It wasn’t pretty that’s for sure.
The pic doesn’t do it justice. But the wind was hard enough to blow the grass off the ground. In understand now why Iceland has few trees.
However with the wind came the rain. And with the rain came the sea trout. The weather gods blessed us with a day that provided two beautiful sea trout for me, and a cracker for Jason.
First up though, I went down to the hut to visit Bjorn and to get our beat rotation. Not that it really mattered because we’d be fishing the upper reaches of the free beat anyway.
I am really really sorry about the poor filming.
At one point, Jase snapped a couple of pics of me retrieving my fly from a tree. The only bloody tree in Iceland and I got my fly stuck in it.
My fairy is still with me I see. I should name him. Or her. It?
We fished the upper reaches of the Varma until we couldn’t stand the wind and rain any longer. Jason had caught his fish of the trip and I had mine a few times over. We retreated back to the hut, got changed out of our gear and headed to the bakery for sustenance and warmth.
So that’s it, everyone.
I am sad that this fishing trip is over. But I am beyond happy with the way that it has unfolded, the wonderful people that that I have met along the way, and the sights that I’ve seen. The fish. The rivers. The weather.
If you love to fish, if you love to travel, then I can highly recommend Iceland to you. I can highly recommend the services of Gin-Clear Travel. I wouldn’t have been able to organise this trip without Nick Reygaert, the founder of Gin-Clear. Thanks Nick.
Cameron Parker and the boys at Hookup Bait and Tackle in Ferntree Gully. The Scott Radian rod and Lamson Guru reel exceeded all expectations and made me look like I can cast.
Olli, our guide on the Laxa i Kjos, I hope we didn’t bore you with our endless questions about life in Iceland. Thanks for your patience and guidance.
The two Polish dudes that I met at the lodge on the Minni and gave me a bunch of flies that they had tied themselves. Their generosity still beguiles me. I guess men who fish with flies like to share their success.
Siggy, my guide on the Langa, that taught me an amazing amount about Salmon fishing in a short time without even knowing it. Mate, thank you so much. I hope your poor car holds out for just a couple more weeks. Good luck in the off season and tie lots more of those Siggy’s Special SOS flies. Dynamite.
Stefan and Michelle – hitch hikers that I picked up on the highway on the day of my birthday; that shared Glacier Bay and Diamond Beach with me and a very long drive; that sang me happy birthday in a truck stop with stale apple cakes and got everyone singing along; total strangers that made my fiftieth birthday so memorable. Beautiful, wonderful people.
And Jason of course. Thanks mate. Thank you. More than you know.
The funny thing is I’m not all fished out. There’s still life in the old Woolly Bugger.
A couple of guys came into the bakery while Jase and I were there, all done up in their waders and boots. It made me want to get back out there again. In the wind and rain.
Maybe I might do that trip to Jurassic Lake in Argentina next year. Can you imagine that? A lake three and a half thousand metres above sea level in the Patagonia region of Argentina where something in the water makes the trout grow to extraordinary sizes. That would be something.
Then there’s New Zealand of course. Gotta do NZ.
And I have to do the Western Tiers of Tassie.
Montana. The Snake River.
The Polish guys told me about the excellent fishing on the San river.
The Danube river delta.
Now that I am officially a Salmon fisherman – Scotland! I wouldn’t be true to my ancestry without a trip to a Scottish Salmon river.
And I have my favourite river of all time, the Eucumbene River. You know, speaking to all of these fly fishers in these lodges, none of them had heard of the Snowy Mountains in Australia.
Snow? In Australia? I showed them photos of years past and the fish caught, and they were all astounded. It’s my favourite fishing destination. Not only for the fish, but also for the people. My mates. My boys. Not everyone one has what we have. I’ll catch up with you soon, guys.
Rich