In recent years, Iceland has experienced enormous tourist development. This volcanic island located between Greenland and Norway is the least populated European country, with 360,000 inhabitants for 103,000 km2! In addition to its beautiful landscapes, glaciers and geysers, it’s also a real paradise for the fly fisherman. The country is absolutely filled with streams, lakes and ponds of all kinds and sizes. Having crossed the island from West to East by car, I can tell you that as fisherman, we literally wanted to stop hundreds of times to admire these breathtaking fishing spots! The least visited region, Eastern Iceland, offers a wide variety of interesting fishing opportunities away from major tourist routes. This is where the Strengir organization operates, on the Jokla and Breiddalsa rivers and their tributaries.

 

The organization is led by Throstur Ellidason, a true pioneer in salmon stocking. After having started on the Ranga River in 1984, and encouraged by good results, Throstur releases today thousands of smolt in several rivers in order to supplement the natural stocks. The Breiddalsa, for example, had a catch of about 100 salmon per season when the program started in 1997. It is now at about 1200 fish caught there, a great success! The released fish are from wild spawners caught in the local rivers. They are acclimatized and nourished in small ponds fed by tributaries of the big rivers, then released so that they can descend the streams into the sea. They will spend one to four years there before returning to reproduce. They remain in the same exact river where they were born. The mortality rate of smolt at sea is extremely high compared to the rest of the country, because in this region the sea is winter extremely rough, but the fish that return are on average much bigger.

 

The Jokla

 

Located not far from the town of Egilsstadir, the Jokla is a river with a special history. We can even say that it’s one of the few places in the world where a dam has been beneficial for salmon. In fact, few fish returned to this glacier river's waters because it had the highest density of silt of any river in Iceland. The few fish that supported the conditions would spawn in the crystalline waters of the tributaries. But in 2006, the construction of a hydro-electric dam at the top of the river changed everything. From then on, it retained water resulting from the glacier melt and allowed clear waters during a good part of the summer. The dam, combined with natural salmon and salmon stocking have given birth to a whole new river. It works so well that Throstur will soon stop releasing smolt in the Jokla, as salmon naturally breed naturally today in sufficient numbers.

It’s indeed a sublime river with ever-changing scenery; sometimes narrow and embedded in canyons of all sizes and sometimes wider with pebble bottoms. Some places have never been fished before, and each of the guides at Strengir has his own little "secret pool"! The river is divided into beats, themselves divided into pools, which allows for rotations of groups of fishermen. The three most interesting tributaries, the Fossa, the Kalda and the Laxa are on the lower part of the Jokla. Besides the salmon, there is also a nice population of arctic char, seatrout and brown trout. A real paradise for salmonid lovers! Strengir’s lodge is located in the countryside 5 minutes’ drive from the river. Here, a 4x4 is essential to be able to access the various pools and beats, certain routes take the form of safaris on Icelandic stones, pebbles and meadows!

 

Holafljud, the most productive pool on the Jokla is also one of the most beautiful. This little gem is embedded in the cliffs and the water that flows there is a beautiful hue of blue. It’s not every day that one has the chance to cast his fly in such a magnificent setting…The rods most commonly used for salmon are either 9 to 9½ foot single-handed or a 12-13 foot double-handed rod, in 7, 8 or 9 weight. 

 

Accompanied by our guide Snaevarr, we have the chance to go there for a morning session. A few minutes of observation from the heights and we already see salmon splashing! We are in late June and it is still very early in the season, but the water levels are good and the very first fish have started to swim up the river. We begin by fishing the surface with hitch flies, then changed to flies that work deeper and deeper until we find where the salmon are holding. 

We each fish our turn for 15-20 minutes, interspersed with breaks in order not to "stall" the fish. After an entire morning without any bites, we only had one turn left. Snaevarr climbed to the heights to scan the water while I was fishing. Suddenly, while I was in my thoughts in the middle of another swing, I feel something at the end of the line and see in the distance big silver flashes in the water, I’ve hooked one! Almost immediately, the fish breaks off... Snaevarr, who was able to observe the scene at the front row, is as peeved as I am! While returning to the lodge, noticing my silence, he reassures me and tells me that it happens to all salmon fishermen regularly and it’s part of the game! The next day, Gerard and Francis, two French who came to fish with Strengir, will land a triplet of salmon in this same pool.

 

After a delicious warm meal at the lodge, we go fishing again, this time on a tributary of the Jokla river: the Laxa. Do not be fooled by its small size, this river produces each year good numbers of beautiful salmon. In fact, the day we left, two fishermen each took a salmon over 90 cm in this crystal clear tributary! Once on site, I decided to use a one-handed rod with the very practical Hybrid fly line from Vision. The hybrid tips of this system allow for very quick depth adjustment for presenting the fly. I tied on a Red Frances from Salar Flies and began to survey down the river. After only a few minutes, a fish takes my fly and I see again big silver flashes in the crystal clear water. Snaevarr, who was fishing further away, comes running to help me. Suddenly, the fish jumps completely out of the water and we can identify it: it’s actually a beautiful plump seatrout! This time the fish does not break off and gives me a great fight punctuated with regular jumps. Once in the net, we can finally admire this beautiful fish. "It's a very respectable fish," Snaevarr tells me.

 

We continue and fish a rarely-explored part of the Jokla where the Snaevarr’s secret pool is located before finishing downstream of the Laxa-Jokla confluence. We fished a very wide and deep pool, each of us spaced by 50 meters, when suddenly a big swirl appeared behind my fly. After several passages in the same place, no luck. Snaevarr approaches me, and asks me if he can try a few shots where I saw the fish. It’s enough for him to land another superb sea trout!

Near the estuary of the Jokla, it’s possible to catch sea-run arctic chars, provided you fish there at the right tide! We went there one morning, accompanied by Nordine, another excellent Strengir guide. We arrived on a huge black-sand beach. Nordine shows me where to throw and knots his secret char fly on my 5 weight rod. We have to strip quickly and explore quickly, because the tide presses us. With the crystal clear water and the black sand bottom, it was easy to follow my little white streamer by sight. I stripped mechanically when suddenly, the little white point I was watching disappeared! Fish on! These fish fight remarkably well for their size. In fact, many Icelandic fishermen prefer them to salmon!

 

The Breiddalsa

 

The Strengir organization also has another lodge on the Breiddalsa river, about an hour and a half drive from the Jokla. This is without a doubt one of the finest lodges in Iceland, nestled in the countryside with its panoramic view on the Breiddalur valley. The food is delicious and the comfort is excellent. It's a pleasure to warm up there in the evening after a long day of fishing. There is even a sauna and a jacuzzi available. The Breiddalsa, which is located a few hundred meters from the lodge, is a medium-sized river that meanders in one of Iceland's most beautiful valleys. It is known for its beautiful waterfalls, at the foot of which it is possible to catch salmon, and it is also home to beautiful brown trout! One of the most productive pools on the Breiddalsa is called Skammadalsbreida and it’s also not far from there that the local priest took a salmon at the season opening, the day we arrived!

 

One afternoon, we were able to assist Throstur with a smolt delivery. A large truck joined us near one of the ponds where these baby salmon are acclimatized. On board, a precious cargo: tens of thousands of smolt distributed between several tanks. Each tank must then be emptied into the pond using a huge pipe. It’s somewhat like using a fireman’s hose to deliver fish and is quite unique.

 

The sea run arctic chars are also present in the Breiddalsa estuary. During the summer in Iceland, the night hardly falls, it is therefore possible to fish for char at 4am in daylight! On the spot one morning with Nordine, we immediately see activity. A few casts with the secret char fly and I am quickly hooked up! My little Galvan Torque starts to sing, while the fish gives me a great fight. The arctic char that come up the rivers are not as colorful as their non-anadromous cousins. They have a beautiful color between cream and silver, and are very hardy and energetic. They are known in Iceland as particularly good-tasting fish. Next up, Nordine lands, at our surprise, a plaice (European flat fish) on the fly!

 

Despite difficult conditions at the beginning of the season, it was a successful trip…perfectly orchestrated by Strengir. This organization does an admirable job in managing its rivers, and is an excellent example in salmon stock management. If you are looking for a high-quality English-speaking service in East Iceland, these gentlemen are absolute professionals. The guides are very experienced and teach you a great deal about salmon fishing in this beautiful country. For now, the beautiful wild rivers on which Strengir operates are still little known in the world of salmon fishing.  My advice: seriously consider an angling adventure here as these rivers are destined to become world famous.