|
Hi Harpa,
As our upcoming trip to Iceland at the end of August draws near, I want to make sure that you and Elfa, along with the rest of the staff at Angling Club Lax-a, know how much we appreciate all of your time and help with the planning for our trips to both Iceland and Russia. Every trip that we have made with your help has been a wonderful adventure from start to finish.
This trip will be my 6th trip to Iceland and my wife's 3rd. I have also made 2 trips to Russia and fished on the Ponoi and Kola Rivers in 2007 and 2008. My wife fished with me on the Kola River in 2008. Your help has made all of these trips very fun and memorable. The fishing on each and every trip has been outstanding, but the other parts of each trip have also been very special. Your knowledge and familiarity with the country side have helped us to plan many other really neat and interesting activities in addition to the fishing. Some of the other activities that we have enjoyed in Iceland have included horseback riding, whale watching, sightseeing, shopping, eating out, enjoying many different geothermal pools around the country. I have especially enjoyed visiting many different restaurants in Reykjavik and around the country and have found that the fish and chips in Iceland are the best that I have ever had anywhere. There are just so many different and interesting things to do in Iceland, many of which I doubt that we would have found without your help.
The itinerary for our upcoming trip to Iceland at the end of August is especially exciting to us. We will be fishing for salmon on 3 different rivers for 8 days (2 days on the East Ranga River and 3 days each on the Hvannadalsa and the Langadalsa), plus we have 6 days of touring before, during and after the fishing. We will be driving around the entire perimeter of the island and will be staying overnight at several different locations along the way. We will also be spending a few days in Reykjavik on both end of the trip. We both really like Reykjavik a lot and are looking forward to spending a few more days there on this trip. Last year we visited the Hallgrims Church in Reykjavik and were so enthralled with the church and it organ that we have planned our itinerary so that we can attend a service there on Sunday morning at the beginning of our trip. We were also introduced to the Hotel Holt last year at the end of our trip. On all of our previous trips to Iceland, we had stayed at the Hotel Fron, which is also a very nice hotel; however, after staying at the Hotel Holt last year based on your recommendation, we are very excited about being able to stay there again this year, The Gallery Restaurant at the Hotel Holt is second to none anywhere. The atmosphere in the Hotel is very relaxing and charming and the art work displayed everywhere in the Hotel is worth staying there in itself. The location of the Hotel Holt is a little bit off the main roads, so it is very quite there, but it is only a few minute walk to get to the downtown area.
After our trip this August, I will have fished on 12 different rivers throughout Iceland and have enjoyed everyone of them. I have caught salmon, sea trout, resident brown trout and char. I caught my personnel best resident brown trout in the Galtalauker River in 2007. It weighted approximately 13 pounds and was caught on a size 18 pheasant tail nymph, 5X tippet and a 5 wgt. rod (picture attached). That will be pretty hard to beat anywhere else in the world for sure. My best salmon fishing ever occurred on the Tungfljot River in 2008, when I landed 33 salmon (many others lost as well) in 3 days. That also is pretty hard to beat, even in the best rivers in Russia on all but the very best days. I have also caught some very nice sea trout up to nearly 10 pounds in Iceland. Generally speaking, the sea trout in Iceland are not as large as those in Tierra Del Fuego, Argentina, but they are just as fun to catch since you can catch them on much lighter tackle in Iceland. One of the things I enjoy most about the salmon fishing in Iceland is the smaller rivers where the fishing is much more challenging, requiring very small flies (sometimes as small as size 14-16-18), delicated presentations and a stealthy approach. There is nowhere else in the world that has this kind of fishing for salmon. It can be tough fishing, but the rewards are well worth the effort when you finally do succeed in catching them.
I have attached a few pictures of my wife and myself fishing in Iceland. Both of us are very anxious to get back to Iceland in August, which is only a few weeks from now. After traveling to many different countries and regions to fish in the past, I never seem to be able to get enough of Iceland and am drawn back there year after year. I can only hope that I can continue to travel there long beyond this year.
best regards,
Terry Nab
|
