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Written by Stefán Páll
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Wednesday, 17 November 2010 13:21 |
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Stóra Laxá holds a prestigious place in the heart of every Icelandic angler, it‘s quite simply the most beautiful river you will ever see. For deacades this river has not been on the open market but reserved for local anglers – in the summer of 2011 international anglers will have the opportunity to fish in this pearl of the south. In 2010 a total of 760 salmon were landed from Stóra, and the numbers are rising from year to year. The river is strictly a fly only river and as a conservation effort anglers are required to release most of their catches, it is permitted to keep one grilse for each rod per day. However all salmon over 70 cm in length are to be released.
It‘s a medium size river that originates in the southern highlands and joins the mighty Hvítá, near Tungfljót and Brúará. It winds it‘s way down to the lowlands through spectacular canyons and opens up on the lower beats, with breathtaking scenery wherever you look.
This river is the final stronghold of the multi-winter salmon in the southern part of Iceland. The salmon makes it‘s way up through the vast Hvítá/Ölfusá river system, the largest river system in Iceland, before reaching Stóra Laxá – far inland. The salmon in Stóra are not only big, they are exceptionally hard fighters and will give you a memorable fight – whether you will land them or not.
The river has been privately leased for local anglers for 50 years and the same anglers have „recharged their batteries“ on the banks of this river year after year, some of them for five decades - that‘s the kind of hold this river will get over you. The atmosphere and surroundings can only be described as magical, the river is as beautiful as they come and it really doesn‘t get any better.
For most anglers a single handed rod will suffice in Stóra, #7 – 9, but a double handed rod wil often come in handy, # 8 – 10. Floating lines and long (strong!) leaders and smaller flies during the summer – the riffling hitch goes beautifully here. As the summer starts to turn to autumn the flies get a little bigger and a little heavier. The best flies are; Black & Red Frances, the Snælda (german tail), Black & Blue, Green Butt, Sunray Shadow, the Krafla flies and various hitch tubes.
The river is divided into 4 beats, but beats 1 and 2 are sold together.
Follow the links to the left to find out more about each beat.
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