When it comes to resident brown trout, they are scattered all over – and a lot of times, a big water fall will mark the section between a sea-run brown trout or salmon river, and a brown trout river. Since the season is fairly short and hectic – and the Winters are long and bitterly cold, Icelandic brown trout keep themselves busy throughout the Spring, Summer and Fallmonths feeding on anything from small midges, scuds and caddis to sticklebacks and even char-, salmonand trout fry. Their omnivorous and opportunistic demeanour shouldn’t be mistaken, however. Because although some of the fish might seem gullible, they’ll sometimes be super-finicky, selective and shy. So always be prepared to switch from streamers or nymphs to dries and emergers, and be sure to keep a selection of #20-26 midgeblack fly- and chronomid imitations close to your heart along with a few spare spools of 5 – 6.5X tippet material. You’ll be amazed to see the size of trout that will gulp down even the
most minute flies. Breaking the 2kg-mark is realistic in most well-established Icelandic trout rivers, and in rivers such as the Svarta i Skagafirdi, Kaldakvisl, Varmá, Minnivallalaekur, Litlaá, Brunná, Lonsa, Tungufljot, and Vatnsá there’s even the possibility of cracking the 3kg-mark. However, if you’re looking for the real giants, you should focus your efforts on some of the big lakes in Iceland. You probably already know about Lake Thingvallavatn, home to Iceage brown trout of mind-boggling proportions, but there are other big-fish lakes too – for instance Heidarvatn, Vilingavatn, Apavatn, Laugarvatn, Grænavatn, Hraunvotn, Skorradalsvatn, Fellsendavatn, Thorisvatn, Myvatn, Arnarvatn, Ljoasavatn, and Langavatn. Most of the above-mentioned lakes are accessible by 4WD cars, which means that they get fished by the locals with varying frequency. There are even more lakes that require a good hike, and these lakes, oftentimes, offer great fishing.
