Sportfish

With all the economic problems Iceland has suffered it would be easy to have a negative view of the value of its fishing in 2009. However, every cloud has a silver lining and in 2010 UK fisherman will find prices have dropped significantly. In fact, Iceland will offer outstanding value given the quality of the fishing available. Sportfish took a group to the Grimsa for four days and two rods on to Laxá in Kjos for two days. This gave a lovely diverse weeks fishing for salmon and sea trout. I was lucky enough to host the group and with my previous Icelandic guiding experience was able to offer the group a very enjoyable week.

Laxfoss Pool on the River Grimsa

The Icelandic rivers (especially on the south and west coasts) had received no significant rain for 6 weeks. Hardly ideal, leaving the Grimsa well below summer low water level. In spite of this, there were plenty of fish in the pools. Even with bright conditions and water temperatures in excess of 17°C my group caught salmon steadily over the 4 days. Low water did limit the amount of fishing available to some degree.

Stengir Pool on the River Grimsa

 All the lodges that I have seen in the past in Iceland have had great food; however, Jon who looked after us at Grimsa lodge was phenomenal. His attention to detail and level of service was outstanding. He was a tremendous host to all the rods and with the help of his staff made these four days very enjoyable. Well done Jon!!

On Thursday we travelled south, leaving one of our group to continue his holiday in Reykjavik, to the beautiful Laxá in Kjos. En-route our prayers were answered and the heavens opened. The river Kjos was below summer levels when we arrived but rising. Our guide Siggi was very optimistic and was keen to get fishing as the Kjos fishes really well in these circumstances. A traditional salmon angler would have been surprised by the unusual tactics suggested by Siggi. The salmon and sea trout here are often caught there using weighted nymphs and small lightly dressed streamer patterns.

A cracking Sea-Trout from the Meadows

      Kjos has a delightful ambience. The famous meadows stretch of the lower river offers superb sea trout fishing. Above and below this you will find some spectacular salmon pools. Our rods enjoyed great fishing in all fishing sessions under the knowledgeable supervision of Siggi, who was key to our rods enjoyment. This really underlines the massive importance of having a guide who knows the river like the back of his hand in all its moods.

Lax in Kjos produced 20 fish for 2 rods in two days this included a couple of sea trout over 4lbs, a fantastic finale to a great trip.

Sportfish will be returning to this spectacular country again next year, if you would like further information on this trip I would be delighted to discuss the details with you.

Tom Festing AAPGAI

tom.festing@sportfish.co.uk

tel 0118 930 3860 

Another great day – Ken and Mick added another two fish to the weeks tally. The icing on the cake today was a magnificent 14 kilo fish caught on Kroken pool by Matt Hayes. The fish was taken on a small double Munroe Killer very late in the evening. After an epic struggle the fish was eventually subdued, unhooked, photographed and returned to the river.

Matt Hayes' Magnificent 14Kg Salmon from the Gaula

So all in all we have had a great week here at Winsnes Fly Fishing Lodge. We have been really well looked after in every respect by Matt, his charming wife Anna Marit and her mother Annbjorg.

The final score was twelve salmon with a number hooked, played and lost. All the guests have had a great time and had contact with a fish. We will certainly be back next year – if you are interested in joining the group please let me know. You can contact me on +441189 303860 or email me allan@sportfish.co.uk

With the rods now settled into a daily fishing routine I took the opportunity to fish a ‘secret’ trout river with Matt. We are doing a bit of groundwork to allow Sportfish to develop a Trout/Grayling fishing trip in September in conjunction with Matt Hayes and the Winsnes Fly Fishing Lodge.

I have to say the river was an absolute stunner.

It flows through beautiful countryside and is tailor made for dry fly fishing. When we arrived a big Danica mayfly hatch was in progress and there were some absolute monsters on the prowl. Like big wild trout anywhere these fish were far from easy to tempt. I caught a lovely brownie – see Matt’s fabulous release shot below – and some smaller samples. Matt rose a real monster that fell off early in the fight.

Allan releasing a beautiful Brown trout underwater

If you would like to join us on the trip this September please drop me an email allan@sportfish.co.uk  and I will let you have details as they are finalised.  Matt will guide the trip.

The weather this week has been extraordinary, every day is really hot – more St Tropez than Norway! Not that this is a problem. The river has started to drop but today I saw as many running fish as any day so far.

I have noticed that the fish on the Gaula seem to take better if the water is steady rather than fluctuating wildly in height.

We have had to adjust to fishing mainly at night to get the best results however. As it never gets dark this is no great hardship and it is much more pleasant to fish away from the heat of the day.

Two fish caught so far today. Ken had a nice grilse in Bridge pool and Dominic a super 8kilo fish from Stadion pool.

Dominic with a lovely 8kg salmon

Joe and Ken were really on form today landing three superb fish. First to score was Joe with a magnificent cock fish from Kroken pool. Matt Hayes had come down to the river with us armed with his underwater camera determined to get an underwater release shot of a Gaula salmon.

Catch and release is now very much part of the scene here on the Gaula. The majority of the anglers on the river are fly fishermen and this can only help augment future stocks. The Sportfish group are certainly playing their part returning all fish caught so far. Joe very graciously waited until the light was good for photography before catching his 9 kilo fish!

Matt is a superb photographer – check out the release shot below.

A Fantastic 9kg Gaula Salmon about to be released

After landing such a magnificent fish yesterday the group are in really high spirits. Next on the score sheet was Ken, Joes fishing partner with a super 9k fish from Stadion Pool. The water has really warmed up now and the best place to find a taking fish seems to be right at the head of a pool.

Ken with his first Gaula salmon weighing 9kgs

Final fish of the day was taken by Mick in Kroken pool – a little smaller at 7k but tide fresh and full of fight.

Not wishing to be left behind Joe was soon weaving his magic with a fabulous 12k fish from the superb Saeter pool. This fish really fought its weight running over 100yds as soon as it felt the hooks, testing Joe’s tackle to the limit. This fish was really fresh and in peak condition.

The guests plane arrived bang on time, after picking up the hire cars and grabbing a quick lunch we were soon heading for Winsnes farm. The journey is about an hour and a half but really goes quick as you can spend much of it looking at the Gaula.

After a brief introduction from Matt followed by dinner the team were soon making their first casts for Gaula salmon. In the team we have Ken, Joe, Jim, Dominic, Stuart and Mick – a great bunch of guys with a fair amount of fishing experience between them.

Joe with his 13 kilo Gaula beauty

The first sessions were blank but it was very heartening to see so many fish in the river, including some really big ones. I am guiding for Joe and Ken and we finally left the river around 1.00am for some rest ready to fish the famous Kroken pool early tomorrow morning.

After about an hours fishing Joe hooked an absolute corker and after a great fight I landed his first Gaula salmon for him. Estimated at 13 kilos the cock fish really was a cracker, bright silver and in superb condition. Joe returned the fish – as he does everything he catches. What a fantastic start!

Matt Hayes with a nice Glomma grayling

 I arrived slightly ahead of the rest of the group today, great to be back in this beautiful country. Matt was keen for me to see some of the excellent trout and grayling fishing that lies within easy striking distance of Winsnes before the rest of the party arrived. We headed off around mid morning – the drive is an experience in itself, up through the Gaula valley and through the pretty town of Roros.

The plan was to fish two rivers – first the lovely Vangrofta. This is a serious challenge for any trout angler, big wily fish that will only look at a perfectly presented fly. This is not a particularly big river and it flows through lush pasture land so is very fertile. After this we moved to the Glomma, a much bigger river and perhaps better known particularly for the quality of its grayling. Needless to say we had a great day and Matt came up trumps with an immense 50cm grayling caught around mid night on a mayfly spinner pattern of his own tying.

Matt and I want to run an experimental trout fishing trip to this area probably in September, Matt will guide a small group. Please contact email me if you would like to join us allan@sportfish.co.uk.

Today was our last full day of fishing. It was a little windier but the good news was that the now traditional final day lobster lunch had been booked at the really charming beach restaurant on Augustina Island. This is a great way to end the week - everybody fishes in the morning then we rendezvous at the island. We take a few bottles of wine in the cool boxes, eat a huge amount of seafood and generally have a fabulous time. It gives everybody a chance to reflect on the week and overall it has been a great success.

The guys have all got on really well and I am sure some enduring friendships have been forged. I would like to thank Roxtons and Sightcast for arranging such a superb week for everyone and I am already looking forward to next year’s trip to this fantastic place.

Acadio took us to a long flat in a lagoon. We fished our way along the edge of the mangroves until lunch. The guys fished really well - both have taken to ‘boneing’, as they like to call it, in a really big way. They ended up with over a dozen between them, all stalked in very shallow water. We had lunch in the boat - sandwiches, a salad, biscuits, melon and a few hard-earned beers.
After lunch, just before heading off, we spotted a nice Barracuda chasing some bonefish around. John had a few casts with a green tube and nailed the brute. After a really great fight we got it in the boat and headed off.

It’s really important to carry a lightweight waterproof jacket for days when there might be a short sharp tropical shower. I use the Patagonia Rainshadow jacket which is excellent. It folds away to nothing and is treated to repel water - a first class product.