PAUL SMITH: Head to Iceland for an amazing fishing experience

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With mid-April featuring some warm and sunny spring days, it’s been great weather for yard work or trouting, of course. I chose yard work today because I really wanted to get a head start on chores, but maybe I should have gone trouting because as of April 16, the season will be closed for that logic-lacking month-long break that I hate so much.

Trout angling is not permitted from April 16 through to May 14. The season reopens on May 15. I’ll be for sure and certain on my favourite pond in my angling kayak that day. Enough of that for now, I have some plans in the works and I’ll devote a full column to trout season dates another day.

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While on the topic of fishing regulations. Remember a few columns ago when I was talking about asking for changes to the cod food fishery? There is indeed a petition circulating that you can sign to ask for change. Please make an effort to sign if you agree with its content.

And don’t forget to go online and apply for your moose license. The deadline for applications is April 25.

Paul Smith catching salmon in Iceland. Chris FowlerFishing in Iceland

The weather is nice and it gets me thinking about fishing. I was sitting with my morning coffee just as the sun was getting up and on the go for the day. I read a lot of BBC news these days and they had a nice article about Iceland and how Icelandic people seem to be getting statistically happier while good spirits are declining in the rest of the world.

The author credited Icelandic happiness, at least in part, due to their embracing the natural world around them. They are indeed a people very tuned to their island home. I spent just a week there, but I got a strong sense of the people-environmental interconnection. They embrace and respect nature. They are an integral part of it, defined by raw and visceral landscape. We North Americans in general have much to learn.

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Why was I in Iceland? Fishing, of course. I bet you guessed that.

During a trip to Iceland, Paul Smith and Chris Fowler were able to walk right up to the edge of a glacier. Paul Smith

I fully understand why Icelanders are so captivated by their homeland. It is truly an amazing corner of the planet, and such a fantastic land to visit. Chris Fowler and I went in 2009 and it remains one of the best fishing trips of my life. I want to go back. I will go back.

I made this promise to myself this morning over strong black coffee. The coffee is quite good in Iceland. That’s a bonus, but even more importantly, the salmon and trout fishing is amazing. I keep up on the fishing news and the sea run brown trout angling is getting better each year. That makes me more happy. They manage their resources well. Again, we have much to learn.

This section of The Ring Road cuts through an ancient lava flow and is like driving on the moon. Paul SmithVisually spectacular

And it’s not just about the fishing. Iceland is the most visually spectacular country that I have ever visited. And I have been around a bit.

Just about everything you learned about in physical geography is there to experience first hand. There are hot springs gushing from the deep in the Earth’s core, active volcanoes, lava flows, glaciers, mountains, valleys, wild rivers, grasslands, icebergs, and all surrounded by blue endless ocean. My photos cannot do it justice. The hiking trails are another world. So even if you have never wet a line, Iceland is worth the short red-eye jet ride from Halifax.

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The stunning scenery during Paul Smith’s fishing trip to Iceland. Paul Smith

My space is limited and I could write a book on my week in Iceland. For now let me tell you about our last evening fishing for salmon. I will never forget it as long as I live. Wicked, and wicked cold too.

Chris Fowler and I were on the east side of Iceland exploring the Jolka Valley. The mighty Jolka River created the valley, itself a huge silt laden glacial river. There are numerous named and unnamed tributaries flowing into the main stem and these were where we focused most of our efforts.

This was mostly uncharted salmon water at the time and Chris and I were salmon scouting for the owner of a brand new lodge. In return we got to stay for free. There were no guests at the time because the whole operation was in early startup mode. We had the place all to ourselves and I wish we could have stayed a month or more.

The Kalda Tributary in Iceland. ‘Kalda’ means cold in Icelandic. Paul Smith

We drove up a bumpy rocky dirt road to fish the upper waters on the Kalda Tributary. That means cold, and indeed, it was damn cold. ‘Kalda’ means cold in Icelandic, and Vikings don’t kid about cold. The river was essentially melting glacier water, and not much above freezing. I’ll bring my woolies next time.

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We parked our SUV and started fishing our way down river. The pools were nice and promising looking but no action. We kept on going until we rounded a big turn in the river. Before us sprawled a big deep pool that looked incredibly fishy. Of course we gave it a go. On the very first cast, a dandy salmon came tearing right across the pool and hammered my Blue Charm. Excellent, and I played the fish to Chris’s waiting cold hand.

This is an active glacier in Iceland calving into a brilliant blue lake filled with waterfowl. Paul Smith

A few more casts and we had a double hook-up. Imagine how feisty salmon would be in almost freezing water. OK, now multiply by five. That’s about right.

Anyway, I lost my fish and ended up tailing one for Chris. Both of us had to get in out of the water and warm up. We were near shivering in our waders. My best Sage rod for a pair of woolies underneath my waders.

We decided to fish one at a time. Chris stayed on the rocks and I braved the cold for another go at it.

“Fish on,” I yelled back at Chris, who hadn’t even had time to find a comfortable rock. It was crazy. We kept going until we couldn’t stand the cold any longer. And we were hungry too, so off we went for the comfort and warmth of that big empty lodge.

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Wow, what am amazing evening it was, We must have hooked about 10 fish apiece in just a couple of hours. It was the best salmon action I have ever experienced.

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That’s about it for now, although there is so much more. I’ll have to talk Iceland again another time soon. Stay tuned.

Contact me on the food fishery petition if you have trouble finding or accessing it.

Paul Smith, a native of Spaniard’s Bay, fishes and wanders the outdoors at every opportunity. He can be contacted at flyfishtherock@hotmail.com or follow him on Twitter at @flyfishtherock

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