Rock star makes TV doumentary about the Laxa in Adaldalur
Bubbi Morthens with a 20 pounder from the Nes/Árnes beats. Photo by Árni Pétur Hilmarsson.
We earlier ran an item about Iceland‘s rock star in chief, Bubbi Morthens, writing a book about the Nes/Árnes beats of the famed Laxa in Adaldal. The project has since gathered a head of steam as he has aquired huge amounts of old movie footage, never before seen or shown publicly. He will now, on top of finishing the book, be fronting a television feature on the Laxa in Adaldal, produced by the State Television, RUV.
The book itself is on course having survived a change of publisher. It will probably be published in November along with a DVD with some of the named footage, most of it dating to the years 1944 to 1950. The documentary on the other hand will be on the state TV in October. Featuring on much of the footage are many of the old Icelandic luminaries that paved the way for the Icelandic angling tradition. Also featuring are the likes of Bing Crosby and the Wulff‘s, Joan and Lee, with their revolutionary lightweight gear. Some huge salmon also feature, one of the Icelandic old guard, Heimir Sigurðsson is seen landing a 24 pound salmon while German born Lydia Einarsson, wife of Icelandic artist Guðmundur Einarsson is filmed landing a 34 pound salmon. Those sizes were far more common in the early days. They still exist but they are far fewer, 30 pound plus being very rare.
A huge Laxa salmon. Photo by Hallur Þórðarsson
„I‘m really happy to have nailed down the co-op with the state TV. The footage is a rarity and there would have been the danger of it being lost forever but now we will have a beautiful documentary plus a DVD with even more of the footage along with the book. We have given the book a name: The River,“ Bubbi told AnglingIceland.
Along with general descriptions of the river as a fly fishing paradise, the book will be full of interviews with experts and guides, old and younger. It will also feature history, which for the salmon beats dates back to 1877 when Ackroyd‘s expedition endured hardships to get to the river and fish it. They were further down the river to start with but sent one of their party up to the Nes/Árnes-beats to scout around. The fellow, named Henry, caught two salmon, 16 and 27 pounders and went back to report. Which led to the party moving upriver for a rare feast of tremendous salmon fishing. Henry‘s two salmon look like being the first Atlantic salmon caught on a fly on the Laxa. Bubbi has also dug up the first written report on rod fishing in Laxa. It dates back to 1712 when some brown trout fishing started in Laxardalur, the lower beat above the dam, that was of course not in place at the time.
