Laxa in Adaldal: First official twenty pounder
Danish angler David Thormar holding the twenty pounder. Photo by Elsa Albína Steingrímsdóttir.
The first twenty pounders have been landed already as the trend from last season starts again. Early last season saw more than usual very big salmon in various rivers and it looks like the same again.
As the Bureau of Fresh Water Fisheries in Iceland has the guideline of a 100 cm salmon being the magical twenty pounds, we have only had one such so far, caugth yesterday morning on the Big Laxa in Adaladal. However, two 97 cm from Vatnsdalsa were at least twenty pounders according to the guides and that is not a long shot, as the guidelines were shattered time and time again last season as fish of several cm less than the 100 were weighed and were in some cases well over the twenty pound mark. The salmon this season, both the mws‘s and the grilse are returning very fat and heavy compared to their lenght.
The „official“ twnety pounder was caught yesterday morning by a Danish fly fisherman fishing the Hagar beat on the big Laxa in Adaldal. It was in fact a big surprise as he was actually hunting for brown trout as salmon were hardly expected so far up the river this early in the season. Also, he was fishing a semi currentless stretch of flat water well below the next pool above. An, being after trout, his leader had a 7-8 pound breaking point! Nevertheless it took only half an hour to land the beast, which managed to break the rod as it was landed. The fly was a number 8 Black Ghost streamer. Earlier the same angler lost an aprox 10 pounder which was floundering at his feat when the fly pulled loose.
The fishing is picking up in the big Laxa again after several rather dull days. The fishing in fact started very well, but ebbed away. Recently more fish have been entering the river so everybody is optimistic.
