Iceland's big three 2009
The "smallest" of the trio, a 107 cm 26 pound monster from the big Laxa in Adaldalur. Same fish below, photo shows the enourmus girth.
The 2009 season has drawn to an end and we had the second best season ever despite long draughts. There was a fair number of oversized salmon by Icelandic standards this year, not as many as last year, but a good number nevertheless. Three salmon stand out.
All three came from our listed rivers and they were prime specimens indeed. Two of them measured 108 centimeters and the third 107 cm. Perhaps the heaviest one was a female 108 cm salmon caugt on Sveisnhylur pool on Breiddalsa on a black Frances cone head tube. According to the official weight-versus-length comparison, the fish might have been 12,4 kilos, just under 25 pounds. However the Breiddalsa salmon are generally of a huge girth and weigh far more than the official yardstick allows, so this fish was entered into the catchbook as a 27 pounder. In fact the angler and his guide felt that it might well have been a thirty pounder. But it was never weighed and put back into the river. It stands as an unweighed 27 pounder
A cock fish caught late in the season on Vatnsdalsa was also 108 cm. It took a local fly called Ofsaboom (Huge bang!) in the pool Vaðhvammur. There was no camera, just the angler and his guide and a chance for measuring. On Vatnsdalsa, all fish are entered into the catch book according to the official guidelines. So this salmon stands as a 12,4 kilo fish, just under 25 pounds.
The third fish was caught on the big Laxa in Adaldal by the Faroese NASF director Mortan Carlsen in early September. It was an 107 cm cock fish of a massive girth. It took the fly Wolfowich in the pool Hólmatagl. It was taken to the hatchery for a donation of sperm. There, it weighed in at 13 kilos, 26 pounds, which is more than the guidelines allow for a 107 cm fish. According to them it might have weighed 12,1 kilos, just over 24 pounds. But in fact it weighed 26 pounds which goes to show that the cock fish, while they turn leaner as the spawning draws closer, may still hold a fantastic girth. Just look at the photo. It is a massive fish.
