Breiddalsa: Super small grilse haul down the average weight
This Breiddalsa grilse is of normal size. Photo by Heimir Óskarsson.
Breiddalsa is doing well and recently had a makeover on its water levels. They have not been a persisting problem this season but some recent rains along with warm weather have kept the autumn fishing ticking along nicely.
Last night the catch book read 677 booked salmon. The daily catch on the six rods has varied recently from 8 to 20 considering the conditions. The average weight of the salmon is 3,06 kilos, just over 6 pounds in Icelandic, 7-8 using the libs.
A mws being hauled in.... Photo by Heimir Óskarsson, who by the way, was fighting the fish as well! This one ended up in a hatchery box and was later used for brood stock.
The mws‘s have been strong on Breiddalsa this season and there have been several huge salmon, 20-plus landed as well. The average weight is being tugged down by the precence of quite a few very small grilse. This is not unheard of in the east and northeast. Last season saw a lot of the super small grilse as well. Other rivers in the region have the same „problem“. These are grilse weighing less than 3 pounds. A lot of the grilse are normal sized and the mws‘s are in prime five star condition.
While the total for Breiddalsa is destined to be respectable, it seems highly unlikely that the elusive 1.000 mark will be achieved on the river for the first time. They have been very close before, last year they reached 910 and the river had several weeks of draughts to spoil their chances. This season has seen more consistent conditions but still the elusive goal seems a litle to far off. Perhaps next season.
