Salmon fishing with a Karma
Simon Darke with his bright 20 pounder! Photo by Gunnlaugur Stefánsson.
Fly fishing in Iceland is a fountain of endless unforgettable occasions. A reader of ours, Gunnlaugur Stefánsson, the minister of the church on the banks of Breiddalsa, and an on and off guide on the river told us a memorable tale from last season.
He was asked to fill in for an absent guide and help the British surgeon Simon Darke, an experienced angler in his sixties. We‘ll now allow Gunnlaugur to take over and tell the tale: „Simon and myself hit it off immediately and soon it was not just the fishing that kept us occupied, in fact we were soon discussing various philosophical matters, some of them involving life itself. We agreed there could be an almost spiritual side to salmon fishing and that one's success, or lack of it, fluctuated with what might be termed your salmon karma!"
Early evening we were fishing on Skammadalsbreida and Simon had slowed down somewhat. He had grown tired and as the fishing had been slow, it did not help matters. Suddenly he turned to me and said: „I think my fishing Karma has left me. I guess my salmon fishing will soon be at an end.“ Having said that, there was hope lacking in his eyes.
Gunnlaugur holding the fish he most definately had a hand in catching! Photo by Simon Darke.
But I told him: „Funny you should mention it, as my wife and myself were speaking of this very thing last night. The moment you stand in the middle of the river and nothing is happening and nothing seems to be going your way. At that moment, we revive the memories from past fishing trips, the magical moments most of us have experienced.“ Hope crept back into his eyes and he said: „Is this true?“ „Yes, and I could tell you several such tales, so be patient, there are salmon here and an adventure is waiting to happen.“
Ten minutes later Simon hooked and landed a beautiful salmon. It was a fresh run twenty pounder. He called it a day and he will be back on the river next season with his Karma intact. Sometimes one‘s luck in fishing can expand over to others.“
Thus ends Gunnlaugurs tale. We know that Gunnlaugur and Simon have had a debate on just who‘s Karma it was that contained the salmon. Simon has said that he suspects that the salmon belonged to Gunnlaugur‘s Karma, however, the man of God knows what he is talking about when it comes to Karmas. And the simple fact is: Karmas do not switch owners!
