Vast improvement for Laxa in Kjos in 2008
Photo by Heimir Óskarsson.
While Laxa in Kjos did not shatter its record in 2008 as so many other Icelandic rivers did during the superb season, the river did vastly improve on its totals from the last two seasons. The river was low for a substantial period of the prime season but that did not stop the salmon running. The seasons total turned out to be 1.530 salmon plus several hundred sea trout. Compared to 2007 that accounts for a great season as 2007 yielded 803 salmon plus the sea trout.
So, 2008 came close to doubling the 2007 total. The total this year was also well above the ten year average catch which is 1.295 salmon. The rivers record stems back to 1988 when a massive haul of 3.422 salmon were caught. The record was tainted by the fact that during that year and the two following years there were a lot of farmed escapees running the west coast rivers in Iceland, most of them into the rivers of Faxaflói bay in which Laxa in Kjos has a central status.
Most of Laxa’s fine catch was good sized grilse although there was a marked increase in mws salmon running the river as was the case on many other Icelandic rivers. It is hoped that it is a sign of change and better things to come as the bigger salmon have been struggling over the last years.
