Icelands big FIVE 2009

A dark and fierce looking mws from Midfjardara on the final day of the season.

Our last article, reporting on Iceland‘s biggest salmon of the season of 2009 was found lacking and wanting. We recollected three 107-108 cm salmon. There were however two more we rather unfortunatly forgot! So here we go again....

All three from the former article are legit and nothing to add to their credentials. The other two however were as follows: There was a 108 cm cock fish caught on a hitched tube fly on the pool Svarthamar on Austurá, which is a tributary on Midfjardara. The fish was measured and released. Alas, no photo, as the guide was not present and the angler himself was not armed with a camera.

Another one, same angler, different pool.

Mifjardara is one of our listed rivers. The final huge salmon was a 107 cm cock fish caught in the pool Hardeyrarstrengur on Vididalsa, which is a neighbour to Vatnsdalsa but not one of our listed rivers. Vididalsa produced eight salmon ranging from 100 to 107 cm, 20 to 24 pounds according to the comparison chart.

The photos tagging along this item were taken by Rafn Valur Alfreðsson, the outfitter of Midfjardara as he and a friend of his, Óskar Páll Sveinsson fished the river together during the final days of the season. It was very cold and most of the group were fishing slow and deep with inch long tubes. They were not doing fantastically well although they were hooking and landing at most 2-3 fish per shift, which is actually not that bad. However Rafn and Óskar turned to hitched tubes and very small flies on floating lines, despite the frosty conditions. They did superbly landing 8 to 15 salmon on every shift! Which just goes to show that you should not get to caught up in what is considered to be right as far as salmon fishing is concerned.