Vatnsdalsa: Finger breaking salmon!
An inexperienced angler on Vatnsdalsa learned the hard way recently, that you should allow your reel to slow down the salmons first run(s). He will have learned his lesson as he ended up with a cracked finger plus a bleeding wound. It did not stop him however....The angler was fishing Hnausastrengur when the salmon measuring 91 cm and weighting an estimated 7,7 kilos, just over 15 and a half pounds, grabbed his inch long red Frances tube. While making its first violent run, the angler found that his break was set to lightly and due to his inexperience he grabbed the reel to slow the salmon down instead of stiffening the break. This resulted in a painful clash of fingers and spinning fly reel, leading to a cracked bone and a bleeding gash. Somehow, however, the salmon did not break off and as the angler recovered his composure, he managed to gradually tire the salmon and finally land it despite his painful wounds. Following the ritual of measuring and kissing goodby, the angler promptly declared that he was used to breaking his fingers while playing American football during his younger years so instead of making a fuss, he taped his cracked finger to a healthy one and continued fishing! The bone cracking salmon can be seen in the above photo
We might add, that Vatnsdalsa has been sensational this season. Yesterday evening the catch book stood at 931 salmon, which is the rivers best total for many, many years. The average estimated weight stood at 3,65 kilos which inicates a fine ballance of mws‘s versus grilse.
