Outstanding improvement on Sogid
Sogið is a large volume river in beautiful surroundings. Photo by Einar Falur.
One of the several record breaking salmon rivers in Iceland this season was the Sogid, Icelands biggest clear water river, situated in the southwest part of Iceland, only an hours drive from Reykjavik. Looking at statistics over recent years provide striking improvements!
The record catch exceeded 1.300 salmon. It is a big river with some twelve daily rods, of which the Angling Club of Reykjavik has for years managed eleven. But take a look at the rivers statistics dating back to the season of 2002:
2002: 265 salmon
2003: 342 salmon
2004: 250 salmon
2005: 280 salmon
2006: 316 salmon
2007: 668 salmon
2008: 613 salmon
2009: 718 salmon
2010: 1.300-plus salmon!
Looking at these statistics we see that 2009 was indeed a record season, and yet the 2010 almost doubled it! Why is the river in such robust health people may ask. There are probably more answers than one. One might be good conditions at the marine feeding grounds. Another might be good conditions in the river due to improving temperatures(global warming, Sogid is a rather cold river). Yet another might be good success with salmon par releasing. The biggest factor though, by a mile, is probably the net buyout over the past few years. The buyout has mostly been in the Olfusa, the huge glacial river made up by Sogid and the glacial river Hvita. It is pretty obvious that the Sogid has benefitted hugely from the buyout. The Angling Club of Reykjavik has led the buyout which is a complex piece of work.
