Iceland: Minnivallalaekur Brown Trout

Iceland is home to one of the oldest strains of brown trout in the world. It is believed that the fish of the Minnivallalaekur river link back to the brown trout present in Iceland at the last Ice Age 1,3000 years ago. Through genetic popultion research these fish are believed to have been involved in two post glaciation re-colonisations of brown trout through Northern Europe. I recently visited Iceland for these brown trout with UK wild brown trout enthusiast Paul Procter to check out these fish for ourselves prior to our recent Orvis hosted trip to the Minnivallalaekur lodge.



The Minnivallalaekur lodge makes an impression on you right from the start. Sitting as close to the home pool as possible the lodge offers panoramic views to the inspiring and active Mount Hekla. But it is the three large speciens of brown trout adorning the walls that make any fly fisherman drool. These fish all in excess of 10lb provide a motivation to tackle up quickly and get onto the water. The river itself is spring fed and crystal clear offering the opportunity to see these monsters lying on station in the deeper pools when the conditions cooperate.



Over the three days of fishing we caught glimpses of 10lb+ fish but trophy brown trout don't come easy no matter where you fish in the world for them. Instead we managed fish in the 24-26 inch range, the largest of these weighing in at 6 and 1/2 pounds. An epic wild fish by anyone's standards.



Iceland is only a short 2 hour 30 minute flight from the UK and provides a unique experience. Having fished New Zealand for over a dozen seasons I was most impressed with the quality of fishing on offer. In fact I came to the conclusion that if a trophy fish was what I was after then Minnivallalaekur river would most likely be my first port of call.

In 2010 we will be running two group trips to the Minnivallalaekur lodge. The first will be during the first week of July 2010 during the prime black fly hatch. The second will be last week of August when the terrestrial flies like 'daddy long legs' abound and the brown trout become more aggressive with their spawning urges beginning to take over. For details and pricing please contact us or call +44 1621743711.