Our annual Iceland fly fishing hosted weeks with Paul Procter have been running since June. Here is his report on the 3 days on litla river in Iceland's north.............
Known for its hostile climate, we were treated to near perfect conditions during our July 14 visit to Iceland’s north shores. Comprising of a river, lake and thermal springs the Litla system was our destination for a 4 day sortie. The river is home to some stomping brown trout that gorge on emerging midges during calm periods. Blessed with such conditions on the first morning, we’d have been foolish not to take advantage. It’s hard to concentrate when several large fish are puncturing the surface with a loud clatter of their jaws! Nonetheless, our nerve held and the whole group got to grips with some feisty fish. Surprisingly, it wasn’t all trout either, as such was the hatch, shoals of arctic char wanted in on the action too. Now, nothing can prepare you for big char, as pound for pound they pull harder than most species, including salmon! Tangling with them using 4-5 weight outfits and delicate tippets is nerve wracking stuff.
Tim Marks gets off to a flying start with a solid Arctic Char taken on a #20 CdC tethered to a 2.5lb tippet
PP starts his campaign with this cracking brown trout that fell for a small CdC emerger.
Our days seemed to follow a set pattern and by mid afternoon, annoying local winds increased just enough to put midges off emerging. Having been spoilt with plenty of dry fly sport, rather than reach for nymphs, we headed to the lake, in search of char and trout which were happy to forage round the margins under a curtain of broken water. Sight fishing for lake char is something else. Admittedly, we scored well with small nymphs at first, but these relics of the Ice Age weren’t shy when it came to accepting a dry fly either. In particular, a small black Klinkhamer or foam beetle pattern did the trick.
Tim Smart leans on another char having found the mark with a black Klinkhamer
Not that it went dark you understand, but the evenings provided us with unforgettablesport when a fading breeze resulted in a glassed-out lake. Then the char simply went nuts, mopping up everything in their path. To see a shoal of these dimpling all around you is a lasting sight and one that will stick in our memories for years to come. Of course, it would have been easy to kick back and soak up the whole experience, yet the hunter within overrode such thoughts and we simply kept pestering fish until the wee small hours.
Tim Smart bent in again as the clock ticks towards midnight
2 minutes to midnight and our group huddle together as they decide whether to chase trout or char in the wee small hours
Long shadows mean only one thing-big trout… So come that witching hour, we were out stalking the banks. Naturally, such fish tend to be illusive, but a large dollop of perseverance kept us in the game. Granted, our fair share of fish were lost and missed, but enough stuck to make burning the candle at both ends more than worthwhile. As for 24 hour daylight interfering with your sleep pattern, not a bit of it…who wouldn’t sleep soundly with 6lb odd of wild brown trout under your belt!
Paul Procter with a solid 6-pounder taken at 2am
Written by Paul Procter, 2014
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON OUR FLY FISHING OPTIONS FOR BROWN TROUT AND ARCTIC CHAR IN ICELAND PLEASE CALL US ON +44 (0) 1621743711 OR EMAIL: ENQUIRIES@FLYODYSSEY.CO.UK
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