A small Icelandic salmon river with fierce fish!
I admit, I have procrastinated about writing this piece. In truth it has been three or four years of procrastination! I am not sure of the reason, but I think it is because I am still getting to know, deciphering (!) and trying to understand Deildará and I am still not 100% sure I have achieved either! So why write now? In short because this little gem of a river deserves it.
I have now witnessed Deildará in four different moods. The total drought of 2021, the week-long horrendous storm of 2022, relative calm/normal water (which looked low to me) of 2023 and high to medium water of 2024. Not only do I have my experiences to draw on but those of my clients and their experiences tell the story too.
2021 was a serious drought. A ‘no rain for 16 weeks’ kind of drought. When I was on Deildará it was at about week 12 of no rain and lots of sun. It was my first time on the river but I was hopeful because a client of mine had been there a few days before and to his pleasant surprise caught fish, including fresh fish. I was fishing just the one rod of the three you can fish if you take the river. It is down time for me, so I took it easy, fished for salmon, wild brown trout, arctic char and small sea trout. Getting to know a river with no guide and almost record low water is an interesting experience but I landed 8 fish for my three days plus a whole lot of trout and char on dry fly. My clients who stayed a week after I had gone caught 19 fish (two of 19lbs!) for their week – they were now 14/15 weeks into no rain and still the river produced.
2022 was the year of the great storm – it was 50+ mph winds, horrendous rain and it never stopped for the entire three days I was there. As it happened, I had work issue after work issue so had the river been in good shape, I would have been frustrated. Of course, the river blew out, but it was nigh on impossible to cast anyhow and standing in the rain was like standing there having buckets of water thrown at you. But I did go out once and I did catch a fish so I have no doubt that had I been inclined, or work had allowed, I would have caught more. My clients who fished a few days later had a great time until storm No 2 came! One day they had 18 in a day!
2023 was a ‘normal year’ which looked low water to me but there is no doubt the fish were more free-taking, and things began to gel somewhat in understanding the river. To some degree, I cracked the code, or at least the code of that season, I fished a small Arndilly Fancy casting upstream and caught fish after fish with wonderfully aggressive takes. I landed 15 fish to my rod for the three days. Again, my clients had an equally good time if not better and they always seem to catch bigger fish whether fresh or not.
2024 was, as a guide put it, slightly high water and clearing. It was the first time that swinging a fly was a real thing and I’ll come back to that point later. Indeed, at the start of my few days, most pools could be fished swinging a fly properly and there were some wonderful takes and some great battles running down the river after these crazy fish… more on them later too. My clients arrived three days after and had fabulous fishing. They had another fresh of water but caught 70 fish over the two weeks stay with friends including trout and arctic char as well. They have had a guide from time to time over the years and they know the river way better than I particularly the lower river.
The reason for explaining all this is to demonstrate that over the last four years my clients and I have seen the river from its most dry state to a flood and fish have been caught regardless which is remarkable hence why I feel Deildará deserves its own blog.
What are the downsides of this little three rod gem?
It is self-catering which, for some, is a problem. It does not have to be, a chef can be arranged, or one can bring a chef from the UK which would likely be more cost effective especially if they liked to fish and were up for a trade! Buying the supplies you need, especially if only staying for three days, is very easy. Your gateway is either Akureyri or Egilsstadir (the latter is better but has less flights), both have big supermarkets and do a big shop there before heading to the river and you are sorted. In addition, from late July you can enjoy fresh arctic char. Then there is a decent shop in town where you can top up with milk etc. There is also a hotel with a restaurant if you want a night off from cooking!
The river is not a white-water tumbling river the likes of which we all understandably prefer. I cannot make excuses for this – some years you will swing a fly properly and there is white water along the river, but the fish tend to hold in the softer pieces of water. Where there is moving water, the fish love the hitch, so it is very effective in higher water. The lack of classic ‘swing-the-fly water’ probably makes the fishing more complex and harder to get to grips with but if you apply yourself there is no doubt the rewards are there. In fact, it is pretty fun working out where these fish will lie and how to catch them and fishing upstream can be absolutely epic because of the calibre of takes but if your heart is set on swinging a fly over rushing water, and you are not open-minded beyond that no matter how many fish, how acrobatic they are or what size etc, then this is not the river for you.
You can drive to certain points on the river but from there you must walk. The lodge comes with an old 4 x 4 banger so if you are two or three rods, you can drop one another off along the 12 kms of river (there is a lake at the top with trout and then more river if you are inclined for a long walk) and leave the car in strategic places for someone else to pick it up and then pick others up. The walking is not very hilly at all, but it is bumpy which is tiring because you always need to look where you are going. The best routes are always along the river on the flattened sheep tracks not across country. On the subject of cars, you will need to rent a car out of Akureyri or Egisstadir to get to the river which is an added cost. The river does not come with a guide included but you can take a guide for your first visit or even your first day. As you will see, this river remains very cost effective!
Travel is not a negative but let’s discuss it. The river is almost at the top of Iceland in the north-east tip. The best route to my mind is London – Keflavik (Reykjavik’s international airport), change airports to Reykjavik domestic in town and fly up to Egilsstadir and pick up your car and overnight somewhere like the Lake View Hotel. In the morning, do your shopping, and head north for about 3 hours to arrive about 2.30 passing lots of famous rivers on your way like Hofsa, Sela, Sanda, Holkna, Mio etc. This makes for a leisurely morning. You could even put your rods up and put them on the car, so you are fishing ready starting at Egilsstadir! I like to use a 5 or a 6 weight which works for salmon, trout and char. Floating line and an assortment of small flies. Using a bigger stronger rod does not achieve a great deal because you cannot pull any harder because of small flies and lightish leaders at about 10lbs. On the return, finish fishing and leave the lodge by about 1pm, head back to Egilsstadir and fly down to Reykjavik and go to an airport hotel to overnight ready for the 0740 flight in the morning.
Besides its reliability in terms of catchable fish, what else does Deildará have going for it?
Its location may be a little out of the way but that is why there are plenty of fish and having a lodge looking out onto nothing but the Icelandic sea is rather beautiful and peaceful!
The river/lodge location is lovely, near the town of Raufahofn but overlooking its own seemingly private bay. The lodge has a large sitting room/dining room and kitchen in one building and then in the other there are three twin rooms each with ensuite shower. It is a very peaceful location set on the estuary of the river surrounded by birdlife.
Being self-catering and therefore being on your own, being able to fish when you wish (within reason max 12 hours per day by Icelandic law), eat when you wish (and what you like) and not have to keep to anyone else’s lodge schedule can be a total and absolute pleasure. It makes such a trip properly relaxing. You can totally dance to your own tune.
The best, best, best part about this river is the fish which are truly chaotic! They take freely and aggressively and once hooked, they go completely crazy, ripping off down the river, jumping all over the place etc. Most times one feels completely out of control for the first minute or two and all you can do is hold on and run! There are decent fish too, with 20lbs fish possible and certainly fish in their teens. I have caught a lot of fish in a lot of places and these guys rank extremely highly. I am not talking about the odd fish, this is the majority of fish in high or low water. Another bonus is if you are searching for fish in new places, you can be fairly sure that if you find them, you will get a reaction!
I know this river will not be for everyone but if you can get over the few negatives or you want really good value salmon fishing on a reliable river, this is truly it at present. At £8,240 for the lodge and all three rods on the river that is very, very good value by any standards. £2,746 per rod, call it perhaps £4,200 each by the time you have bought food, rented a car, had a couple of nights in a hotel and flown from the UK. No tips of course apart from a small cleaning fee. Most Icelandic rivers start at £4,200+ for three days and then you have flights, hotels etc.
The Deildará gets a very big thumbs up from me for its solitude, its freedom and the amazing fish.
End…