Icing on the Cake - Where To Toss The Bags

Where To Toss The Bags

Getting to Iceland is a relative breeze, since Icelandair flies there from several east coast US cities in less than five hours. Keep in mind that Customs regulations in Iceland require that you show a notarized certificate from a veterinary clinic confirming that your rods, waders and other fishing equipment have been properly disinfected. Otherwise they’ll charge you about $30 per rod to do it at the airport.

If it’s salmon you’re after and want to keep costs down, book dates at the beginning of the season in June or late August through (in some rivers) September 20 so as to avoid the prime-time month of July. The same applies if your preference is for Arctic char or trout. Iceland also boasts an abundance of huge double-digit wild brown trout for which you can fish through October. Sea-run brown trout appear as early as April.

Char and trout abound in Iceland’s lakes as well as in its rivers, and for about $75 you can buy online a Veidikortid, which is a license valid for the entire season allowing access to about 30 lakes around the country.

Hire (at about $500 a day) an authorized Icelandic guide to ensure maximizing your catch ratio as well as enhancing your overall experience. The guide will provide a pick-up at the airport, transportation to rivers or lakes and advise you on the best fishing techniques. Needless to say, self-catering huts are far more economical than full-service lodges but lack the same number of amenities.

For fishing arrangements and guides, contact Arni Baldursson (arnibald@lax-a.is), Bjarni Júlíusson (bjarni@framnes.is), Orri Vigfússon (orri@icy.is) for fishing on the Fljótaá River or Orri’s son Vigfús Orrason (vivvi@icy.is) for not only fishing but also bird-shooting.

Bring Your Camera

Although you can set up a personal itinerary, bus tours out of Reykjavik offer a more reasonable alternative to savoring the sights of this remarkable country. From a scenic point of view, I’d recommend a trip to Guilfoss, a thundering two-tiered cataract not far from Reykjavik and considered to be the most spectacular waterfall in Iceland.

Go as well to Hraunfossar Falls, whose upstream course lies hidden beneath a vast volcanic plain of porous rock until it suddenly cascades out from under the lava to plummet into the gorge below.

Impressive as well is the geyser adjacent to the now dormant Geysir, in its heyday the largest in the world, whose name has become the universal generic for this awesome phenomenon of nature.

Another must-visit involves Thingvellir National Park, site of Europe’s oldest parliament that first convened in 930 AD. The park sits astride the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, and you actually can cross the scar-like fissure where the African and American tectonic plates are in the process of being torn apart as lava rises from the earth to fill the gap.

As for museums, I particularly enjoyed the Icelandic Seal Center in Hvammstangi, a town at the mouth of the Midfjardará River, and the Herring Museum in Siglufjördur, a fishing village near the Fljótáa River.

A travel agency specializing in Iceland tourism is LT Travel (www.LTtravel.com) or visit Iceland’s official tourism site (www.icetourist.is/).

Other Notes of Interest

About Iceland

• Official Name: Republic of Iceland
• Area: 103,000 square kilometers or 39,770 square miles
• Capital: Reykjavic
• Government: A constitutional republic
• Population: 311,396
• Religion: Most are members of the National Church of Iceland
• Language: Icelandic
• Currency: Icelandic kroner ($1US = 61.87ISK)