Awesome Asum

Laxa in Asum is a river normally spoken of in hushed tones. Even in Iceland, a country blessed with incredible salmon rivers, this is considered the special one. With the highest per rod salmon catch, it has long been considered exclusive, even legendary. But now a new group of keen, young salmon anglers have taken over the lease, a new luxury lodge has been built, and the so called "Laxa in Awesome" is available to H&B clients.

Gary Champion gets a taste of what makes Laxa in Asum so special

Master AAPGAI instructor Gary Champion and I were very privileged to be invited to open the season on Asum and get a taste of its very special fishing. In fact, we were the first anglers ever to stay in its new lodge! We were itching to get fishing and fished late in to the evening on the first night determined to get our first Asum fish. As the sun threatened to set (it just doesn't get dark in Iceland at this time of year), a fish moved to Gary's tiny red Frances, but didn't take. I swung a small sunray shadow over the spot and two fish lunged at it, more than once, but again no hook-up. We were excited now! Gary tried a small conehead and again the fish came but refused. Our nerves were really on edge by the time I skated a micro riffle hitch tube over the fish, and our first salmon plucked it off the surface like a dry fly.

The first salmon took some persuading and finally fell to the hitch

This is just what makes Icelandic fishing, and Asum in particular, so special. The takes are almost always visual in the clear, shallow water, and salmon will often move time and again to flies, requiring the angler to switch offerings over and over. With such a small river, all the fishing is done with a single-handed rod. The fishing is intimate, with small pools, pocket water, riffles and waterfalls and always highly visual. Tiny riffle hitches and small flies are the order of the river. It's the ideal salmon river for trout anglers or those who love close-quarters fishing.

Ok, what now? Gary battles a strong fish halfway down a string of waterfalls

The catch statistics speak for themselves. The average catch is just under 7 salmon per rod per day! But that doesn't really tell the story. Because most fish are caught in the short prime season from early July to late August, so the rod catch then is in fact usually even higher. And given the number of takes, misses, swirls and lost fish that are inevitable, you can see how much action this river throws up. And it all in breathtaking scenery surrounded by snowcapped mountains. And that's without the huge trout that come along too. Both Gary and I landed wild brown trout well over 50cms long that fought so hard we were convinced we were playing salmon!

The trout fishing isn't bad, either

Laxa in Asum is fished by just two rods, though it is popular in Iceland to share rods (remember you have 12 hours of fishing a day and there's so much to watch even when you are not fishing) and the lodge can accommodate four anglers in comfort. Rooms have en-suite bathrooms, there is a large sitting and dining area with a panoramic view of the river, a great wader room, patio overlooking the river and Fannar, the chef, (fishing-mad executive chef at the Reykjavik Hilton who spends his summer cooking at Asum) conjures up the best food you are ever likely to eat in a fishing lodge. You can easily (we did) stroll from the lodge and fish the middle beat of the river at your convenience. It is possibly the ultimate place for a private fishing party.

Fishing from the top waterfall, a great holding spot

 It is easy to see why there are very few slots left for this season (though there are some!). Most people take a three-day slot, but six days are also available. This is an exclusive destination. But it is surely one of the most exciting salmon rivers. And imagine having it all to yourself for a few days...

- Bob