Iceland - One Of The Very Best Rivers

Hofsa is one of Iceland's most famed rivers - sister to the storied Sela in the north-east of the country. I'd heard a lot about it, not least from Orri Vigfusson, founder of the North Atlantic Salmon Fund and chairman of the syndicate that controls the fishing on Hofsa. Our good friend and guide Oskar Pal Sveinsson has also raved about it - he says it's his favourite river, and that must be praise indeed from someone who knows the Icelandic rivers so well. Understandably I was keen to see why he liked it so much, so I took the opportunity for a visit after our Asum fishing.

Ultimate Icelandic experience: salmon on the hitch, beneath a  waterfall

I soon realised. I can't think of another river I've fished which has such consistently wonderful water for fly fishing. Every one of the seven beats has pool after pool of delicious-looking water: runs, glides, necks and tails. And it is all crystal clear. This is undoubtedly the river for those salmon fishermen who love to swing flies! There's not so much of the upstream fishing, stripping or dead drifting of some other Icelandic rivers. And it's big enough to warrant a light double hander. I fished an 11ft switch rod, but a 12-13ft double hander would have been perfect. With maybe a 10ft 7-weight single handed as en extra tool for fishing the riffle hitch. I defy any salmon fishermen not to fall in love with Hofsa's pools

The dramatic canyon of beat 1: one of the truly great salmon beats 

Beat 1 is the top end of the river, where a waterfall halt's the salmon's progress. This is one of the truly great salmon beats, with stunning pools below the falls. It's about an hour-long hike up to the top of the canyon, but it's worth it for the scenery and the sense of anticipation. We could see big fish hanging in the gin-clear currents from the rocky path high above - marking their spots with reference to boulders so we could find them later. It was in Foss 2, the second pool below the waterfall that I got my first fish - a 12lb cock. We spotted it in the tail and it exploded onto a small riffle hitch tube skated across the surface, pushing it's entire body out of the water. I won't forget that one for a while.

Guide Valdi searches for salmon in the clear currents

 Beat 1 is not typical of the river. The rest is set in a wide valley, framed by snow capped mountains. The wading is largely easy and there is rarely much need to wade deeply. The riffle hitch works well as do typical small Icelandic flies (Black Sheep, Black and Blue etc), the inevitable Frances and Sunray Shadows. The Icelandic guides insist on showing salmon an array of flies, so we changed repeatedly, covering all the options. We found more fish on Beat 5 in a couple of pools just below the road bridge, with two taking a hitch and another two a Black Sheep - but for every one I landed, I lost another!

Hofsa lodge in its breathtaking setting

The other beat that has a unique character is beat 7, near the fjord, where the valley opens out. This is the place for the fresh fish literally straight off the tide, with the showpiece pool of Odin's Bank - a lovely long and deep holding pool below a large, steep, dominating, rocky cliff. Hofsa's lodge is large with plenty of en-suite rooms, a great wader drying room, a large sitting and dining room with panoramic views over the mountains and river, a separate sitting area and a large outdoor patio. The chef is, er, a character, and well known in Icelandic culinary circles for his prowess in the kitchen.

A dining room with a view

 Of course, as with all trips, it's the people that make it. I was lucky enough to enjoy the services of Valdi, a great guide and a super fly tyer. We had a lot of laughs over our few days, and I stole a lot of his flies. Through him, I learnt a lot about the river and picked up a few more tricks along the way. Yet again, the old adage that the best guides make for the best trips proved true. Thanks, mate. And I agree: This is a river that lovers of salmon fly fishing should fish at least once.

Valdi and a reluctant pose for the camera!

- Bob

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