Midfjardara, Iceland, August 2013 - The Trip Report

By Jim Curry

After last season’s low water and testing conditions, everyone had their fingers crossed for the Iceland 2013 season. But salmon fishing comes in cycles and we shouldn’t have worried. The whole of Iceland fished well this summer and the Midfjardara system amazed even those who know it well.

Salmon had arrived in good numbers from even before the start of the season, so we knew the pools would be full of fish. The water was a perfect height when we arrived and it was clear that good numbers of fish were spread throughout the three rivers that make up Midfjaradara system.  Water temperature and air temperature were ideal for salmon fishing and the nerves were starting to tingle.

Nick Moody, now a veteran of the Midfjardara, hit the ground running and finished the week as top rod with 41 fish including one at 25lb and one at 27lb. These are stunning fish for Iceland and a mark of the range of fish sizes Midfjardara produces. They were also great fun on his trusty St Croix six weight single-hander! It was great to have Nick back again with us - always great company in the lodge and a weapon on the river.

Nick Moody lands another on his way to 41 salmon landed

For the first couple of days this year, our group consisted mainly of a team of UK vets headed up by David Babington. In spite of a lack of experience, David and the boys in the group really found their feet on the second day and everyone caught fish! Both of David’s sons caught their first Atlantic salmon – great pictures for the family album!

Special mention also has to go to Bernard Lambilliotte and his son Gabriel who joined us for three days as first time fishers. It was wonderful to see a father and son team that get on so well sharing time together on the river bank. It reminded me of fishing with my father when I was 14! Both Bernard and Gabriel hooked salmon in the first pool we fished. Gabriel returned to the lodge with his first ever fish and true to Icelandic tradition had to bite off the adipose fin. He won’t forget that in while.

Well done, Gabriel, you really looked like a fisherman after three days and we were all impressed by the way you were belting a line out on the windy bottom beat on the final morning.    

A lovely fish for David Babington

We had something a team rotation for the back end of the week, as some saw new rods and some familiar faces joined us and hit the water with the river still in perfect order. Mike Cooney scored well on his first Icelandic adventure with a creditable 17 fish in four days. His fishing partner Paul Lalwan, back at Midfjardara for the second year running, was again on form. And yet again Paul managed to find the big fish, as it seems only he can, anywhere on the planet.

Peter Miles notched up an impressive 27 salmon in four days on both single- and double-handed rods. It was a great effort from Peter for his first Icelandic fishing experience – really thinking through the pools and seeking to fish each one to its maximum potential. Hugh Dalgety, an experienced angler who joined us for our Eden course this year, also came out for three days on his first H&B overseas trip. He put his experience into play from the off and caught consistently.

But probably star of the show was Anne Chaffers, who, in her own words, came to enjoy her “last salmon fishing trip abroad”. Fishing with Rabbi as her guide, she landed twelve fish, including five in one session. Fishing at her own pace - just a couple of hours in the morning and the same in the afternoon - she was a delight to have in the group and an inspiration to us all.

Ann Chaffers battles a large salmon as  Rabbi offer encouragement

As usual on Midfjardara, single-handed rods were the normal weapons of choice. However, due to the extra water this year, switch rods and light double handers also were a worthy addition to the armoury and came into their own on some beats. But even with more water, small, Icelandic-style flies were still all that was needed. Floating lines coupled with small Sunray Shadows, tiny doubles and the occasional heavy but small Frances tube fly did most of the damage. 

As ever Hakan, the chef did us proud with his culinary skills, simply the best food you’re likely to find in a fishing lodge, and which would grace the finest restaurants (where, in fact, he works the rest of the year). Rabbi’s team of world-class guides were a pleasure to watch at work. Their ability to match the skills of their clients to the huge variety of water on each beat meant that the rods kept bending on every session. The guide team is another of the factors that really sets this river apart.

Nick ponders the trek down into the staggering Midfjardara canyon

 And the prospects for next year? Well, a scientific study just conducted on the river has revealed a huge number of big, healthy smolts returning to sea. That’s fantastic news for the future of this incredible river system. 

All in all, this was one of the most hectic week’s salmon fishing I can remember! A whole bunch of new friends made, a wonderful variety of characters, some great father and son bonding moments, first salmon, so many memorable fish caught, hooked and lost and, as ever on these trips, a lot of laughs.

 I’ll look forward to next year with great anticipation – and I know I’m not the only one!

Rabbi shows what Midfjardara can produce

Ueli's report on the Scottish Salmon Course

Ueli Zellweger kindly took the trouble to send us his report on our recent three-day salmon course on the river Tay. Here it is, in his words:

"The invitation for the River Tay Spey Casting Course May 2013 came out of the blue and rather under short notice. Having fished for salmon quite a bit over the last few years, I would not say that I am a beginner but the most enjoyable 3 days on this perfect fly water of Kinnaird House (Lower Kinnaird Beat) certainly improved the full pleasure and enjoyment of my salmon fishing a lot. 

"The 3 AAPGAI instructors - Illtyd, Glyn and Bob - had a look from close for each of us in turns giving tips, advice and correcting bad habits in most useful and easy understandable way. Of course all of the 8 participants failed and struggled a lot but after a while we picked up what was meant and got the real feeling when the line went out much farther than ever before with a fine tune “sschhhh”– all this without the former huge body efforts but with elegance and fine timing of the perfect rhythm. 

"Looking at some of the photos which were taken I do find it hard to believe the perfect D loops I had in the air with the latest Scott McKenzie 15ft #10 rod lent to me by Glyn for free. It did not come as too big a surprise that with this casting I managed to hook and land two beautiful lively spring salmon (both sea-liced and this some 35 miles above the estuary).

That D-Loop

"A huge THANK YOU to all 3 AAPGAI instructors  Illtyd Griffiths, Glyn Freeman and Bob Sherwood."

Thanks for the report, Ueli. We'll look forward to seeing you next year...

- Bob


 

Spring Salmon Course on the Tay

We were back on Scotland's majestic river Tay for our third annual Scottish spring salmon course at Lower Kinnaird. With arguably the best fly water on the river, excellent and friendly head ghillie Martin Edgar, and fresh spring fish pushing into the beat, these few days are always one of the highlights of our early season salmon fishing.

Nora sends a tight loop over the Junction pool

The first day was spent concentrating on casting for most of the team. With an upstream wind, the circle spey cast was first on the agenda. One of the great things about these courses is seeing friendly faces return year after year, and to watch the progress they make. Back again this year were Frank and his daughter Stephanie, along with our old friend Karl Kliem and his daughter Stephanie, who flew in from Germany for the course.

Frank bends into a long cast on Mike's Run

Master instructors Illtyd Griffiths and Glyn Freeman run this course with me and we were all delighted to see the progress these guys have made. The difference is unbelievable and they were all casting beautiful lines with double speys and circle speys off both banks and with both left and right hand uppermost. The Tay is a big river and they covered the water beautifully.

Stephanie in great water on the Junction

After the slightly high water we had experienced in previous years, the Tay was dropping nicely to 1'3" on the gauge at Lower Kinnaird, pretty much perfect water height for this beat. However, temperatures were still a little cool for the time of year and the easterly wind on the first day didn't help the fishing.

Ueli sets up a dynamic D-loop

No matter, because by the second day the wind had shifted right round and was now coming downstream from the west. Everyone was casting well now, and the wind change was perfect for fine tuning the double spey casts.

Mark covered the water excellently every day

By early afternoon, we were seeing fresh salmon show in the Ash Trees pool and expectations rose sharply. Illtyd was certain the team would get a fish and took Ueli Zellweger and Karl into the Ash Trees with the firm instructions to keep casting until they got us a fish! In fact, it didn't take long for Ueli, who was now casting a long line with ease after just a few tweaks, to latch into a stunning 15lb+ springer. Complete with long-tailed sea lice, this hen fish had clearly come straight off the tide.

Ueli with his first sea-liced springer caught in the UK

This was just the quality of fish we come to the Tay for. You may not catch lots of fish, but when you get one it is pure muscle, bright silver and almost certainly into double figures. The pull of these fish is so strong that almost everyone wanted to keep fishing after our bankside dinner in the spacious fishing hut. So we kept going until the light began to fade around 9pm!

Jeremy searches the water

Our other team members were all fishing well, with great determination. Mark Riley was fresh from his triumph on the Rio Grande in Argentina, where he caught the biggest sea trout of the season at 26 1/2 lbs. He may have used up all his luck, though, because even his casting was not enough to tempt a fish this time. Jeremy Grace, keen to tune up before his regular Tweed visits later this season, was also casting a beautiful line and moved on to the single spey, which he was handling with accuracy and delicacy.

Simon covering the full width of the Junction pool

Delicacy is not Simon Frobisher's forte, however! Always entertaining, Simon made a grand entrance by jumping from his car so eagerly at the start of the course, that it began to roll away unhindered by a handbrake. His spey casting made great strides in these few days, as he concentrated on timing rather than power. The difference was a revelation. 

Karl's deserved reward - about 14lbs from the Ash Trees

 On the third day, with excellent conditions and even more fish showing in the beat, the Tay had plenty more excitement for us. Karl, fishing from the left bank at the Ash Trees hooked a strong springer that took him right down to the head of the New Pool below, almost running out his backing and taking him through a few gorse bushes on the way. A fast dash from Martin ended in the Tweed-clad ghillie wading far out into the river to net a fish that Karl had thoroughly deserved. A change of Kinnaird Tweed suit was deemed a small price to pay for such a stunning salmon.

And then, later that afternoon, we all watched as Ueli took his second fish, this time around 11lbs, from lower down the Ash Trees - a very lively hen that gave normally-unruffled instructor Glyn Freeman quite a tussle as he tailed it.

The obligatory team photo

 And there was still drama to come. Simon, wading deep and determined to cover the lies, hooked a very heavy fish that just stayed deep, pulsing the rod tip. For some minutes the big fish just stayed deep, trying to rub the leader on rocks. Before we could even see the fish, the polyleader suddenly snapped, presumably damaged on the rocks during the fight. Well, it;s the ones that get away that keep us coming back to fish for these heart-stopping spring fish.

Illtyd, Glyn and I will be back at Lower Kinnaird for two three-day courses next May. Get in touch if you'd like to join us.

- Bob

Argentina Sea Trout 2013 Report

Our teams caught so many great sea trout in Argentina this year, that it took Jim a while to recover enough to complete his report! Here it is - the blow-by-blow account of an incredible season on the Rio Grande:

2013 Sea Trout Season at Villa Maria Lodge by Jim Curry

Villa Maria on the Rio Grande in Argentina’s Tierra Del Fuego delivered another great sea trout season in 2013 for us here at Halstead and Bolton. Our rods throughout the season caught some fantastic fish, including Mark Riley who landed the biggest fish of the season at Villa Maria with a bright 26½ lb fish. Mark now has his name forever displayed on the roll of honour on the wall of the lodge!

Out two hosted weeks produced more than two hundred fish for our rods. It was a pleasure to see clients from previous years returning and beating their personal bests as well as new rods living their dreams of catching some of the biggest sea trout in the world.

Week 1 - 1-8 March 2013

We arrived to find the river low but full of big fish! One of the advantages of the Villa Maria water is that, even in the lowest water conditions, fresh fish will enter the system on every tide and hold with us. Due to the low water the fish had dropped back into the deep pools so a Skagit line and 15ft of T-14 tip was the order of the day to get our flies down to the fish. Flies varied wildly in size from tiny nymphs to large leeches. The evening sessions saw us switching in the main to large, dark leeches which where savaged by the huge sea trout. 

This week was fished by one of the strongest teams of anglers I've ever assembled, with a great mix of experience on either sea trout or Atlantic salmon. All were good casters and handled the conditions very well indeed. Helped by the constant flow of red wine from the lodge wine cellar, they went on to catch 125 sea trout for six rods - with no less than ten over 20lbs. That made it the most productive week of the season at Villa Maria in terms of numbers of fish caught. 

Richard Williams, who was enjoying his sixth year with us chasing sea trout in Argentina, and his chum Andrew (Watty) Watson hooked and lost more big fish than I’ve ever seen. They went on to catch some great fish but I know they will remember some of the wild things that went berserk and threw the hooks.  These beasts take some landing!

Paul Lalwan and David Eccleston picked up where they left off last year by landing giant fish. Incredibly, Paul landed a 26lb fish for the second year running (and won the bet for the biggest fish of the week!).  

Nick Moody and Phil Walker, our most experienced destination fishers for Atlantic salmon, went steadily through the gears, picking up the tactics and learning the river and the demands of the evening sessions. As expected, they just got better and better and I was fortunate to spend the last day with these guys as they switched into overdrive and took fish out of every pool they fished - including the home pool during the siesta.  Great work boys an absolute pleasure to watch you all at work (and play). 

Week 2 - 8-15 March 2013

This week saw a lift in water and a change in tactics as the week progressed. Again, it was to prove another excellent week, especially for big fish. It was especially interesting for me to see the fish moving out of the deep holes as the water lifted a foot and into shallow water in the fast necks of pools as well as dropping into the tails as I would have expected.

Also many of the pools that were too low to fish properly the week suddenly became perfect fly water. And even in the most coloured water we still caught fish on the biggest tube flies – to the surprise of some!

Keith Graham and Rock Wallace returned for the second successive year after becoming addicted to the runs of these sea trout. They hit the ground running, landing five twenties between them on just the first day! The guys covered the water beautifully and the sound of Keith's Hardy Perfect screaming could be heard in the Andes, I'm sure. 

Mike Cooney and Chris Noble, first timers on the Rio Grande, formed a great team. Chris landed five fish over 20lbs - an incredible achievement, especially as a bad back had stopped Chris travelling last year at the eleventh hour. Mike who had a rough time on another river in Patagonia allowed me to persuade him to try the Rio Grande and he did fantastically well catching great fish to a staggering 24lb everyday. Mike also persevered and took fish in the high water conditions when everyone else had retired to the lodge. 

Joe, Joe jnr and Chris Gallo from California are generally more at home running the Gallo wine empire. However these guys did so well learning to Spey cast proficiently and always listened to the guides’ advice and,  as a result, caught some huge fish. 

So, two great and very memorable weeks for us again. This year was made even more special, not simply for the fish which just keep getting bigger, but also because of the great team of guides run by head guide Gaston and the house staff led by Analia. They combined fantastically well to make everyone's trip such a memorable one. 

It all just confirmed to us what we already know: that the Rio Grande is the finest sea trout river in the world and the Villa Maria water is the best and most productive beat on the entire river. 

Can’t wait for next year!

- Jim