Fishing in Iceland - a brief information.
Lake fishing:
There are hundreds of lakes in Iceland with wild and healty brown trout, char and even sea trout, sea char and occasionally salmon. Of course if the lake in close to the sea without bondaries so that the fish can go freely to the lakes. The cheapest and most accessable way to go lake fishing would be to buy the Fishing Card ( www.veidikortid.is ), that gives you access to more than 30 lakes around the country. For 6000 ISK you can fish as many lakes as many times as you wish within the current year. If you are travelling to Iceland and only want to go lake fishing for i.g. one day it would be cheaper to only by day ticket. Day ticket cost from 1000 ISK to 3000 ISK, though with more expensive exceptions. If you do not have fishing equipment with you to Iceland you might been able to rent a fishing gear, or rent a guide i.g. at www.gofishing.is and he could help you to arrange what is needed. You can see information in English about the lakes that are included in the fishing card by choose english at www.veidikortid.is
Fisherman fishing at Lake Thingvallavatn - great lake for nice char
1-4 lbs and the big iceage brown trout that can be up to 25 lbs.
Streamwater salmon fishing:
If you like to go salmon fishing you might need to buy the day ticket in advance (dec-jan) before arriving. Though there might also be possible to find some availability by contacting the angling clubs i.g. the Angling Club of Reykjavik www.svfr.is or www.strengir.is, www.lax.is and www.lax-a.is. The more expensive rivers are most often with luxury fishing lodges and you might need to buy all service like breakfast, lunch and dinner. Smaller rivers are most often self catered so you might need to bring all supplies as well as sleeping bag. Most common prices for staying in the lodges with service is from ISK 10.000 - ISK 20.000, but most of the times the lodge is included in the fishing licence.
Best fishing season can vary between rivers, depending where the river is located. July and August are normally the best salmon fishing season.
Prices per day for salmon fishing can vary from ISK 15.000 - 200.000. Most common prices are from ISK 25.000 - 40.000 per day. Two fishermen can share one rod.
Streamwater trout fishing:
As in the salmon fishing, most of the time you need to book your licenses in advance. Though it is always possible to find some license through the summer. Sometimes there is a fishing lodge included or some information available for accommodation. Though there are exception and you might need to buy full service. Most common price is around 10.000 ISK per day though it can go as high as 30.000 ISK for brown trout rivers and even more for a very good sea trout rivers per day.
Driving around in Iceland:
You can rent a car and drive to most lakes and rivers on a normal car. For some lakes and rivers you might need a 4x4 car or even jeep. Please be carefull when driving around in Iceland, especially when driving on the non-asfalt roads. You can rent a car at i.g. Hertz and Avis.
We hope these informations were helpful. Please send us mail at veidikortid@veidikortid.is if you think that we do not mention some obvious information needed.
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