Iceland – The Land of Fire & Ice, and Big Browns

Part I: Planning and Logistics

In July of 2025 I was blessed to be able to take my first fly fishing trip to Iceland. This article is the first of a four part series recounting my experience there, including what went well and what I will do differently when I return. Part One will explain the planning and logistics of the trip, Part Two will cover my fly fishing on the northern coast near Akureyri, Part Three will be about my day of fishing in the Highlands region, and part four will describe the other non-fishing highlights of the trip.

Planning and Logistics

Where to begin….where to begin. There is so much to consider when planning a fishing trip to Iceland, especially for somebody visiting for the first time. Admittedly, I am far from being an expert myself, only having ever spent two weeks there this last summer. There are hundreds of rivers in Iceland, which makes it a daunting task to try and figure out how to put a trip like this together – not to mention trying to learn how to navigate a foreign country. It’s a fun task though, and it’s well worth the effort to plan because Iceland is such an amazing place to visit and to fish. This article is about how I made my decisions surrounding my first trip there. I learned quite a bit, and am definitely planning on returning someday. Hopefully soon!

There are five major decisions that need to be made when planning a fly fishing trip to Iceland; 1) What guide service/booking partner to use, 2) The species of fish to target, 3) What time of year to visit, 4) What region(s) to visit, and 5) The overall cost of the trip. These decisions don’t necessary happen sequentially. Rather they are all researched, thought about, and considered simultaneously, until a trip itinerary comes together and is actually booked. I think the planning of a trip like this is a lot of fun. It’s a time of dreaming about adventure, scenery, big fish, and time spent with friends and family. These types of decisions can be difficult when visiting any new region for the first time. I know that I certainly needed help and advice from the booking partners I utilized. Now that I’ve been there, I have a much better idea how I’ll proceed in the future when I return to Iceland to fish it again.

My hope is that you will find this helpful in your planning, should you decide to give fly fishing Iceland a try!

Guide Service/Booking Partner

I’d been wanting to fly fish Iceland ever since I first starting seeing presentations about it while attending the Denver Fly Fishing Show, which comes through my area each year. There are always two companies that attend the show: Iceland Fishing Guide and Fish Partner. They each have a booth at the show, every year, where you can talk one-on-one with them and learn about fly fishing opportunities in Iceland. They also host seminars, complete with slide shows and videos, that really make participants want to go over there and fish.

Anglers need to utilize a booking partner to access water in Iceland because they use a beat system there, similar to other European countries. This is different than our fishing in the United States. Here we have public land where individuals can fish virtually anywhere they like so long as they have a fishing license. In Iceland the rivers are broken into “beats”. Anglers gain access to these beats through local fishing companies, at a cost. This isn’t all bad, because it protects fisheries from being overcrowded and overfished. The beat system is part of the reason why Iceland fishing is as good as it is.

I’m sure there are many other guide and booking partners that you could book trips through, but because the idea of fishing Iceland came to me from them, they are the ones I decided to use. Iceland Fishing Guide had a lot of choices along the northern coast near Husávik which looked appealing, including one river with extremely large resident browns. Fish Partner had access to water in the Highlands region which I also wanted to explore on my trip. They both were extremely helpful in suggesting an itinerary for someone like me, who had never fished Iceland before. I had a lot to learn because I was starting from scratch. I didn’t know the country, the towns, the rivers, or the fishing. I needed help deciding what time of year to go and where to go. Both companies were extremely helpful in this regard. If you’ve never been to Iceland before then I would suggest speaking to a guide service like this as your first step. They will be able to guide you through all your remaining decisions.

Species, Fishing Method, and When to go

There are several factors that must be considered when deciding what time of year to fish Iceland. The most important factor is the targeted fish species. Many anglers go to Iceland in hopes of catching a sea-run brown trout or an Atlantic salmon. The best time to visit for sea-run brown trout is from April to May, and then again from August through October. Atlantic salmon start running up the rivers in late July, but August and September are probably best. Arctic char start moving up rivers in July, but really start to get colorful in August. The Arctic char can also be found in many lakes throughout the entire fishing season. Lastly, resident brown trout are in most streams and can be targeted anytime from April through the end of the season.

Another consideration when deciding when to visit Iceland is the angler’s preferred method of fishing. When fishing for the resident browns, April will be primarily nymph fishing. Then in May the streamer fishing for resident browns picks up. July and August is the time to visit for anglers who’s preference is to use dry flies. That is the basic timeline for resident browns. Spring and fall is a great time to visit for anglers who’s preference is to swing large flies and streamers for big fish like the sea-run browns and salmon.

Iceland is primarily a walk-and-wade fishing experience. A lot of the rivers, at least the ones I fished, were shallow and easy to wade. One river, the Laxá í Aðaldal, got deep in spots, but the rest were relatively shallow. That said, I had to walk many miles and the terrain wasn’t always as easy as it looked. There is a lot of pastoral land with thick clusters of tufted grasses, called tussocks. They were tough to walk on. In the area of the Highlands that I fished, it was spongy, uneven ground that was also a challenge. Walking one mile felt like walking two miles. Right before leaving on my trip I bought a new pair of Skwala Carbon Wading Boots that proved to be critical. They supported my feet and ankles exceptionally well. I can’t even imagine what my feet would have felt like at the end of each day had I not had such a good, solid, pair of wading boots.

There are likely some float trip options for anglers who prefer floating rivers, but not many that I’m aware of. I know that the guide and booking company Fish Partner offers a float rip option down the Blanda river. It provides access to numerous rarely-fished pools. That’s the one float trip that I’m aware of, but there may be more. If float fishing is your strong preference, ask the various guide services what they offer or what they recommend. An online search may also give you a good lead on a float guide service.

My favorite type of fly fishing is with dry flies. That became my priority when deciding when to go, and that’s why I chose to take my trip in late July. It’s important for anglers to understand that hatches in Iceland are not like the hatches we’re used to in the United States. In Iceland there are some midge hatches, as well as some caddis hatches, but they are not prolific hatches with great numbers of bugs coming off the water. At least that wasn’t my experience. Here in Colorado, on the Arkansas River, we have what’s called the Mother’s Day Caddis Hatch. There are swarms of cadis in the air and they also blanket the water. When the wind blows, we get pelted by them because of the sheer number of caddis in the air. Don’t expect anything like that in Iceland. In Iceland they just don’t have the same bug life we do here. Attracter patterns will pull fish up, but you won’t see too many rises while fishing in Iceland. One thing that helped on my trip was that most of the streams I fished weren’t very deep. Fish didn’t have to ascend from great depths to take a dry off the surface. Water was relatively shallow, with fish only having to ascend a foot or two, which is why I think attractor patterns worked well. One effective combination was to use an Amy’s Ant pattern, with a pheasant tail dropper. I also had a wonderful day using a basic caddis pattern, fishing miles of pocket water with fish throughout. In summary, if you like fishing dries then July is a great month to go visit Iceland, but don’t expect blanket hatches like we have here. Talk to your booking partner about this if it’s important to you. They know their waters, and will be able to let you know what to expect in terms of fishing with dries, as well as the best time of year to fish them.

Just a quick side note on bugs. There are thankfully no mosquitos in Iceland. However, there are great swarms of gnats around many of the lakes and streams. I strongly suggest brining a bug net with you to keep them off you. They can become quite a distraction!

In addition to the dry fly fishing, I also wanted to have the opportunity to catch Arctic char, and to perhaps hook into an Atlantic salmon. Late July was the most likely time of year for me to accomplish all three of these goals. I did catch a lot of resident browns using dry flies and and I also caught my first Arctic char, which were absolutely beautiful fish. So the trip unfolded according to plan with those two species. Unfortunately, I did not achieve my goal of catching my first Atlantic salmon.

Other factors that will influence the time of year to visit Iceland include weather, northern lights, and river access via the beat system. As you would expect, in the spring and fall there is a greater likelihood of inclement weather. The middle of summer can be quite nice, although storms will be present. September is the best month for those who want a chance of seeing the northern lights. Of course there’s no guarantee of seeing them, but it is possible. What’s not possible is seeing them in July when the sun never sets and it never gets dark. Lastly, as described earlier, Iceland operates on the beat system when it comes to river access. Therefore, availability of certain targeted streams may dictate when you choose to visit. Obviously the earlier anglers get in touch with a guide service or booking partner, the better the chance that desired streams will be available.

Where to go – Regions

Iceland has one road, called the Ring Road, that circles the country. In most cases the Ring Road is relatively near the coast, or on the coast itself. This road is paved in most places and can be driven in a 2-wheel drive car. A lot of the fishing, especially for salmon and sea-run browns, takes place in rivers that are near the ocean and in the vicinity of the Ring Road. Even though the Ring Road is passible with 2-wheel drive vehicles, I would still recommend renting some form of a 4-wheel drive vehicles because accessing some of the water requires driving on dirt roads. On several occasions we found ourselves driving through fields and pasture land on 2-track roads. The interior of the country, away from the coast, is referred to as the Highlands region. The Highlands also boast excellent fishing, but can be significantly more remote depending on the destination. Accessing the Highlands is most often done via what they refer to as “F-Roads”. These are roads that require 4-wheel drive vehicles. A lot of the F-Roads have river crossings that will require a more beefed-up 4-wheel drive vehicle. If you’re considering fishing the Highlands, make sure to research the roads required to get to your destination and make sure you have an adequate vehicle.

Iceland has one major city called Reykjavik. Fishing can be found near Reykjavik at a lake called Lake Thingvallavatn, which is about a 40 minute drive from there. It is home to some very large brown trout that they refer to as “Ice Age Browns” as well as Arctic Char. It’s located in beautiful Thingvellir National Park which is on what they call the Golden Circle. It’s a beautiful area of Iceland, but not as remote feeling as other parts of the country. There are also certain parts of the Highlands that can be reached via a relatively short drive from Reykjavik that offer excellent fishing as well. I was not able to fish Lake Thingvallavatn, but would like to when I return. The ice age browns are known to go deep into the middle of Lake Thingvallavatn during the summer months, or I might have spent a day trying to catch one of them.

Most of my trip was booked through Iceland Fishing Guide, and the water they have access to is on the northern coast. That’s where I spent most of my time fishing. There is a nice sized city on the northern coast called Akureyri. I flew from Reykjavik to Akureyri on a domestic flight, and rented a Suzuki Jimny there. Most of Iceland Fishing Guide’s water was in a valley near the smaller town of Husavik. There I was able to fish for resident browns, Arctic Char, and Atlantic Salmon. Sea-run brown trout can be found in this part of Icleand, but if they are a priority I think the southern coast may be a bit better. At least that’s what my research told me. I also spent one day fishing the Highlands in an area near the town of Husafell. This fishing was for resident browns and Arctic char. A beautiful area, though the day I was there it was socked-in with low clouds and rain. So I didn’t see much of the surrounding mountains. There are many lakes and rivers in this area. I accessed the area by working through Fish Partner guide service.

There is so much water in Iceland to fish that in some ways it’s indescribable. I know in my one week of fishing that I only scratched the surface of all the wonderful fishing that’s available. Admittedly, I still know very little. Anglers who are considering a trip to Iceland should spend time researching possible destinations. Consider the fish species you most want to chase after and the accessibility of the water. Look at pictures of the rivers to see if you’re perhaps drawn to certain ones. Then, rely on guide services to give you advice as to where to go, especially if it’s your first trip there. Once you’ve been to Iceland once, and especially if you have time to circle the country on the Ring Road, you’ll have certain regions that you’ll be drawn to go back to. That was my approach this past year. It was in a lot of ways a scouting trip for me so that when I do go back I’ll know where I want to go.

Other Considerations

An additional element to the trip was that my wife and I wanted to visit Iceland together, and she doesn’t fish. Fishing days with Iceland Fishing Guide are 12 hour days. They start at 7:00 in the morning, include a mid-day break, then conclude at 10:00 at night. I didn’t know what my wife would do all day while I was fishing. I knew my attention would be divided. I’d be concerned for her and not free to fish. After four or five days I knew I’d even start to feel a little guilty, yet the primary reason to go was to fish! After much thought, we came up with the following plan – and it worked really well. I decided to fly out six days earlier than my wife did to focus on fishing. Then she flew out and we spent the following week touring Iceland together in a campervan, exploring the country. The downside of our plan was having to travel alone in a foreign country for the first time, and of course just missing her in general. I was seeing things I really wanted her to see, so I missed her. Despite that, I’d say that overall our plan worked well and I would recommend it. I was able to focus 100% on the fishing while fishing. Then when my wife was there I was able to be 100% focused on spending time with her, enjoying Iceland together. My attention wasn’t divided like it would have been had we traveled there together. Another way to manage a situation like this, if you have a spouse that doesn’t fish, would be to make it a couples trip. Go fishing with a buddy while the spouses spend time together. Then nobody would ever be left alone.

Cost – Week of Fishing

The final consideration that I had to manage was the cost of the trip. These trips can be very expensive, and Iceland is not a cheap country to visit. I found two ways to lower costs that you may want to consider if you’re on a tight budget like I was. The first relates to food. Iceland Fishing Guide offered some non-catered food options that were less expensive. There are restaurants in nearby towns that could be an alternative, but to eat out regularly would be even more expensive than the catered options. I decided to treat the food on my trip just as if I were going on one of my backpacking trips, and brought it all with me from home. I packed a Jetboil and had dehydrated backpack meals for dinners. My lunches were premade peanut butter and honey sandwiches, power bars, and Jerky. Breakfasts were a mixture of dehydrated meals (like biscuits and gravy), oatmeal, and power bars. I did go to local restaurants a couple times before my wife arrived for some fish and chips and other local favorites, but I was able to save quite a bit of money by taking my own backpacking food. Local food and local restaurants are a big part of visiting any foreign country in order to really partake in their culture. I probably wouldn’t have taken this approach had I not had a second week planned with my wife where we would be able to experience Icelandic food together.

My second strategy for keeping the overall cost of the fishing within my budget was to only use guides part of the time. This is not something I would recommend for those who are still learning to fly fish. I’ve been fly fishing forty years now and am confident in fishing without a guide, and in many ways prefer it. Still, I certainly didn’t want to travel all that way to Iceland and not catch fish, just for the sake of saving a little money. That would defeat a lot of the purpose for even going. So there was a little balancing act between how much to use guides and how much not to use them. I ended up using a guide about a third of the time, and always the first half-day on a new river. I reasoned that I would benefit from a guide the first time out on a river, to learn any nuances the river might have. Then I would be able to fish the river effectively on my own after that. The other reason I needed a guide was that I’d never fished for Atlantic Salmon before. I had no idea how to fish for them or where to fish for them. I wasn’t sure of the flies or the techniques. I enjoyed the unguided fishing, but I do think I would have benefited from having a guide one additional day. I didn’t catch a salmon on the trip and I believe if I’d had a guide for one more day on a salmon river that I would have stood a much better chance of hooking into one. Guides are fun to get to know and will give you a greater chance of getting that fish-of-a-lifetime. That said, two of my favorite days were unguided. One, was up in the Highlands region – a day I’ll never forget. So having a little DIY fishing can be enjoyable, work well, and save money. I’m not going to recommend one way or the other – the choice is yours. It’s a matter of balancing budget with fishing experience and expectations. I can tell you it is one way to save money and perhaps make the trip something you can afford now as opposed to waiting another few years. That was the case with me this year.

For perspective, my cost for the fishing portion of this trip was $3,272. That includes access to the water, guides (when I used them), tips for guides, and the lodging arranged through Iceland Fishing Guide. It does not include my airfare or the the hotels I stayed in before and after the fishing portion of my trip. Nor does it include my food costs, car rental, or gas. As I said, my food cost was kept to a minimum because I brought my own. All of that probably added up to an additional $2,200, making the total cost approximately $5,500 for the entire week.

Conclusions: What I learned, What I would do differently

One of my biggest takeaways from my trip to Iceland may surprise you. My first takeaway is that I feel so blessed and so fortunate to live in Colorado and to be able to fish the western United States whenever I want to. We have amazing fishing here at home. The fish in Iceland were big, but I know places out west, many places in fact, where I can catch fish just as big as what I caught there. We have amazing insect hatches that they don’t have in Iceland, which makes for great match-the-hatch fishing, which I love to do. We also have alpine lakes here in the western U.S., which you really don’t find in Iceland. There are great fishing lakes in the Highlands, but it’s not the same as the above timberline fishing that we have here. So before I discuss what I enjoyed, what I learned, and what I’ll do differently next time, I want to be clear that I have a heart of gratitude for the fishing that I do have here at home. It too is world-class!

Iceland is stunningly beautiful. It’s different than anywhere I’ve ever been. There are not many trees there. It’s a vast and majestic land where you can always see great distances in whatever direction you look. The waterfalls there are spectacular! It’s not a secret anymore, there are many tourists circling the Ring Road, but it’s still much, much, less crowded than the United States. The beat system on the rivers ensures that you won’t be crowded while fishing there. You’ll have your own section of water all to yourself, which is a really nice way to fish. The rivers are unpressured, with strong and healthy fish. There is also the opportunity to catch fish species that we don’t have here in the United States, such as Arctic char, Atlantic salmon, and sea-run brown trout.

My first trip to Iceland is one I’ll never forget. I caught my first Arctic char ever, which are extremely strong and beautiful fish. I also caught a lot of resident brown trout. One day I spent an entire morning fishing mile after mile of pocket water. It was full of strong, hard-fighting, browns that averaged 15-19 inches that were seemingly in every pocket and run. Regretfully, I did not catch an Atlantic salmon on the trip, which was one of my goals. As a result, when I return to Iceland, I think I will try to go in early September. When I return I’d like there to be the possibility of seeing the northern lights, as well as the opportunity for pursuing sea-run browns and salmon. July was great. It was a great time to visit, but when I return I’d like to see a different season there. One of my goals was to catch a “fish of a lifetime”, one that was 28″ or bigger. Though I caught a few and lost a few that were over 20″, I never really landed the big one. I do think that if I’d used a guide a little more often, that may have helped. This leads me to my next takeaway.

I was very happy with having a mix of guided and unguided fishing. Not only for the sake of saving money, but I also like exploring new water by myself and trying to figure out on my own how to catch the fish there. Next time I go, however, I think I might use a guide a little bit more often. Perhaps about half the time instead of only one third of the time. Especially when in pursuit of Atlantic salmon. Fishing for salmon is different than fishing for trout, and I think part of the reason I didn’t catch one was because I only had a guide for half a day in pursuit of one. When I return, catching one will be a priority and using a guide for several days will give me a better chance at one. I don’t think I need the help of a guide for the brown trout fishing because I can get by just fine on my own. I know how to catch brown trout. Now, should I decide to target sea-run browns, that will be a different story. I’d like a guide for that as well.

Bringing my own food worked extremely well. As I said, I treated it like a backpacking trip in terms of the food I brought. When I got back to my lodge after a full day of fishing, I was eating a warm meal within a matter of minutes. Now if your budget allows to pay for catered food, that would be a great option as well. A third option would be to hit a grocery store upon arrival and put together your own meals.

Next time I visit Iceland I want to really explore more of the Highlands. Now, the Highlands isn’t just one little area, it’s really the entire interior of the country. So there are actually many different regions that comprise the Highlands that are filled with beautiful valleys, lakes, and river systems. It would take a lifetime to learn all there is to fish there. That sounds good to me. I’d like to start exploring different regions now so that over time I will get to know the Highlands better. Of the two guiding and booking companies I used, only Fish Partner had access to fishing in the Highlands. Iceland Fishing Guide did not. I’m sure there are other companies in Iceland that will guide you into the Highlands that can be found by a simple online search.

As we circled Iceland on the Ring Road I saw so many different rivers that looked fishable. Some where I actually saw fisherman out on the water. So there must be many opportunities other than through the two guide companies I’ve mentioned. I plan on doing a lot more research to find out how to access specific rivers that I took note of, because they looked so good. So I have a long way to go myself in terms of learning how best to fish Iceland.

I am definitely planning on returning to Iceland. It’s so beautiful, the fishing is outstanding, and I have so much more to learn. I know I’ve just tapped the surface of all that it has to offer. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me if you’re considering taking a trip to Iceland to go fly fishing. My email address is bpflyfishing86@gmail.com. I’d be happy to answer any questions you have about my planning and all that I learned while fishing there this past summer. Also, please keep a lookout for three future articles I’m planning on writing. The next one will talk in more detail about the fishing I did in a few of the rivers along the northern coast. It will be followed by an article on the one day I spent fishing in the Highlands. My last article will be on the second week I spent in Iceland with my wife, touring the country in a campervan. If you click the subscribe button below you will receive an automatic email letting you know when these articles are posted to my site.

Until then, all I can tell you is…..if you’re trying to decide whether or not to go fish Iceland, the answer is most definitely – “yes!”