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Insects

Brown troutRainbow troutMountain whitefishBrook troutCutthroat troutSteelheadAtlantic salmonEuropean graylingMarble troutSea troutArctic charSea-run brown troutResident brown trout

Techniques

Reading waterMatching a hatchNymphingDry-fly presentationStreamer fishingSwinging a flyCatch and release, done properlyTying flies you will actually fish

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Rivers
Mataura RiverBig LaxáGaula RiverRiver SanRiver UnaRiver TweedMiramichi RiverBow RiverWhite River, ArkansasDavidson RiverPenns CreekLetort Spring RunFarmington RiverPere Marquette RiverNorth Umpqua RiverDeschutes RiverSan Juan RiverFryingpan RiverYellowstone RiverBighorn RiverTraun RiverBeaverkill RiverRío GrandeGreen River below Flaming GorgeRiver WharfeHenry's Fork of the SnakeSoča RiverAu Sable RiverTongariro RiverSouth Platte — Deckers and CheesmanRiver TestMadison River
Brown troutRainbow troutMountain whitefishBrook troutCutthroat troutSteelheadAtlantic salmonEuropean graylingMarble troutSea troutArctic charSea-run brown troutResident brown trout
Reading waterMatching a hatchNymphingDry-fly presentationStreamer fishingSwinging a flyCatch and release, done properlyTying flies you will actually fish

Big Laxá

A spring creek at 65 degrees north, where the water is so clear you see every take.

Region
Mývatnssveit, north-east Iceland
Country
Iceland
Water type
Spring-fed lake outlet, gin-clear at a constant 2–4°C
Species
atlantic salmon, brown, arctic char
Length
28 km
Typical flow
1,000–1,500 cfs, almost unchanging because the source is a lava-field spring
Season
Salmon from 25 June to 31 August; brown trout and char in the lake and the first kilometre
Best months
Jul · Aug
Published
2026-11-02

By The Fly Desk

Fly plate: Black Sheep
Plate 1 · dressing
Aquatic insect plate: Salmon fly, small
Plate 2 · insect

Hatch timeline

  • Jun · All daySalmon fly, small Swung wet fly

    #8-12 · Jun · Hatch

  • Jul · 10:00-18:00Salmon fly, small and dark Swung and dead-drifted

    #10-14 · Jul · Hatch

  • Jul · 11:00-16:00Midge (Chironomidae) Adult

    #18-22 · Jul · Hatch

  • Aug · 10:00-17:00Salmon fly, tiny Dead-drifted in the film

    #14-16 · Aug · Hatch

  • Aug · 12:00-17:00Midge and small caddis Adult

    #16-20 · Aug · Hatch

Matched fly box

PatternImitatesSizeTechnique
Black SheepSalmon attractor#10-12Small dark fly for the clear July water; cast across and let it swing slowly.
FrancesSalmon attractor#12-14Tiny fly on a long leader; the standard for August fish in low water.
Red FrancesSalmon attractor#10-12The Icelandic workhorse; fish it on a floating line with a slow swing.
Midge EmergerChironomid pupa#18-20For brown trout and char in the lake outlet on a calm day.

The river

Big Laxá flows out of Lake Mývatn across a lava field and into the Skjálfandafljót system, and its flow is almost entirely spring-fed from the lake, which means constant temperature, constant level and extraordinary clarity. It is a small river — 28 km — and it produces a very large number of small-to-medium Atlantic salmon, with a strong run of grilse that arrive in July and August. Almost the entire river is leased to a single fishing club.

On this river

Sight-fishing for salmon

On Big Laxá you can see the fish you are casting to, which changes the whole approach: you wait until a specific salmon is in a specific lie, then present a small fly on a long leader and watch the fish rather than the fly. If the fish moves towards the fly and turns away, change the fly size before you change the pattern.

Small flies, long leaders

Icelandic salmon have seen every fly in the catalogue and the water is too clear for anything flashy. The successful formula is a #12 to #16 fly on a 4.5-to-5-metre leader of 0.16 to 0.20 mm, fished on a floating line with a slow, controlled swing. In August, a fly the size of a fingernail is normal.

Weather, not water

Because the flow never changes, the trigger on Big Laxá is meteorological: a cold front with low cloud and a north wind will often produce a session of takes after three dead days. Keep a log of air temperature and wind direction alongside your catches for a week and the pattern becomes obvious.

Licence and rules

Iceland requires a state fishing licence (veiðikort) for all freshwater fishing, purchased online or at a service station, and it must be carried. On Big Laxá the fishing is sold as rod-days through a single operator who controls the whole river, which means you book a specific pool for a specific session — usually a half day, morning or afternoon. Fish are released by rule on almost all Icelandic salmon rivers.
When should I come?

The best months are Jul · Aug. Salmon from 25 June to 31 August; brown trout and char in the lake and the first kilometre

What licence do I need?

Iceland requires a state fishing licence (veiðikort) for all freshwater fishing, purchased online or at a service station, and it must be carried. On Big Laxá the fishing is sold as rod-days through a single operator who controls the whole river, which means you book a specific pool for a specific session — usually a half day, morning or afternoon. Fish are released by rule on almost all Icelandic salmon rivers.

How does the water behave?

Because Big Laxá comes out of a lake fed by lava-field springs, its level barely moves all summer and its temperature stays between 2 and 6°C. It never colours, so fish are visible in every pool — which cuts both ways, because a spooked fish in this river can be seen leaving from 30 metres away. This is one of the few rivers where a fall in air temperature, not a rise in water, is the event that turns the fish on.

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