Big Laxá · access
Mývatnssveit, north-east Iceland · Iceland
- Reykjahlíð / Lake MývatnThe nearest village; the river's lower pools are minutes away.
- The Laxárdalur valleyThe middle river, with the classic pools and the best salmon water.
- Skjálfandafljót confluenceThe lower end, where the river joins the bigger system.
Licence and rules
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.
Season
Salmon from 25 June to 31 August; brown trout and char in the lake and the first kilometre
Flow
1,000–1,500 cfs, almost unchanging because the source is a lava-field spring
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.