Big Laxá · fly box
A spring creek at 65 degrees north, where the water is so clear you see every take.
| Pattern | Imitates | Size | Technique |
|---|---|---|---|
| Black Sheep | Salmon attractor | #10-12 | Small dark fly for the clear July water; cast across and let it swing slowly. |
| Frances | Salmon attractor | #12-14 | Tiny fly on a long leader; the standard for August fish in low water. |
| Red Frances | Salmon attractor | #10-12 | The Icelandic workhorse; fish it on a floating line with a slow swing. |
| Midge Emerger | Chironomid pupa | #18-20 | For brown trout and char in the lake outlet on a calm day. |
The dressing plate
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.