22. August 2005.


Like always me and Joe drive the day before we are supposed to start fishing to Akureyri and spend the night there. We came to Akureyri around 10pm. and checked into a Hotel. We took a bottle of red vine and headed out to the balcony and popped it open. After few minutes admiring the view, the Northern lights started playing. I started swearing as I had left the camera gear in the car. The show grew more and more spectacular and in the end I could not stand it any more and started running down to the car. Five minutes later I was panting on the balcony setting up a tripod and hoping they would continue for few more minutes. As I was ready to press the shutter they disappeared...Joe started laughing and told me he was going to bed. I sat down and drank my red vine hoping they would be back. Within 10 minutes they did...


23. August 2005. I woke up around 6am. I could not sleep any more, I had been waiting for this day for 350 days and I was not in the mood to sleep in. I went for a walk and photographed Akureyri for couple of hours. After breakfast and a stop by the "Rikid" (Icelandic liquoir store, but Rikid means Government as they are owned and run by them) we headed further north east. To Svalbardsa from Akureyri is about 3 hours drive.


25. August 2005. The group this year. Hilmar did not make it the first two days so he sent Siggi Haugur and his vife Gudrun. Couple of days later then Hilmar showed up with the same partner as last year...wait a minute...something does not add up here, I don't think he has ever had the same partner twice! Well I have always believed that Siggi had a bad hearing so guess that must be it...Well, Throstur, Joe, my self, Siggi, Magnus, Hilmar, Gudrun, Siggi Haugur and Throsturs son (I can't remember his name at this point).


23. August 2005, 5:13pm. The first afternoon me and Joe got section 1 witch is on the mountain or from Storifoss (pool no. 1) down to Nedra Gilid pool. We started in Laxahylur for few minutes and then we walked to Storifoss. Joe wades across bellow Storifoss and after few casts he hooks a salmon and lands it few minutes later. Joe was off with a bang...


This is Joe's salmon from Storifoss. Nice 5pound female taken on Dimm Bla no. 12


On the way from Storifoss Joe stops by Vadid ofan og nedan pool and tells me he would like to fish through it. I told him to have at it and said that I was going to walk down to Laxahylur and told him I would give him a call on our two way radio when I was ready to fish. When I am down in Laxahylur and call for Joe he tells me he had just caught another salmon in Vadid (I think the time was around 6:30pm or he had been fishing for 2 1/2 hour and caught already 2 salmon). I did not like the way this was going, Joe had caught two salmons and I had not even got a hit. I started fishing Laxahylur and few minutes before 9pm all the way down in the tail of Laxahylur I hooked a salmon and few minutes later I had landed a 4pound salmon. I gave him a kiss and released him back in the river...the fishing gods would reward me for that later! Left: Joe outside the lodge later that night cleaning the two fish he caught in the first afternoon.


24. August 2005. Joe had started in Nedri Eyrarhylur but no luck. I walked up to Efri Eyrarhylur and after few casts I landed a 5pound salmon. After that we drove up to Forseti. I walked from Forseti up to Litlifoss and caught one 4pounder there and then another in Forseti on my way back. I had caught 3 salmon that morning and was very pleased with the way things where going. Left: My self landing a salmon in Forseti.


24. August 2005. Joe in Forseti without luck.


25. August 2005. This illustrates well what happened. We had section 3 and it rained like crazy and the wind was blowing the whole day and the river went up, way up. No one went out to fish this day, instead we spent the day tying flies and reading...


On the 26. August it was still raining. We had section 1 again and geared up and walked on to the mountain. This is Laxahylur...not very likely to catch a salmon in this water. The river was brown and very, very high and it was still raining but the wind was a little less.


This waterfall is normally just a small creek.


We always take our Italian espresso machine and making coffee kept us a live that day on the mountain.


After walking to Storifoss and getting some coffee there then we started walking down to laxahylur again. Some how we got this crazy idea that Laxahylur would be better to fish from the other side...We are down by Vadid ofan og nedan pool and we study the river there to see where it would be best to cross. We grab arms together and start wading across. When we have about 1/3 left to cross I was getting very un easy about the situation...I was on the up side so I was getting more current then Joe as I would brake some of it. I take a very small step forward and I almost loose my feet. I was not liking this at all. We would float down to Laxahylur and that was not a problem per se but that I was carrying a 10k USD camera gear on my back was! We finally regroup and some how manage to get across. I sat right down and felt the adrenaline rush through my wanes...


After calming down we walked down to Laxahylur and started fishing. I was hitching the far tail with a micro Haugur when I saw something big come out of the wave and take a look at the fly but he did not take it. I tried again and when the fly went over the same spot he came again but he did not take it. I pulled in the line and put on a very small Red Frances. I went through the same spot couple of times with the Frances but nothing. I took it off and placed the Haugur hitch micro back on. As soon as the fly came across the spot he came for the third time but did not take it! I was just about to loose it but cast it out there one more time and then he rolled him self on it. After 15 minutes or so we landed this beautiful male that was according to measurements 8,7kg. That is the biggest salmon I have caught so far. I released him back into the water but he looked very tired. I hope he made it though.

27. August 2005. This had been the worst weather we had ever had in our fishing trips. The tempature was around 3°C and the water around 4 °C - 5°C. We even got snow in the mountains.


We had been fishing for 5 days of 7 in this river and I had caught 9 salmon so far but Joe had only caught the 2 the very first day.


28. August 2005. Joe in Svalbardsselshylur. The river was getting lower and was starting to look very good.


28. August 2005. After getting gas at Thorshofn we came back to Svalbardsa and Joe dropped me off by Bruarhylur. I had only fished it for about 7 minutes when I had hooked a 5pound salmon. It had been like this the whole trip. I had now caught 11 Salmon and this was my second today. Joe had no luck since the two he caught the first day. I would go on and add one more the last half a day to make it 12 salmon in 6 days of fishing.

23. August- 1, 24. August- 4, 26. August- 1, 27. August- 3, 28. August- 2, 29. August- 1, Total = 12 salmon.