North and South Ófærur fisherman under the gorgeous ófæru waterfalls while another angler fights an arctic char

DIY Fishing in Iceland

Iceland has endless brown trout, char, and salmon rivers and lakes spread all over the island making it a popular destination for anglers from around the globe. In Iceland, all fishing rights are private which means anglers need to arrange for access and licenses where ever they fish. This can make DIY fishing trips a little trickier than your typical fully guided lodge stays but with a little research and preparation DIY trips can be a fantastic way to experience fishing and exploring Iceland.

River Fishing

Most rivers in Iceland will have a limit on how many people can fish it per day meaning that licenses often do sell out well in advance so it’s important to plan well in advance. The advantage of this system is you know that you’re not going to be fighting other anglers for a spot on the river on your day. Most river licenses are sold as either half-day,1day or, 2 day passes with limited rods allowed per day on the river. Many rivers that are sold as multi-day licenses will have a self-catering lodge sold with the licenses.
Examples of popular self-guided river fisheries:
Tungufljót, Norðlingafljót, Northern Highlands

Lake Fishing

Lakes often don’t have limits on rods allowed per day which offers more freedom in regards to not having to book well in advance. Exceptions are for example the many beats on Lake Thingvallavatn. Lake licenses are also usually cheaper and you have the option of buying year passes in many lakes, as well as the year passes to multiple lakes like the Fish Partner Members Club offers.
Example of popular self-guided lake fishing:
Lake Thingvallavatn Self Drive, Members Lakes

If you need help planning your trip or some more information on fishing in Iceland please use the form below to contact us

Further reading

Useful Links

  • Battle Hill Lodge Photo Essay by Jess McGlothlin

    Last month we had the pleasure of hosting photographer, writer, and passionate outdoorswoman Jess McGlothlin at our Battle Hill Lodge and Tungufljót River. The below are some of the photos she shot during her visit. If you’re interested in experiencing Battle Hill Lodge yourself, contact us at info@fishpartner.com For more than fifteen years, photographer and…

  • Battle Hill Lodge – Week 3

    Weeks 1 and 2 at Battle Hill were good but week 3 produced some ridiculous numbers. The 8 rods at the lodge logged 231 sea trouts in 6 days of fishing, which makes 28,8 fish per rod for the week or 4,8 fish on average per day per rod. We hosted anglers from the UK,…

  • First two weeks at Battle Hill Lodge

    We opened the season at Battle Hill Lodge on the 15th of April and have had 2 weeks of fishing out of the lodge in our rivers Geirlandsá, Fossálar, and Vatnamót. Conditions have significantly varied and with them, the catch numbers but both weeks groups caught some big-sized browns and had days with double digits…

Popular Fishing

A Hidden Gem in the Highlands – The river Kaldakvísl is truly a hidden gem. Fished only by a select few, Kaldakvísl has now been made exclusively available only to the customers of Fish Partner. Words are unequal to the task of describing the landscape’s beauty. Diversity and contrasts are the river’s main characteristics.
One of the best brown trout beats in the world – Villingavatnsárós (means the mouth of river Villingavatnsá) is one of the greatest brown trout beats in the world. The beat offers the opportunity to catch the giant ice age brown trout on small nymphs and dry flies. Streamers can also be strong. The beat is only fished with two rods and all brown trout shall be released. It is fly-fishing only.
A Hidden Gem in the Highlands – The river Kaldakvísl is truly a hidden gem. Fished only by a select few, Kaldakvísl has now been made exclusively available only to the customers of Fish Partner. Words are unequal to the task of describing the landscape’s beauty. Diversity and contrasts are the river’s main characteristics.
One of the best brown trout beats in the world – Villingavatnsárós (means the mouth of river Villingavatnsá) is one of the greatest brown trout beats in the world. The beat offers the opportunity to catch the giant ice age brown trout on small nymphs and dry flies. Streamers can also be strong. The beat is only fished with two rods and all brown trout shall be released. It is fly-fishing only.
Tungufljót river in Skaftafell is one of the best known Sea trout rivers in Iceland and is most famous for the high average weight of fish caught, every year multiple Sea-Run Brown trout in the 20lbs range are caught with the average weight of the fish being between 5-10 pounds.

Accessability

  • Easy – Very little hiking required, easy for every one.
  • Modrate – Some hiking required.
  • Hard – Strenuous hiking require, good physical conditions required.
  • Mixed – Some easy access areas and others that require hiking.