We start in the morning and head to the area around glacier Eyjafjallajökull. We drive on rough roads and cross numerous glacier rivers to reach Thorsmörk glacier and volcano valley. We spend some time exploring these adventurous surroundings. In the early afternoon we leave this lovely rugged environment and drive down to the black basalt sand shore south of Eyjafjallajökull-glacier. Right here by the Atlantic Ocean we experience the enhanced driving ability with the partly deflated 38" tires. In the end off the day we head back to Rangá lodge.
We have some very good days available in Hvannadalsa, one of our rivers in the West-Fjords. We have been cultivating this river for a number of years now, and the results have been extremely good. A couple of years ago the river nearly broke the 500 salmon mark – on only 3 rods.
Like so many rivers in Iceland the prime season is from late July until late August, so these are very good dates.
40 different corn fields for our Geese shooting will secure great shooting for our hunters , this way we will be able to rest each field up to a week , that means when you arrive to the shooting area we will take you to a filed that have been untouched for days. Top guides , houndreds of geese and great accommodations just minutes away from the shooting fields will secure great memories with us in Iceland. Contact Arni at arnibald@lax-a.is for all further information.
The River Dee saw a lot of anglers fishing the length of the catchment looking for the elusive salmon with catches reported from Park to Crathie. If you were in the right place at the right time there were fish to be caught. The numbers of fish running this river so far do appear to be well down on last year’s excellent spring catch with season to date catch of 1286 quite a bit down on the 5 year average spring catch of 2028. That said FishDee beats reported 143 salmon to 21 lbs and 8 sea trout. Carlogie had an excellent total with anglers catching 21 salmon, Aboyne Water and Birse reported 10 apiece with Ballogie and Cairnton just one behind on 9 apiece.
As the summer approaches here in the far north our minds wander towards the hunting and shooting grounds that await us in the near future.
Our new Hunting camp in Greenland takes the center stage, with ample caribou and the possibility of musk ox as well. This new venture of ours has been well received by hunters around the globe – but there is still room for more.
We are very fond of wing-shooting as well, especially geese shooting, and our 500 hectare corn fields in southern Iceland – the best geese shooting in the country.
Africa also holds our thoughts (how could it not) we have spent quite a bit of time in Namibia, Tanzania, Mozambique, Zimbabwe and South Africa and we now have all the best these beautiful countries have to offer.
Winter is over and spring arriving in Norway and Russia hopefully with a good number of big springers coming up to the rivers , 20 to 40 pounders is the fish that we are all in search of. Month of June is the time you have the change to catch them , hard work and not to many fish around , but great award when to catch one , average weight will be 20 pounds , and there will e 30 - 40 pounders swimming around. Fast sinking tip and 2 inch Snaelda will do the job. We start in Norway on the 1 - 7th June , then we head up to Russia via Throndheim - Oslo - Kirkenes and drive to Murmansk. We will fish Kola river 9 - 16th June , 16 - 23 June and 23 - 30th June , then the river will drop and most of the bigger fish have passed by. There are some openings in Russia and Norway in June , also we have 1 rod open in Lakselvan 15 - 22 July and 2 rods 12 - 19th August. Contact Arni arnibald@lax-a.is
Finally back home from the river DEE , wonderful and great fun as ever , so good to meet all our great friends in the DEE valley. Fishing was a little hard but very challanging and great big fish around , we landed 10 salmon in 9 days , biggest 25 and 22 pounds , hunting in the morning and evenings for Roebucks ..hunting was great 15 Roebucks , big BBQ every evening and lunch , lots of laughs and fun , no sleep , Arni arnibald@lax-a.is
For three days this week, 7th – 9th May, some of our Lax-a team decided to take some roebuck hunting on our two estates on Deeside, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. We have had some wonderful and exciting sport in a variety of weather conditions. At Dunecht estate we managed to take seven roebucks including one silver medal and one bronze medal.
We have a few days available in East Ranga in late July in weeks 30 and 31, the four year average catch in these weeks is 480 salmon and 710 salmon respectively, so these are some seriously good dates. Contact spall@lax-a.is for more information
Iceland has become very popular among travellers in the past decade or so, annually we have seen more and more airlines adding our little island to their list of destinations.
In the coming summer there will be a total of 18 airlines with regular flights to Keflavik international airport (KEF), among those are; Delta Airlines, Icelandair, KLM, Virgin Airlines, Easyjet, Iceland Express, British Airways, Air Berlin and many more.
Going now to Greenland now with carpenters to plan all the groundwork for the New Greenland Fishing and Hunting Camp, 17 houses will by built this year , all on schedule and the first containers alredy on their way to Greenland !! Arni arnibald@lax-a.is
Our new Camp in Greenland is well on its way , already now there is couple of containers on its way from Iceland to Quaqartoq and another 4 containers going shortly from Estonia to Quaqartoq. Camp will be up and running on the 18th July. It is a proper camp of 16 houses , hot and cold water , showers and toilets , located in a beautiful area right in the center of the best hunting and fishing area , here you will experience the true Greenland wilderness in the middle of nowhere. This is one of our biggest project ever and we are all excited about it. We still have a few reindeer trophies available and there is plenty of Arctic Charr waiting for you. Contact Arni at arnibald@lax-a.is for all further information.
The spring has finally arrived in Iceland and now we are all awaiting the summer with great anticipation. Even though the trout season has already started – we are all counting down the days until the salmon season starts. It’s only three weeks away.
Blanda is our first river to open on June 5th and in mid and late June other Icelandic rivers follow suit. Our new river Skjalfandafljot opens on June 18th (we are very excited about this one), the Ranga’s (East & West) come into play in the beginning of July and Vididalsa opens in late June. By July 1st all our rivers in Iceland have opened up.
Gaula in Norway and Kola and Varzina in Russia are in their prime in June – But Lakselva in Norway reaches the height of the season in July.
The Dee in Scotland has been open since the beginning of February and began with a bang, low waters plagued the river in March but things are looking up now.
In July we will welcome our first groups in the new hunting & angling camp in Greenland – our biggest hunting project to date.
Brynjudalsá is a small salmon river only 45 minutes away from the capital of Iceland, Reykjavik. It is a great option for daytrips from the capital or couple of days of fishing. We can offer different kinds of accommodation for anglers in the area, from a summer lodge to a fully serviced hotel. The catch statistics are wonderful for this small river as its produces an average of 240 salmon last 5 years with last year finishing in 303 salmon.
In comparison with other countries, the Atlantic salmon stock in Iceland is in good form. The grilse is very strong but more concerns are about the bigger salmon – the multi sea winter fish – in the western and southern part of the country. The Atlantic salmon, indigenous to Icelandic rivers, is in better form than the salmon in other European countries and the US and Canada. In Norway fishing has been suspended in 124 rivers out of roughly 400 and in the US all salmon is released once caught – due to the fact the salmon there is on the endangered species list.
What a great day I had on the Rio Hapigunico, just an hour out of Havana. I went with Peter and Jackie for 5 hours fishing. I hooked 13 tarpons and some as big as 60 pounds. This river is a paradise and full of fish. Just on next door flats you can fish for bonefish and tarpon as well. This afternoon will be one of my best fishing memories ever. Catching huge fish in a small river with a light tackle, all action was on the surface with a floating line, poppers worked great. Árni arnibald@lax-a.is
Lower Crathes & West Durris has had the best catches so far this season with Ballogie and Invery closely following. The Lower Crathes has produced 96 salmons, Ballogie 90 and Invery with 81 salmon. The fishing in River Dee has been under the average in March and April with after a great start in February.
