The Langá River

Langá á Mýrum ( Langá in the wetlands) has probably been occupying its present riverbed for 3700 years,ever since a volcanic eruption about 2 miles SW of Lake Langavatn diverted the river flow down into Grenjadalur( home to pools 71-93),through big Hatchet foss on to the ocean.When you think about this passage of time, it is hard to believe how tough the bedrock is in some places,where the river seems only knee deep.

The Langá is a true LTC river as its owners have with loving ,tender care nurtured it into the top echelons of Icelands salmon community,by building 5 fish ladders as well as a water regulating dam in Lake Langavatn estuary, where Langá orginates. The lake covers 5.5 sq km with maximum deapth of 35 meters. This control system has with one exception( there was no snow and no rain for almost a year) guranteed the Langá anglers a good and steady flow,even during prolonged periods of drought.

The huge Hatchet foss ladder built in 1967 with Settlement foss,Fox foss and Hill Sounds foss following, almost doubled the salmon habitat,adding 20-30 pools in a magnificent mountain valley with a few more coming on stream every season.Some quite spectacular as the salmon is now settling in the last 3 river kilometers below the lake in meadows and lava fields with cascading rapids and waterfalls under the towering vulcanos . Soon salmon will be competing for flies in pools now ruled by Arctic char and Brown trout weighing up to 8 lbs. Hopefully nature will let them coexist.

Alltogeather the Langá now offers anglers,close to 100 pools of wast variety,challanging and simply among the best flyfishing waters in the world. Before the fish ladders, salmon had a tough time getting up river.Nature compensated by outfitting them with a hugh tail on a torpedo-like body to negotiate the fosses,thus developing one of the strongest fish ,pound for pound ,an angler will ever encounter. This was undoubtedly one of the reasons,that Langá was among the first rivers in Iceland to draw anglers from Europe.We have written accounts by a mr.Charles S.Forbes published in London in 1860 about his stay,fishing and hunting in and around the river.

To make all these pools accessible, roads have been made so fishermen can drive to within 50 yards of every pool.Thus young and old anglers can safely and with ease enjoy fishing all the pools.Quite a different story from the years between 1900-1939,when the Kennard and Campell families from England held a lease on the river, using ponies to get to and from the pools from their ocean side camp, or their mountain camp as the season progressed. Both camps are now owned and used by locals.

The Langá Syndicate built its new magnificant camp in 1998 with 8 double rooms with twin beds,as the whole river was leased to one proprietor for the first time in many decades .The new lodge Langárbyrgi(Langá shelter) was built on a cliff 6 km from the ocean,over-looking the river. The best chefs in Iceland are recruited to ensure that our guests are thoroughly pampered.Clothes and belts have been known to shrink mysteriously during a week´s stay,despite a strenuous fishing schedule.

The Langá fishes 12 rods July and August,8 rods, June and September.The Iceland salmon fishing season lasts a 100 days between June 1st and September 30th. The average Langá catch 1995-1999 was 1498 salmon ranking the river 5th overall in Iceland in a close rivalery for the top spot with only a couple of hundred fish separating.

The Langá River -
A Practical Guide To The Kit You Will Need:

1. Rods
The best length of rod for most conditions is 9 or 10 feet and single handed. It can be worth having two similar ones, to keep one fitted up with a floating line and the other with a sink tip, or both fitted up with floating lines, one to fish a wet fly and the other a hitched tube. The salmon are relatively small and you get a better fight on a smaller rod, but if it gets windy you may prefer to use a double-handed 12 foot rod.

2. Rod tube
You need to ing your rods in a substantial tube which can withstand airport handling.

3. Reels and lines
It is probably worth inging two floating lines and one sink tip or intermediate line each. They should be either 6 weight or 8 weight and youre not likely to need anything heavier than a sink tip.

4. Nylon
You will normally be fishing with 10 lb or 12 lb nylon, but might come down to 8 lb in low water conditions.

5. Flies
The Icelandic flies are mostly tied on very lightweight hooks and they can be bought at the Lodge from Ingvi as needed. Sizes 10, 12 and 14 are standard and you might come down to 16 in ultimate drought conditions.

6. Waders
You are recommended to ing chest waders, which are necessary in some of the pools and for crossing the river in some places.

7. Waterproofs
You will want a waist-length wading jacket to wear with the chest waders.

3-6 days Packages Available:
July 12th - July 18th, for 4-6 rods
July 29th-August 5th, for 2 rods

*Accommdation and guides are included in our prices as well as transportation to and from Reykjavik.

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