Iceland 🇮🇸

Hofsá River Salmon Fishing

Atlantic salmon and breathtaking scenery.

Rods

AFTMA 7 to AFTMA 9

Flies

Autumn Hooker, Colburn Special, Tube flies, Riffling Hitch

Lines

Floating

The Hofsá River gives fly fishers a closer connection to their quarry than other European salmon fisheries. Instead of using long two-handed rods and sinking lines, fly fishers on the Hofsá try for trophy Atlantic salmon using tackle that’s considerably lighter.

Hofsá River anglers get up close and personal with the salmon they’re after, fishing with smaller flies and using floating line to execute traditional swing presentations in current. The migrating salmon in the Hofsá River are strong fish that have been at sea for a couple of years before returning to the river — they’re on the move, hungry, and ready to attack a well-placed offering.

The Hofsá River, located in Northeast Iceland, is 53 mi long and, in addition to being a highly productive salmon fishery, it also offers anglers the chance to catch Arctic Char and Sea Trout. Like most prime fishing water in Scandinavia, the Hofsá River is privately managed. A conservation-minded group carefully controls anglers’ access to this pristine fishery, offering licenses, guide services, accommodations, and a strict set of rules for anglers to follow. The fishing season runs from June 24th to September 22nd and the average catch is well over 1000 salmon per season.

What flies to use

The river features numerous gravel-bed pools where migrating salmon stop to rest. Anglers typically use a 7- or 8-weight single-handed rod that’s between 9 and 10 feet long. Smaller flies are most productive, in the size 18 to 10 range, and popular patterns include the Autumn Hooker, Erna, Haugur, Colburn Special, and Sunray Shadow tubes. Fishing a Riffling Hitch, a specialized set-up that helps a salmon fly skim across the surface, takes extra skill but is also highly productive on the Hofsá. To catch fish in deeper pools, anglers commonly use a large streamer pattern, often tied as a tube fly.

Fly fishing the Hofsá River in early summer can be a fly fisher’s dream come true, as fantastic specimens of healthy, migrating Atlantic salmon run up the river. The fish show up in numbers, and that keeps anglers busy! When a fish is removed from a prime resting pool, an hour later, that pool is sure to hold another beautiful salmon.

Species

Atlantic Salmon

The best months to fish

July offers the best fishing on the Hofsá River. By establishing a fishing season that excludes all the winter months, the river keepers ensure that angling activity is safe and perfectly aligns with seasonal fish migrations.

Not allowed
Don't bother
Doable
Best time
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December

Map

Share the link to this location

Save this location in your favorites

Other locations

Denmark 🇩🇰

Bornholm Island

Rocky shores sea trout dream

Atlantic Cod

Atlantic Halibut

Atlantic Mackerel

Garfish

Pollack

Sea bass

Sea Trout

United Kingdom 🇬🇧

The River Wye

One of Wales' most iconic rivers.

Atlantic Salmon

Barbel

Brown Trout

Chub

Grayling

Perch

Pike

Sea Trout

United Kingdom 🇬🇧

Lake district

Sixteen lakes from large to small, but rivers as well.

Arctic Char

Atlantic Salmon

Brown Trout

Grayling

Perch

Pike

Roach

Sea Trout

Norway 🇳🇴

The wild trout of Southern Norway

So much water and so much trout.

Arctic Char

Brown Trout

Norway 🇳🇴

The salmon rivers of Southern Norway

Large or small rivers, all full of salmon and sea trout.

Atlantic Salmon

Brown Trout

Sea Trout

Norway 🇳🇴

Southern Norwegian Archipelago

World class saltwater fly fishing in breath taking surroundings.

Atlantic Cod

Atlantic Halibut

Atlantic Mackerel

Garfish

Haddock

Pollack

Sea bass

Sea Trout

Sweden 🇸🇪

Torne River

Fly fishers are drawn here for a chance to catch huge Baltic salmon.

Atlantic Salmon

Italy 🇮🇹

Valtellina (Italian Alps)

Hundreds of mountain streams and lakes in the Italian Alps.

Brown Trout

Grayling

Rainbow Trout

United Kingdom 🇬🇧

Chalkstreams in Hampshire

The ultimate fly fishing dream.

Brown Trout

Grayling

The Netherlands 🇳🇱

Oostvoornse Meer

No big trout in the Netherlands? Think again.

Brown Trout

European Flounder

Rainbow Trout

The Netherlands 🇳🇱

Maasvlakte

Fly fish in the largest harbour of Europe.

Sea bass

Sea Trout

Twaid shad

The Netherlands 🇳🇱

Predators in the Polders

Big predator fish in the iconic Dutch landscape.

Perch

Pike

Pike-perch

View all locations

Fly fishing in Iceland

Discover more locations and information.

🇮🇸 Iceland

Discover fly fishing around the world

Unfortunately it's still difficult to find the right information to go fly fishing in another country.

Things like: Where do I go? What species to fish for in what months? How do I get a local permit? What gear works best?

FlyFish Circle aims to solve this problem.

New info about fish, locations and countries
Upskill with tips and tricks
Save your favorite species, locations and more
Join now