FOGRUHLIDAROS – KALDA – JOKLA

River Fogruhlidara and its estuary, Fogruhlidaros, are at the easternmost foot of the so-called Jokulsarhlid in eastern Iceland. It belongs to the farm Ketilstadir and is accessible by car where the main road turns in the direction of the Hellisheidi mountain pass. The surroundings of the river are peaceful and beautiful and further east is the precipice of Mt Kollumuli and the island Bjarnarey. in the past, seal hunting was a part of life for the people at the farm, but nowadays mostly the abounding sea char is caught there. The river runs quietly through the valley and is accessible for sea char to the waterfalls 10-12 km away from the estuary.
The Kalda empties into the Jokla, while the Fögruhlíðará empties into the Atlantic, via a lagoon famed for it´s excellent sea char runs which we are allowed to fish for through the night if the tides call for it.

Late May and early June large runs of fish arrive one after the other and the river is fished with 6 rods and the estuary with two as well. It is easier to fish the estuary from the sanded area to the south, but also possible to stand on the cliffs on the northern side. Permission to fish during the bright summer nights is also an option depending on the tides, and those who have experienced something like that never forget the magic of such moments.

The Jökla system lies just to the north of Egilsstaðir town and runs a 100 km course from the eastern slopes of the Vatnajokull glacier to the sea. This glacier river’s waters once had the greatest density of silt of any river in the land, but now runs clear for most of the summer thanks to the hydro electric dam that was built at the very top of the river in 2006.

With a lease on the river we are taking advantage of this window of clear water and building a fishery by boosting the natural stocks with a smolt releasing programme using fish bred from Jökla natives. Last season was only the sixth year of operation, and there is still a way to go, but already the catch is one the way up every year and we are learning more about the system.

Fish are being released into all the major tributaries throughout the system, but most of the effort is concentrated on the lower river which contains the three major tributaries and fisheries, these are Fossa, Laxa and Kalda. The Fögruhlíðará is a separate stream which runs parallel to the Jökla in the very lower reach of the valley. All have natural stocks of salmon, sea-run char and sea-trout are found in the latter.

There are numerous pools on the Jökla and our efforts have been focused mostly on the gorge section upstream of the bridge carrying Route 1 over the river and down the river from there. At the top of this stretch the river, only a couple of metres wide at this point, disappears down a fissure in the rock, and appears again in a bubbling cauldron about 30 metres downstream! But now a fish pass has been build to secure steady run of fish to the upper Jökla and for 2013 we will for first time be able to offer good fishing up there for both salmon and arctic char and at reasonably price! And many pools have never been fished there yet so you might be the first to cast into some beautiful wader where nobody have been before!

The fishing on the tributaries is varied and gives a pleasant contrast to the daily rotation of beats. With over 50 km of water for 6-8 rods, as usual with our fishing, there is always a good choice of water. The short Fossa usually gives fish from the Foss pool and the long stretch that runs into the main river. On Laxa there are intimate pools strung out from the impassable foss all through the winding course to the Jökla and ideal for fishing with a single-hand rod. The Kalda is a longer and bigger river and contains longer pools than the other two tributaries. The scenery on the upper part of the river is quite beautiful. Finally the Fögruhlíðará has the character of a meadow stream and flows glassily through the pastures. Most of the salmon fishing is found in the upper half of the Fögruhlíðará river.

Fishing permits Angling Service Strengir.

Fogruhlidaros in Icelandic