Fishing for trout in Iceland is not as popular among foreign anglers as salmon fishing. What some anglers don't know is that trout fishing in Iceland is one of the best you can find in the world and you have rivers and lakes holding brown trout up to 20+ lbs.

Where can I fish for trout in Iceland?

You can find both brown trout and char in rivers and lakes in Iceland. There are many lakes in Iceland that offer good trout and char fishing, but you can also find these spices in rivers across the country. In rivers, you might also find sea trout and sea arctic chars which are the most popular game fish among Icelandic anglers.

Licenses

Due to low demand for trout fishing, the licenses are not expensive and you can find different varieties of licenses all depending what you want to fish for and the changes to catch the big one. Some rivers offer high-class facilities with lodges and service while others you can just camp next to the lakeside and enjoy the unspoiled landscape.

I recommend getting more information about the fishing before buying the license so you can better plan your trip.

Trout

Brown trout is common in both river and lakes around Iceland. You can find both sea-run trout and landlocked trout. Sea trout is common in most rivers in Iceland and they can reach sizes up to 20 lbs. Normally the sea trout start to run late in the season and the prime time is usually in October.

Landlocked trout can be fished all year round, but sea trout can only be fished from 1st of April until 10th of October. 1st of April is usually an exciting day for Icelandic anglers since its the first day of the season. In April you can fish both brown trouts and sea trouts in rivers and fishing that early in the season can be a bit of a gamble. Weather conditions change rapidly and you might expect low temperatures and heavy wind. If you want to fish for sea trout you need to book your license in advance since this is a popular time for Icelandic anglers to see if their cast is still as smooth as last year.

In May the lake Thingvallavatn opens and here you could catch a trophy brown trout reaching sizes over 20 lbs. In May the sea trout start to get back to the sea although you can catch sea trout all season. May is also the month when flies start to hatch so don't forget your dries if you are visiting the country in May.

Late August until the middle of October you can catch sea trout. Prime time for sea trout is usually in October but be prepared since October brings some heavy storms. A good bottle of whiskey is recommended to warm up after a cold day of fishing.

Arctic Char

Arctic char can also be found in both lakes and rivers and it usually coexists with trout. Char is usually a bit smaller than trout and the average size is around 1 lbs but fish up to 5 - 6 lbs are caught frequently. You can also find sea-run arctic char and they can mainly be found in northwest and north Iceland.

Sea run Arctic char starts to run late June and usually the prime time is in July and August, but you can catch Arctic char all summer. Sea-run char puts up a fantastic fight and you will be surprised how strong arctic char is.