Originally written on June 25th, 2005.
The fishing last year certainly gave us a reason to visit Lake Hítarvatn again. We did just that, and this time, we were joined by the member of the Grandi Carpentry Club who has absolutely no interest in fishing. This time, the fishing was decent, though not quite the same madness as the year before. I managed to land fifteen trout. The weather was fair but not warm. For the club member who had just landed after a trip to Portugal, this was nothing but a struggle against the elements. Otherwise, both May and June have been exceptionally cold this year.
What lingers most from this trip is the aggression of the skuas and the ravens. One of my companions had been careless when he turned in for the night on the first day and hadn’t properly secured his catch. A raven got into the fish and ruined the entire first day’s haul. On the second day, when we returned to our rods after a midday break, one of them was missing. After a few moments, we spotted it across the Suðurdalsá river, moving steadily eastward. There was nothing to do but chase it down.
The explanation for the rod’s journey was rather grim: a skua had gotten caught on the hook and was dragging it along. The bird was eventually freed and the fishing continued, but the poor creature likely didn’t survive the ordeal.
