For a long time, I have had my eye on Hlíðarvatn in Selvogur. I had heard stories of large Arctic char and exciting fly fishing. At the end of the work week, a friend of mine got in touch and said that the four angling clubs that lease the fishing rights to the lake were going to invite the public to fish there on Sunday. Since neither of us had ever fished in the lake, but both were curious about what it had to offer, we thought it was a perfect opportunity to head south with our fishing rods.
We first stopped at the cabin of the Hafnarfjörður Angling Club. There we met members who were keeping an eye on the fishermen. We told them we were completely ‘green’ (beginners there) and asked for advice. ‘What do you fish with?’ they asked. ‘We only fish with flies,’ we replied. ‘Well, then you’re hardly completely green.’ We received some information about the lake before heading out to fish. While we were chatting with the guys from Hafnarfjörður, a fisherman walked past us carrying a remarkably large char, which confirmed that if luck is on your side, you could be in for an adventure.
We decided to start on the bank below a summer house west of the Ármenn facilities. We strolled down to Húsatangi, as we believe it’s called, and fished along it toward Gamlavör. It was warm, about 15 degrees [Celsius], and bright. A light breeze blew from the southeast. Excellent weather, though whether it’s considered ideal fishing weather for Hlíðarvatn, I don’t know. I managed to land four Arctic char from this point, and my friend caught one. All of mine were caught on the Krókurinn (The Hook) and were around a pound each. Next, we headed east past the Hafnarfjörður Angling Club cabin and tried fishing near the two summer houses located there. That spot yielded one small char, which was released."