Lake Þingvallavatn July 14th, 2018
Wader Repairs, Fly Rod Fiasco, and the Rise of the Brown Trout.
After the trip to Hítarvatn last week, I was effectively without waders. I scoured the city’s tackle shops, comparing the price and quality of wading gear, because new ones were a necessity. I discovered that the quality I desired cost between 70,000 and over 100,000 ISK. The quality I actually need, given how often I fish, falls between 46,000 and 60,000 ISK. Still, I was reluctant to part with that much money, so I climbed up to the attic and found two old pairs. One went straight into the bin, but the other deserved a closer look. They were a pair of Simms waders I had retired two summers ago but, for some reason, hadn’t had the heart to throw away. After filling them with water, it became clear why they had been shelved: my wife and I counted leaks in six different places. We set to work on the repairs and decided to head to Þingvallavatn the next morning to see if the patches would hold.
Naturally, it was raining when we set off, and the gloom over Mosfellsheiði felt absolute. To our delight, however, the sky cleared over the lake, and by eleven o’clock, the weather was fantastic. We intended to try our luck north of Arnarfell, but upon arrival, we found other anglers already there, ‘armed to the teeth’ and claiming the spot. We tried a new area just north of them. I hadn’t been casting long when a sizeable char struck. I say ‘sizeable’ because it put a serious bend in the rod and stayed on for quite a while before getting away. We walked around the bay and tried fishing below the slope to the west. That spot often produces, though not this time. The other men remained stationed by ‘the rock,’ pulling in fish every now and then. Toward the end of our session, I noticed one of them walk slightly further south along the shore and suddenly become very animated. He had clearly spotted a fish. My wife and I went home empty-handed, but I decided then and there to return soon to investigate the spot that had made that man so excited.
It is common knowledge now that the Arctic char being caught in Lake Þingvallavatn are larger than before. Naturally, one wonders why. I find it likely that the cause is the strengthening of the brown trout population. It’s a certainty that an 80 cm trout will eat a one-pound char, and these ‘monsters’ (drjólar) have increased in number. Consequently, fewer char manage to grow large enough to escape the trout’s jaws, leaving more resources and space for those that do survive to become giants.
The fishing was slow on this trip. I wonder if the char become more reluctant to take right after the wind direction changes? I’m not sure, but it’s a theory I heard recently.
Back to the wader saga: the old Simms held up until I waded above the waist. I ended up with a wet backside. Upon returning home, I headed to Vesturröst and invested 27,900 ISK in a pair of Orvis Encounter waders. I couldn’t bring myself to spend more. I can still use the old Simms for river fishing where deep wading isn’t required, thereby extending the life of the Orvis pair.
On this trip, we also ran into a nuisance when packing up: one of the fly rods was completely stuck and wouldn’t come apart. I sought advice from experts and received the following tips: 1. Get someone strong to help; one wears rubber gloves and holds the rod while both try to twist it loose. 2. Heat the female ferrule. 3. Cool the male ferrule. 4. Apply WD-40 to the joint. Nothing worked in our case until we finally succeeded using the first method. I believe the second tip—heating the rod—is one to avoid, as there’s a significant risk of damaging the rod.