Introduction

Sea trout (Salmo trutta morpha trutta)

Kingdom: Animalia / Phylum: Chordata / Class: Actinopterygil / Order: Salmoniformers / Family: Salmonidae / Genus: Salmo

Sea trout and brown trout (Salmo trutta) are the same species, but sea trout are like salmon, in that they spend the first years of their lives in fresh water but then go to sea. Sea trout are usually 2-5 years old when they leave their breeding grounds and go out to sea. This migration usually happens in the spring. In the autumn (September / October) they then return to the river, where they were born and spend the winter there but go out to sea again next spring.

Sea trout are most common on the west and south coasts of the country, and there are many good sea trout rivers. These include Brúará, Grenlæk, Tungulæk, Vatnamót, Rangá and Hólsá. Sea trout fishing has increased greatly in the northern part of the country and there are some very popular rivers, such as Litlaá in Kelduhverfi, Brúará, Eyjafjarðará and Húseyjarkvísl.

Seasons

It can be said that the period in sea trout is divided into two, on the one hand in the spring from April to May and on the other hand in the autumn from the end of August until October. There are some exceptions to this, mostly where sea trout have access to an estuary area where they can find food. 

Fishing season in all the main sea trout rivers in the country by region

Equipment

Rods

Sea trout grow to a large size in many rivers in Iceland, even in our smallest rivers. Therefore, people usually use quite powerful rods to be able to handle strong and active fish. Rods that are 9-10′, for lines 7-8 and even “Switch” – rods about 11′ for the same line size. 

Leaders & Tippets

It is the opinion of many anglers that sea trout are more combative and heavier on the rod than salmon of a similar size. For this reason, the strength of the leader chosen for fishing for big sea trout is often greater than for salmon.

The girth and abriason resistance of a leader used in sea trout fishing

Flies

Since sea trout are in fact brown trout, it is common to use the same flies for local brown trout as sea trout. However, it is said that sea trout are more impressed by brighter colors, as they are often caught in muddy water. By far the most common flies used for sea trout fishing are streamers, but it has become quite common for people to use beadhead nymphs that enable them to retrieve the fish from greater depth.

The best flies for sea trout fishing