Weekly Round-Up: Iceland Part Three, Long Valley Lodge Adventures
In which we end this run around Iceland on the fishing day of a lifetime.
I’m sitting on the flight back to the U.S. from Reykjavik as I type this. I haven’t slept more than five hours a night for the past 10 days—and anyone who knows me well knows how much I need my sleep to be a functional human—so please excuse any typos below as you read this. Blame the fish. And maybe the midnight sun for making it so easy to just stay up working way too late.
My last stop in Iceland was Fish Partner’s newest operation, Long Valley Lodge. The lodge rests along the famous Blanda River, and has access to fish long beats of that river, as well as the Svartá, which is a tributary. The northern coastline of Iceland was a new venture for me, and I thoroughly enjoyed hitching rides with industry friends both to and from Reykjavik for the three-hour drive to the lodge. You can read the full fishing report below, but suffice to say this trip ended with one of the most spectacular—and most memorable—fishing days I’ve had in a very, very long time.
A Look at Long Valley Lodge
Atlantic salmon, brown trout, sea-run brown trout, char, and more.
Too much good water and too many promising pools. It’s a lovely problem to have, and one we discuss daily during my three and a half days of fishing at Long Valley Lodge. After spending some time at Fish Partner’s Highlands Lodge (in case you missed it, here’s the report from last week), I was able to spend the days exploring the mighty Blanda and the Svartá.
We were comfortably housed at the lodge, which served immaculately as the “let’s hurry up and sleep so we can get back on the water” hub. Throughout my visit I photographed and fished with a variety of anglers, including friend and Fish Partner founder and CEO Kristján Páll Rafnsson, who is always an absolute pleasure to spend time on the water with. It’s a treat to work with anglers who know how to ignore the camera and just do their thing… makes my job so much easier.
It was also a pleasure to meet guide Ahmed, with whom I fished several days, including tagging along on a guide day for him with wonderful guest and Reykjavík pastry chef Ólöf Ólafsdóttir. I also met guide David Lambert and re-met guide Robert Hansson, with whom I fished in Swedish Lapland in 2018. It’s one of the best things in this industry—meeting old and new friends in the odd corners of the world.
This fishery caught me off guard with not only the volume and breadth of the water, but also the many species available to target. It’s easy to keep busy with brown trout, sea-run brown trout, char, and of course—the star of the show—Atlantic salmon. For many American anglers, the Atlantics are an unknown challenge, and the ability to have a week of wonderful trout fishing while also giving a try to the salmon game makes this program unique and well-suited for those looking for a taste of variety in their fishing travels.
The lodge itself resides on the banks of the Blanda, nestled not far from the cozy town of Blönduós, and accommodates up to 24 anglers in double rooms. There’s a sauna and hot tub (neither of which we stopped fishing long enough to use), hearty meals, and a wonderful lounge space overlooking the water. So when you’re not on the river with a rod in hand, you can still pretend you are.
You’ll be reading more about the trip in upcoming magazine articles. The last day of the visit was truly one of the most epic days of fishing I’ve seen in my life. The guides kindly let me tag along for a “guides’ fishing day” and we headed down to Beat One on the Blanda in the hopes salmon would be moving up. We worked both sides of the river; Robert and David on one side and Ahmed and I on the other. Ahmed was very patient with my preschool-level Spey casting, and we all methodically worked the beat, pausing for breaks to discuss all the life things, as one does on the river when spending time with good people.
Late-morning, things started to happen. Across the river, David hooked up and landed a gorgeous Atlantic salmon. I had one eat but lost the fish as it ran straight toward me and I couldn’t walk backward or reel fast enough to keep him on. But redemption came an hour or so later, when I felt a very subtle tug at the end of the swing as my fly drifted just above and cornering to a boulder. It was this 85-cm beauty. I don’t remember the last time I genuinely had shaking hands after fighting a fish… I sure did with this one. The last time I caught an Atlantic salmon was working in Russia in 2012, and I’d forgotten just how special these fish are. A quick lift for the image, swift release, and then he swam off to continue his journey upstream.
We took a break for lunch and then headed out, armed with apples and cold pizza for diner, to fish the full afternoon / evening session. Soon Robert landed his salmon, and it was a half-hour before the close of the fishing day when Ahmed hooked into his as well. By the time 2000h rolled around and it was time to reel up, all four of us had caught an Atlantic salmon. An absolutely epic day, and a hell of a way to end the trip.
I had to pack up for a 0600 drive to Reykjavik the next morning, and by the time we hit the petrol station, made it back to the lodge for celebratory drinks, and I packed my kit up, it was already 0200. Who needs sleep, anyway? Not when there are salmon to be caught. Huge thanks to the entire Fish Partner team for another shoot in the books—truly, one of my favorite teams to work, shoot, and fish with.
I’ll likely be heading back to Iceland in the coming year or two with a hosted group… let me know if you’d be keen to come along!
2026 Hosted Trips
Still have a couple spots open on these hosted trip destinations for 2026:
Estancia Laguna Verde (Jurassic Lake), Argentina: January 24-31, 2026
Turneffe Island Resort, Belize: May 23-30, 2026
Bolivia Heli-Fishing (Trophy Golden Dorado): June 28-July 5, 2026
Estancia Laguna Verde 2026
I’ll be returning January 24-31, 2026 with a hosted group. This is a top-notch lodge in a wonderfully unique fishery. Expect some of the world’s best guides, excellent lodging and food, a stellar lodge team, and wonderfully large, healthy rainbow trout in an environment that will make you think you’re fishing on the moon.
This PDF has more details—give it a read, and then get in touch to secure your spot!
January 24 - 31, 2026
Estancia Laguna Verde, Lago Strobel, Argentina
$7,950 (7 nights / 6.5 days fishing)
Classic Flats Fishing at Turneffe Island Resort
Only Two Rods Remaining
Join me at Turneffe Island Resort next May for a week of classic saltwater flats fishing. We’ll chase bonefish, permit, tarpon, and more on the fly rod, and enjoy wonderful accommodations and food while at the resort. An excellent place for anglers new to saltwater, looking up their flats-fishing skills, or with non-angling spouses who want to come along and enjoy island life.
May 23-30, 2026
Turneffe Island Resort, Turneffe Atoll, Belize
$5,890 (7 nights / 6 days fishing, double occupancy)
Bolivia Heli-Fishing For Trophy Golden Dorado
Only ONE SPOT Remaining
I’ve got just one rod left to return to Untamed Angling’s Tsimane Pluma Lodge Heli-Fishing Program June 27-July 4, 2026—an exclusive program in the Bolivian Amazon, designed to target trophy golden dorado. We’ll have the opportunity to fish not only for large dorado but also pacu, yatorana, and even moturo, in incomparable quantity and quality. The rivers and tributaries where we will fish every day are wild, untouched waters seldom seen by human beings.
Read more info HERE about this limited trip—just two spots remaining.
June 27-July 4, 2026
Tsimane Pluma Lodge, Bolivian Amazon
$17,250 ($16,000 plus $1,250 indigenous Indian fees)
Want to learn more about any of these trips?
Send me a DM on social media or shoot over an email.
Recently Published
The Beckbe Journal just published this piece about weird yet utterly memorable moments in the Darien: Darien Dance Parties.
I wrote a forthright piece for The Field Ethos Journal about the good, the bad, and the ugly of fishing in the Darien Gap in Looking For a Few Good Men.
The Big Sky Journal just published a photo essay and article about the romance of Montana summer fishing in their latest issue. Pick it up and give “The Simple Things in Life” a read.
Pick up the winter issue of The Fly Fish Journal for words + images about fly-fishing off Colombia’s Darien Gap.
The Field Ethos Journal recently ran this piece about having a beer on a stormy night in one of Pablo Escobar’s former bars… a life goal I didn’t know I had.
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