Jökla: The Genesis of a River Reborn

The Jökla is an extraordinary river, and what my good friend Þröstur Elliðason has achieved there—and continues to achieve during a period of global decline in Atlantic salmon—is nothing short of remarkable. Having known Þröstur since the early 1990s, it comes as no surprise. When it comes to understanding salmon, restoring wild stocks, and reading a river system like scripture, he stands alone.

I am delighted to host a private party on this world-class fishery, taking all rods on the main lodge from August 9th to 13th, 2027.

A River With Two Souls

Glacier-fed and wild, the Jökla is one of the very few North Atlantic salmon rivers that has completely bucked the downward trend over the past forty years. It feels almost like two rivers stitched together, offering an incredible variety of water across its length:

• The Upper Section: Wide, gentle, and forgiving, with flat gravel pools and effortless wading.

• The Middle Canyon: The most dramatic and scenic stretch of the river. Here, the water tightens into a gorge where every pool is quick to reach, holds fish, and is a sheer joy to fly-fish.

• The Lower Section: Broad, calm, and open, featuring sprawling gravel pools that rarely demand deep wading.

Over sixty kilometres of this prime main river are shared by just eight main lodge rods, fully supported by an exceptional lodge team and expert local guides.

Note: Rod-sharing is warmly encouraged on this trip. Icelandic salmon fishing involves two six-hour sessions a day—which can be hard, rewarding graft. Sharing a rod and a room lets you share the rhythm of the river without wearing yourself out.

How Jökla Became What It Is

The rebirth of the Jökla was made possible by two factors: a dam, and a man who understands salmon better than anyone in the industry.

Before the Kárahnjúkar dam was constructed in 2006, the Jökla was an unfishable, silt-laden torrent roaring at 500 cubic metres per second. Once the dam controlled the flow, water levels settled into a pristine, manageable 15–50 cubic metres per second—revealing a magnificent river system that had been hidden beneath the chaos for centuries.

PRE-2006 POST-2006 Unfishable Silt Torrent Pristine Tailwater (500 m³/sec discharge) (15–50 m³/sec managed flow) │ │ ▼ ▼ No Salmon Habitat Wild Stocking & Restoration │ ▼ 9,000–10,000 Wild Salmon Returning Annually

Þröstur’s stocking programme began immediately. Rather than a short-term, scatter-gun effort, it was a carefully measured, decade-long plan. By the mid-2010s, the river showed firm signs of a self-sustaining population. Today, 9,000 to 10,000 salmon return to the Jökla annually.

Crucially, none of the fish in the main river come from ranched smolts. They are 100% wild, self-sustaining progeny of the original stock. Þröstur continues to supplement the upper tributaries with fry and parr, not to artificially boost numbers, but to deepen his understanding of how this evolving ecosystem behaves. This is why I call Jökla Genesis—a salmon population created from almost nothing, now thriving naturally.

The Old-World Magic of Remote Waters

Reaching the Jökla requires journeying into Iceland's remote east coast—roughly an hour's domestic flight from Reykjavík followed by a scenic drive. But that remoteness is central to its magic.

The Victorians understood instinctively that the further off the beaten track a river lay, the better the salmon fishing would be. They thought nothing of taking a day or more to reach the northern Scottish Highlands from London, considering every hour well spent. Jökla carries that exact same old-world atmosphere.

 

Overflow Riskng Contr

Due to a risk of overflow at the Dam, which normally happens sometime around the mid/end of August, Throstur has added a small Smolt release project to the two fishable tributaries. Those are not affected y any potential overflow and provide anglers with a "Plan B" should this happen on their trip. Because there was no overflow expected this year, I fished the Kolda and caught 6 fish and lost a further 3 inside an hours fishing. I can say this is avery special Plan B. 

 

Unlike many modern fisheries where traditional river management is increasingly tangled in bureaucracy, greenwashing, and grant-grabbing, Jökla’s success is refreshingly simple.

It is driven by local landowners working hand-in-hand with an expert practitioner. They share a single goal: to build a sustainable, wild, commercially viable salmon fishery funded not by public money, but by visiting anglers who love the sport.

Join Ian Gordon on the Jökla | August 9–13, 2027

This exclusive hosted trip offers a rare opportunity to fish one of the North Atlantic’s greatest success stories during prime August dates, alongside expert tuition, line-tuning, and guided Speycasting advice on the water.

• Dates: August 9th – 13th, 2027

• Accommodation: Full board at the main Jökla Lodge (Full guiding included)

• Rods: 8 Rods total (Rod-sharing available)

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At this time there are 5 of the 8 rods available. Contact me here or on Whatsapp on 07786120436