Álka
Fishing pools in Álka doesn’t really have names other than those the anglers have given them trough the years.
We begin upmost.
Breiðanis a very beautiful fishing pool. It is rather shallow and one can see the salmons from the bank. To get in position to fish, sneak carefully along the bank and even if seeing a fish it’s advisable to not pause, just keep on. Otherwise it’s more likely to be noticed by the salmon. When in position it has, for many anglers, turned out to bee wise to wait for few minutes before starting fishing.
Rauðsteinnis reasonably readable. In this pool the salmon typically stops when on the run up the river and some stunning strikes are predictable.
Klapparpallar are 2 or 3 levels below Rauðsteinn. Here the fishing record isn’t very high. However anglers sometimes have had extremely entertaining fights here, more often with nothing but trouble for the angler ! Like entire Álka downwards to the bridge Klapparpallar are fished from the north bank.
Gljúfriðis at the top of the bridge area, below the Breiðan. Here the angler must get down to the canyon and fish straight and as close towards the rock to the south. It’s recommended to pull the fly short and fast across. Here the salmons can lie pretty deep. Because of difficult conditions the fight can take quite a while, mainly because the fish has to be brought in from where the angler is standing.
Efri-brúarbreiðais a touchy fishing pool. Climb down the canyon quietly in order to not disturb the fish and take position at the gravel bank. From there it’s easy to cast across to the south bank and down towards and under the bridge. This pool usually holds a lot of salmons.
Neðri-brúarbreiðais from under the bridge down to the reflux. This pool can yield many salmons. Cast up against the current and let the fly drift a little before pulling it short and fast across. This method can be effective all the way downwards to the reflux.
Stóri-branduris a beautiful pool, not very deep but it can hold a lot of salmons. This pool should worthily be fished from the east bank.
From below Stóri-brandur we come to the undermost area of Álka. Here the fishing pools changes each year, mostly because of the spring floods. The river runs with a heavy current through rocky gravel banks where fishing pools are formed, but might be gone next year and new ones substitutes. In these pools the salmon stays for a while and it’s well worth it to spend some time walking the gravel plain most likely to find salmons in some of them.