The mountain (Norðurá II)

Beats Norðurá I Beats Norðurá II The mountain (Norðurá II) Munaðarnes Flóðatangi Map of Norðurá

While angling, the angler finds himself in almost a no-mans-land. No sound but the hum of the river. A river that has since long before human memories, sculpted the land and carried with her the raw materials that now form the banks you see in and along the river. There are no distractions but the chirping of birds or the buzz of of flies and yews with their lambs, heading for the highlands and its nutritious grasses. The eye catches a glint of silver as a salmon jumps Króksfoss waterfall, a vision not soon forgotten. The angler, nature and the salmon become one. Norðurá flows from a lake atop a moor called Holtavörðuheiði and therefore the water level can differ greatly from one day to the next, and even within the same day. The fish therefore moves between pools, and within pools, depending on the level of the water. This gives the river many different visages and that, along with its beautiful surrounds, is a great part of its angling charm.

The highest part of the river, Fjallið (the Mountain) has everything an adventurous angler might seek, with its wondrous and provocative nature. You can stroll around grown ground down on the flats and test your metal on the moor’s cliffs and crevasses. The river is a charmer as it flows either calm or swift with riffles and runs, waterfalls and rapids. You can always find sport in it, especially in the latter half of summer and as it turns into fall the diverse colors of nature enhance your experience.

Up on the moor, from Hvassá river confluence, she flows through coarse gravelly banks before flowing into gullies with numerous and diverse pools. Nature’s beauty is great in this region and the angler may find himself lost in thought, surrounded by cliff walls from which many strange forms may be visualized. Elf halls are all around, for the locals have held on to the belief that nature holds more than meets the eye.

As she flow towards the end of the gullies, she reaches Króksfoss waterfall, under which a beautiful and generous pools is nestled. In years long gone, this was as far as the salmon could run. But little over 50 years ago, the river broke its icy bounds, as she does every year, but this time she took a large piece of the waterfall’s edge with it, just enough so the salmon can now jump the waterfall. In the spring of that year, people saw that Norðurá was now fishable all the way to its source.

The very end of the gully, from the waterfall downwards, is probably the most beautiful part of the Mountain. It contains many pools, each more entertaining than the last. This area will be hard to forget and may memories made here will warm the angler well into fall and winter.

At the bottom part of Norðurá II, she flows across gravelly banks and through grown field, making for easy access for most anglers. On her way down the gullies she as gained quite a lot of volume making the pools below them bigger and wider than those above. This makes the area even more interesting and diverse.