Laxa in Dolum

Set along the Svínvetningabraut road near Blönduós, in northern Iceland, the lodge sits above a salmon river with a documented history of fishing back to the early 13th century. The Laxá í Ásum runs 15 km down to a 3 km estuary, giving 18 km of fishable water worked by just four rods. That restriction is recent history: the river's flow was diverted through a hydroelectric plant from 1932 until the plant closed in 2014, after which the water returned to its original bed for its full length below Lake Laxárvatn. Rods increased from two to four in 2017. Netting has been banned since 1940, and fishing here has been fly only since 2001. The 42-year seasonal average sits at 955 salmon, with a season high of 1,795 fish in 2015 and a low of 211 in 2012. The lodge itself holds eight double rooms, two original and six newer, alongside a sauna and a shared dining room. Icelandic chefs run the kitchen. Guests fish with English-speaking guides, one per two rods, each with a 4WD vehicle. Bird life and walking trails fill the hours off the water. It is a small operation built around one river and its numbers.