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Minnivallalaekur river - Brown trout
 Nice trout caught in May
Season : April 1. - september 30. Rods : 4 Species : Brown trout - catch & release Lodge : 4 double bed rooms, 2 bathrooms, hot tub Location : 110 km east of Reykjavik
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About the river Minnivallalaekur is a relatively small spring creek in the south of Iceland and, despite it’s size, holds brown trout well into the double figures. The rivers reputation as one of the best brown trout rivers in the world has travelled widely and every year we entertain guests from all over the world. The river is a four rod river which means that at any time we allow fishing with four rods at a time. A beautiful lodge is situated on the banks of the river close to where it comes up on to the surface from beneath the ground. The lodge has four double bedrooms, two bathrooms with a shower in each, a kitchen, dining room, sitting room and a hot tub on the back porch. With every rod accommodation for two people is included for the possibility of two people sharing a rod.
 A very nice lodge sleeps 8 people.
Minnivallalaekur is a 7 kilometer long spring creek fed by two different springs that come from underground north of the lodge and join together to form the main river just outside the lodge. Where the two creeks come together is the first pool, called Home pool, which is also one of the best pools in the river. The river is located close to Iceland’s most active volcano, Hekla, and is surrounded by lava rock and tuff which plays it’s part in making the river so nutritious. The PH level of the river has been measured at 8,4 - 8,5 and conductivity levels at 134 - 138 µScm2 . Surrounded by high grass banks that make for a good cover the river flows through fields of grass and lava until it joins the glacial river Thjorsa which is Iceland’s longest river.
Catch rates
Average catch rates are around 300-400 fish with the catch rate in 2007 being 388 fish. Average size of fish around 2 kilos or 4 pounds but every year there are fish caught that are 6-7 kilos or 12-14 pounds. Minnivallalaekur is strictly a brown trout river but the occasional salmon and char are caught. Early in the season the fish tend to go for big streamers fished deep but as the season progresses and the aquatic insects become more lively the fish get more selective and that's when the small nymphs and dry flies kick in.
Flies
 Typical patterns to use in Minnivallalaekur include world famous trout patterns like Black - and Grey ghost, Montana, Muddler minnow, Pheasant tail nymph, Black gnats, Adams, Midge patterns and various Caddis patterns. Icelandic patterns work very well there as well, with the Peacock nymph being the most popular one. As a rule of thumb the aquatic insects anglers imitate on the Minnivallalaekur are mostly midges (non-biting, Chironomidae), Buffalo gnats (Simuliidae), Caddis (Trichoptera) and Stoneflies (Plecoptera). The hook sizes used are normally from 10-18 with the nymphs and 14-26 with the dry flies.
Tackle Since the distance between banks is never very long in Minnivallalaekur anglers don’t really have to worry about long distance casting. Precision is however an issue and in some situations anglers need to be able to cast their flies both accurately and with distance since the fish in the river are easily spooked. For rod weight we recommend the use of rods #4 - #6 since the river holds a lot of big fish. The fish are really strong fighters so it is a real challenge to subdue a 6-10 pound brown trout with a five weight rod. Fishing is mostly done with floating lines but in some situations it is good to have either a sink tip line or a sinking leader.
The fish  Nice trout caught in July Minnivallalaekur holds mostly brown trout that are from the ice age species of brown trout believed to have been isolated in the highlands of Iceland at the end of the last ice age. This species grow very fast and can get very big as we have seen in Minnivallalaekur. Some of the fish migrate from the glacial river Thjorsa to the clear water of Minnivallalaekur and normally that fish has a slightly brighter color than the native fish in Minnivallalaekur. Since Angling service Strengir issued a catch and release rule on the river we have rapidly seen the fish grow bigger and bigger. Today it is not uncommon to see fish over 20 pounds in some of the pools.
Check list of items to bring Split shots Rods Reels Leader Tippet material Water resistant jacket Waders Warm under garments Flies (see list) Degreaser Floatant
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