How did Iceland's 2026 salmon season go?
The 2026 season is over in most of Iceland's salmon rivers, and the catch numbers tell the story. If you're researching a future trip to Iceland, season statistics are the best signal of how rivers actually fish — here's how 2026 ended, based on the latest numbers from the fishing associations' federation.
The summer started slowly. At the June openings, the National Association of Fishing Associations reported lively starts at Þverá and Kjarrá and a strong opening at Norðurá, while Miðfjarðará landed six salmon on opening day — one more than in 2025. The early season ran behind 2025, but the summer finished well: the northwest rivers caught about half again as many salmon as last year, though still fewer than their ten-year average.
Northwest Iceland: the numbers
The latest numbers from the fishing associations' federation (updated 16–30 September 2026) put the seven main rivers of the Húnavatnssýslur at 4,115 salmon combined, against 2,730 in 2025 and a 2016–2025 average of about 5,400:
| River | Salmon 2026 | 2025 | Average 2016–2025 | Rods |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Miðfjarðará | 1,779 | 1,266 | 2,207 | 10 |
| Blanda | 460 | 54 | 784 (9 yrs) | 8 |
| Laxá á Ásum | 502 | 471 | 747 | 4 |
| Víðidalsá | 473 | 357 | 654 | 8 |
| Vatnsdalsá | 441 | 287 | 503 | 6 |
| Hrútafjarðará | 355 | 197 | 334 | 3 |
| Svartá | 105 | 98 | 150 | 3 |
Miðfjarðará also leads per rod, at about 178 salmon against about 126 on the four-rod Laxá á Ásum. Hrútafjarðará is the only river in the table that beat its ten-year average. The federation has no 2021 number for Blanda, so its average covers nine years.
In the northeast, Laxá í Aðaldal — one of Iceland's most storied big-salmon rivers — reached 1,053 salmon (latest federation numbers, 30 September), up from 583 in 2025 and its best season since 2016.
Where official statistics are published
Weekly in-season numbers are published on the national catch-statistics site run by the fishing associations' federation, with archives back to 1990. Iceland's Directorate of Fisheries compiles the official season totals after the rivers close. We updated the numbers above on 18 October 2026.
Reading Icelandic catch statistics
A few things worth knowing before you compare rivers: divide the catch by the rod count (rivers are fished by a fixed, small number of rods); seasons open and close on different dates; many rivers are largely catch-and-release, so the catch number is not a kill count; and the most meaningful comparison is the same river across years, not two different rivers in one summer.
Planning a trip?
Browse Iceland's salmon rivers and trout lakes on veiðum.is — each river page shows species, location and season information, and you can follow a river to get notified when fishing licenses become available. See also: Salmon fishing in Iceland 2026.