Hosted Trip Report: Battle Hill Lodge — September 2023

Sometimes it’s strange the way a place lives in your memory. The mind’s eye of anglers, perhaps more than most folks, has a tendency to rose-tint our recollections. The fish were bigger. The catching was better. The landscapes were more beautiful. Only by revisiting a place can we recalibrate our reality. Iceland, somehow, manages to turn this premise on its ear. Regardless of how many times you go back, the island nation manages to find ways to remind you that you haven’t dialed up the mental Instagram filter high enough on your flashbacks. You haven’t gushed to friends and family earnestly enough. Your longing to return has been tepid and insufficient.

We’ve just recently returned from our second annual visit to Iceland's Battle Hill Lodge — and this year was no exception. Perched on Iceland’s southeastern shore, the three-river system the lodge fishes is just a stone’s throw from the salty waters of the North Atlantic. The sea-run brown trout (known better and perhaps more properly to Europeans as sea trout) that course through its waters offer anglers the chance to catch the fish of a lifetime and are part of an ambitious new program that has converted rivers that were long managed as catch-and-kill to catch-and-release refuges for sea trout in their native range — resulting in quarry that are healthier, bigger, and more abundant.

Over the course of 6 days with variable weather, the 8 anglers fishing out of the lodge landed an impressive 110 sea-run brown trout — with several fish over 90 cm coming to hand, as well as a large number of fish in the 80s and 70s. Encouraging numbers to say the very least — especially considering that the rivers were put off for a day by a heavy 68 cm (over 2.5 inches) rain that fell on the highlands that feed the lodge’s waters, that one of our anglers was unfortunately under the weather and had to strictly limit time spent on the water, and that one angling duo had to skip their last half day of fishing due to having booked early flights back to the U.S.!

Not to take anything away from our anglers, but there is no question that a great deal of the group’s success was due to the spectacular guide team at the lodge. While we are privileged to have first-rate guides at each and every destination in our catalog, there may be no other group of guides that operates more intently as a team than those that help fly fishers ply the waters at Battle Hill Lodge. Whether it’s the pre- and post-fishing strategy sessions, the regular on-the-water consultations with each other during every fishing day (facilitated by, like it or not, Iceland’s stellar cellular coverage), or the late night fly-tying sessions even after a long day spent on the water — this is a guide team that is intimately tied to the pulse of the rivers they fish. That translates into a big advantage for anglers fishing out the lodge.

As always, Iceland’s landscapes left all with jaws agape. There’s something uniquely gratifying about witnessing anglers (or anyone, really) seeing Iceland for the first time, watching the bewilderment in their expressions, swearing you can hear their inner monologue repeating this is so much better than the pictures. Even for those of us that were taking in particular vistas for the second or third time, the endless procession of waterfalls, towering icecaps, moss-clad canyons, and glacier-carved geography never loses a drop of its luster.

In a somewhat rare privilege, we were treated to some first-hand evidence of the benefits of Battle Hill’s strict catch-and-release policy this past week. A fresh-from-the-salt hen landed at Vatnamot, the lodge’s “big river,” was sporting a tag. The fish, it turned out, had been caught and tagged by Battle Hill’s guides the previous September, when it measured 43 cm. Just shy of 12 months later, we taped the fish at 58 cm. A whopping 15 cm in growth in a single season, no doubt thanks to a summer spent feeding on the bounty of the northern Atlantic Ocean.

And then, of course, there’s the Tungufljöt. The sort-of, kind-of fourth river fished out of the lodge. A remarkably productive river noted for its large fish, the Tungufljöt is only included in the lodge’s fishing rotation during two special weeks a year. We spent our first days ever on the river — which is normally fished only by Icelanders — this year and were not disappointed. One of the biggest highlights of fishing Battle Hill Lodge’s rivers, particularly for those lucky few that have traveled the world to chase sea trout, is the amazing diversity of the fishing. The Tungufljöt, unique in character from the other rivers in the program despite being only a short, 30-minute drive away from the lodge, only adds to that diversity. The bevy of big, sea-run brown trout that run up the river each autumn aren’t bad either.

We’d be remiss not to mention the lodge’s new chef and host, Fabiana and Hernan, who are an absolute pleasure. Warm, welcoming and attentive, the duo have created an atmosphere at the lodge that doesn’t just allow river weary anglers to rest and refuel, but fosters conviviality — whether over early-morning coffee and pastries or post-fishing gatherings with guests and guides for appetizers and cocktails to share sea trout victories and defeats.

All in all, it was a week of ups-and-downs, wonderful company, world-class guiding and hospitality, and spectacular fish. Most importantly, it was a week of memories we’ll not soon—if ever—forget, and we’re already counting the days until next year.

If you’re interested in visiting Battle Hill Lodge, we cannot encourage anglers strongly enough to book early. Thanks to the lodge’s rebooking policy — which gives previous year’s guests first rights to rebook for the following year — planning a trip to Battle Hill Lodge not only helps you cross a bucket-list trip off your list, it guarantees your ability to return the following year. Battle Hill Lodge may be a relative newcomer to the world of destination sea trout fishing, but given the world-class nature of its fishing program and its increasingly bright future, we expect it won’t be long before anglers hoping to chase the lodge’s sea trout may be faced with multi-year waiting lists. In other words, if you can, get in while the getting’s good!

We are now booking both spring and fall 2024. If you'd like to book a visit for next year or learn more, send us an inquiry via the Battle Hill Lodge trip page, send us an email, or give us a ring at +1 (253)-780-1530. Availability is limited and we expect prime dates to disappear quickly.