Reykjavík Grapevine - 04.07.2008, Qupperneq 32

32 | REYKJAVÍK GRAPEVINE | ISSUE 09—2008
DESTINATION
Fishing and fish in Iceland are as much a part of
the culture, history and lifestyle as music, beer
and late nights in 101. With that in mind, and a
desire to encounter first-hand one of the coun-
try's most famous exports, deep sea cod, I set
off on a mid-morning trip into the stretch of sea
overlooked by Reykjavik to capture one of these
beasts from the bay.
After a short motor out to a fertile fishing
ground we drop our lures, a multi-coloured mix-
ture of rubber worms designed to look like dinner
to a hungry fish, and wait for something to bite.
The German fisherman who joined us on the trip,
a son and father armed to the teeth with some typ-
ically efficient-looking fishing kit, are first to start
whooping with excitement as one of them quickly
hooks into a prime cod the size of a small family
dog. It's an impressive catch and could feed a very
large family more than once over – who needs fac-
tory farmed chicken and beef when you have a sus-
tainable food source like that on your doorstep?
The first thing that strikes you about the fish is
just how bright and healthy-looking they seem to
be. Their colouration is vivid, with the cod ranging
from shades of dark olive to sandy yellow depend-
ing on their diet and habitat, and there's obviously
no shortage of them scavenging the seabed. The
clean waters and remoteness of Iceland must play
some part in the quality of the catch and the Ger-
mans admit that this is fishing nirvana for them.
With a reputation at stake (I'd stupidly claimed
to know what I was doing with a rod and line), I
was getting worried as the only fish to have fallen
for the rather unconvincing lure after the first drift
was a small, catfood-sized haddock. However, the
next drop down produced something substantial
that did think a bit of metal and latex was a legiti-
mate food source bent the rod and tried to head
out to sea. It was only a small cod but it was fol-
lowed by four more, including a proper lump of
a fish that made me a very happy fisherman. As
I was reeling up the last fish a bit too enthusiasti-
cally, the charismatic skipper shouted "don't get
all horny with it", just before a 3kg example of why
Icelandic nature is loved so much hit the surface.
Getting Horny
with the Cod
By Ben H. Murray — pHoto By viktor Svan
Fly and discover
/ tel. 570 3030
Air Iceland
destinations
Get your action-packed day tour brochure
at hotels, airports or any travel agent.
ÍS
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IA
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www.airiceland.is
FAROE ISLANDS
REYKJAVÍK
AKUREYRI
EGILSSTAÐIR
WESTMAN ISLANDS
ÍSAFJÖRÐUR
VOPNAFJÖRÐUR
ÞÓRSHÖFN
GRÍMSEY
CONSTABLE POINT
Greenland
KULUSUK
Greenland
NUUK
Greenland
NARSARSSUAQ
Greenland
VERDICT
My friends ate very well that night and the
experience showed that fishing is one of the few
things that can be universally enjoyed, regardless
of nationality or age.
DAYTRIP
Scheduled from Reykjavík harbor from early
June to late August every day at 11:00, but can be
booked at other times.
INfO
Trip provided by Elding
Reykjavik-harbour
Tel.: 555 3565
www.elding.is