Think you’ve found a pretty remote fishing spot that only you and a few pals know about? Think again. Writer and filmmaker RC Cone traveled to the far northwest of Iceland chasing the tale of an Atlantic salmon and sea-run brown trout stream that had been looked after by the same family for 16 generations. Along the way, Cone and his crew learn the value of Icelandic hot dogs, get in a little Arctic surfing and find the true meaning of “Yow!”

Words: RC Cone

Thor is pissed—disappointed, confused and verging on berserker rage. It’s not the anger of the mythological, thunder-cracking, Old God of the North, but the head-shaking WTF of a 15-year-old, 16th-generation Icelandic farmer named Thor. He can’t believe we are letting go of one of the most beautiful sea-run brown trout he’s ever seen. Waves of disbelief flow from him—that fish could feed his family plus a guest or two. Catch and release sounds like a fool’s folly while we stand in the middle of his river, in the middle of his valley, in a far-off Icelandic fjordSubscribe to start your collection of the world’s best flyfishing publication.