Deep Sea Jigging at the Arctic Circle

Not really an article that fits this site but this is an experience that I’ve never got to share with anyone before. As of today, this one of the most unique trips that I have ever done as well as my only saltwater excursion.

From Red Lake to Reykjavík

I finished my guiding job for the summer at a fly-in lodge near Red Lake. For the 2017 fall semester, I was to do an international exchange program in Iceland. As a personal challenge, I wanted to experience living abroad by myself. Not even a few days after coming home to Winnipeg, I was on the plane out east for the very first time of my life. As soon as I landed in Keflavík International Airport, I knew there was no turning back. I was pretty nervous being alone in a foreign country.

After arriving in Reykjavík, I deposited my belongings at the hotel. The university that I would be attended was far in the interior of the island. I arrived a few days before my first semester so I would get to sightsee around Reykjavík. It is quite a colorful city and at least the locals spoke English. I would visit the museums and shops by foot but I did realize that I probably arrived too early as there wasn’t much for me to explore after a while.

Of course rather than sit in my hotel for another 2 days, I thought about whether there was any guided fishing nearby. With some Googling, I found a guide fishing tour that would take people deep sea jigging. I believe it was approximately $175 CAD for about 4-5 hours. Thought the price was a bit steep but it would be a very unique experience. So I walked over to Reykjavík’s harbor and boarded the ship for my first guided fishing trip ever.

Out at Sea

One of the most beautiful things about the Icelandic scenery are the mountains mixed with farmland and old moss. It was a cold day, I could have dressed better but all the sights were surreal.

Our captain was a British woman who was doing a PhD in marine biology. She mentioned that the fish we would be catching would be cod, haddock and saithe. If we were lucky, an Atlantic Wolfish could be caught. The ship drove until the captain mentioned that they started marking fish on the sonar. That was when we would start fishing. The rods were some very short stout baitcasting rods with a strip of red plastic for a lure. We were to jig them vertically in what felt like 50 feet of water.

Soon people started catching fish, mostly Arctic cod. The crew kept the fish to be eaten. It took me a while before I finally landed a fish, a tiny foul hooked saithe about 6″ long. Not really the greatest start to my saltwater fishing excursion but a fish is a fish. Obviously it got released as it was far too small for consumption.

Eventually I would finally land a picture worth fish. I finally jigged up an Arctic cod. Definitely a strange looking fish that resembled burbot back in Manitoba (the burbot is actually a freshwater cod). The guides took a picture of me and my catch before the cod was slaughtered and butchered.

I talked to some of the fellow guests and it turned out that we were quite a diverse group. One man was an American who spoke in a heavy Brooklyn accent who had a quite the hot bite that day. There was a Norwegian couple who unfortunately were skunked, though they were grateful for the opportunity. Sometimes that’s how fishing is.

Eventually the couple hours felt like only a few minutes as we soon went back to port. While traveling back, the guides fried up the cod for us to eat. They tasted amazing though as a Manitoban I still prefer walleye. I even got some leftover fillets that I would end up cooking back in the hotel.

Studying and Sightseeing

On the first day of the semester, we took a bus to the village in the interior of the island where I would spend the next few months. I won’t get into too much into that as that would be an absolute essay to write. However I did get to see some amazing scenery.

Honestly the most valuable experience was spending time with my international roommates. We bonded together in our isolation at the village and learned a lot about each other’s cultures. My roommates were shocked at the telecom rates that Canadians have to pay. It was definitely a mind opening time that probably changed the way I viewed the world permanently. The day that we had to say goodbye to each other was probably one of the saddest days in my life.

Final Words

Always consider travelling abroad as your world view will be greatly broadened. If you do happen to be an angler, find a way to do some new fishing. I call the land of prairie and shield my home but that won’t stop me from venturing outside here and then. Who knows what could be the next faraway adventure?