River Ellidaar runs through the Icelandic capital Reykjavik.
From the source in
Lake Ellidavatn
the river finds its way for six
kilometres down to the estuary. The Ellidaar is a short river, but has proved productive when
runs have been good and salmon evenly dispersed.
The upper
reaches of the river are among the best fly fishing beats in
Iceland. One pool leads straight into the next.
In May the uppermost part of the river is
open for brown trout fishing.
Waters are calm and branches run through
wetlands and down some rocky steps.
The Ellidaar has been exploited in two main ways.
Firstly, it has yelded natural bounties to fishermen from
the age of settlement
and through the centuries until angling
achieved supremacy.
For the best part of a century
there have been a hydro-electric plant in operation
on the
rivers. King Christian X of Denmark formally opened the Ellidaar
power station for public use on June 27th, 1921. The first
electricity generating station to serve the city of
Reykjavik.
The average catch for the last
30 years are 1200 salmon per season.
Its best year was 1975
with 2071 salmon.
The poorest one was 2001 when it yielded only
414 salmon.
This season (2009) the catch was total 863 salmon.
The Ellidaar, often called
Reykjavik's angling treasure belongs to the
Township of
Reykjavik and has a great meaning for inhabitants of
the city.
