Fishing
Sea fishing from Reykjavik: hand lines in the bay, and your catch grilled on deck
The same bay the whale boats work is a working fishing ground, and one sailing takes you out with a hand line and cooks whatever you land before you get back to the quay. It is three hours, it costs $164, and the reviews are almost entirely about the food rather than the fish.
Quick answer
The sea fishing trip from Reykjavik is three hours from the Old Harbour, from $164. Rods, lines, bait and warm overalls are provided, no licence or experience is needed, and the crew fillet and grill your catch on board before you dock. Cod, haddock, mackerel and pollock are the usual fish. It is rated 4.7 across 189 reviews, and it sails in the same waters as the whale boats — sightings happen, but they are not the point.
The fishing trip, at a glance
- Length
- 3 hoursfrom the Old Harbour
- Price
- $164per person
- Provided
- Rods, bait, overallsno licence or experience needed
- Usual catch
- Cod, haddock, pollockmackerel in late summer
- The meal
- Filleted and grilled on boardfrom your own catch
- Method
- Hand lines and rodsstraight down, no casting
- Rating
- 4.7across 189 reviews
- Whales
- Sometimessame bay, not the purpose
- Best months
- May – Sepcalmer water and more fish
- Cancellation
- Free to 24 hlike every sailing here
How it works
Three hours, and nobody needs to know anything
Drop the line, jig it, and eat what you caught before you dock.
The boat motors twenty to thirty minutes out into Faxaflói to a spot the skipper picks by sounder and by experience — usually a bank or a drop-off where the fish are holding. The engine goes off and the lines go down.
This is not fly fishing. You are given a rod or a hand line with several hooks and a heavy weight, you drop it to the bottom, wind up a couple of turns, and jig it slowly. When something takes, you know: cod hit hard and pull straight down. The crew unhook, measure and sort, and they do it constantly for three hours because half the boat needs help at any moment.
Somewhere in the last hour the grill comes out. Your fish is filleted on deck, cooked immediately and handed round with bread. It is the single most-praised part of the trip in the reviews, and it is worth being hungry for — two hours of cold sea air does that anyway.
What happens to the rest of the catch depends on the operator; typically the boat keeps what is not eaten. If you are staying somewhere with a kitchen, ask before you sail — some crews will bag a fillet for you.
Before you book the fishing trip
Five things that are not obvious from the listing
It is a relaxed trip, and these are the parts people ask about afterwards.
- You do not need a licence or any skill
Everything is provided and the crew rig, unhook and fillet. Children manage it easily with a hand from an adult.
- The boat stops, which changes the motion
A drifting hull rolls more than a moving one. If you are prone to seasickness, take something on the dock.
- Dress under the overalls
You are standing still at a rail for two hours, which is colder than walking a deck. Gloves help twice: warmth, and handling a wet line.
- It is not a whale trip
You are in the same bay and sightings happen. Nobody will chase one, and the boat is out there to fish.
- Ask about taking fillets away
Policies differ by operator. If you have a kitchen, it is worth a question before you sail.
If the animals rather than the fish are the point, the classic three-hour cruise works the same bay and carries 11,540 reviews.
Whale watching from Reykjavik→The fish and the ground
What is under the boat in Faxaflói
Shallow mixed ground, cod and haddock, and a technique you learn in half a minute.
The bay is shallow — mostly under a hundred metres — with a mixed bottom of sand, gravel and rock, and it has been fished commercially for centuries. What you are dropping a line onto is the same ground the Reykjavík fleet works.
Cod is the fish everybody hopes for and the one that defines Icelandic fishing. It hits hard, pulls straight down and comes up in weight. Haddock is smaller, lighter on the line and, most Icelanders will tell you, better eating. Pollock (ufsi) runs in shoals and can produce three at a time on a multi-hook line. Mackerel appear in late summer and are fast, oily and fun.
The skipper chooses the ground on the day by sounder and by memory, and it changes with tide and season. There is no casting and no skill threshold: the technique is to drop to the bottom, wind up two turns and jig gently, and the crew will show you in thirty seconds.
Icelandic fisheries are quota-managed and the stocks in this bay are healthy, which is part of why a trip like this exists at all. The catch that is not eaten on board goes back to the operator rather than being wasted.
What the three hours look like
Five stages, from the quay to the grill
Nothing here is strenuous and none of it needs experience.
- Twenty to thirty minutes out
The skipper runs to a chosen ground while the crew hand out overalls and rig the lines.
- The first drop
Everybody down at once, and the crew move along the rail sorting out tangles and unhooking the first fish.
- Moving between spots
If nothing is happening the boat lifts and moves. Two or three grounds in a trip is normal.
- The grill comes out
Somewhere in the last hour. Fish are filleted on deck, cooked immediately and handed round with bread.
- The run home
Twenty minutes with a full stomach and cold hands, and the harbour lights ahead.
Common questions
Sea fishing from Reykjavik, answered
Do you need a fishing licence in Iceland for a sea trip?
Not for a sea angling trip like this one. Everything is provided and the crew handle the gear; a licence is only needed for river and lake fishing.
What fish do you catch in Faxaflói?
Cod, haddock and pollock mostly, with mackerel in late summer. The skipper picks the ground by sounder on the day.
Do they cook your catch on board?
Yes. That is the part the reviews are about: your fish is filleted and grilled on deck and handed round with bread before you dock.
Is it suitable for children?
Yes, with an adult. Hand-line fishing needs no casting and the crew do the rigging and unhooking.
Can you see whales on the fishing trip?
Sometimes — it is the same bay. The boat is out there to fish, though, and it will not chase a sighting.
How long is the trip?
Three hours from the Old Harbour, of which roughly two are on the fishing ground.
Go deeper
More on sailing from Reykjavik
Whale watching from Reykjavik
The three-hour cruise, what is out there and what nobody can promise.
The verdictWhich boat is best
Ten sailings ranked, and which one suits which traveller.
SeasonSeason and sightings
Month by month: what is in the bay and how likely you are to see it.
PuffinsPuffin tours
Akurey and Lundey, and the months the birds are actually there.
AuroraNorthern lights by boat
Darker than any bus tour, and cancelled more often. Both are true.
ComparedRIB or big boat
Speed and eye level against a heated saloon. Which suits you.
