Ranga

To all my fellow fly fishermen and women. I rarely ever write reviews but If you are like me and worked your butt off to come to Iceland looking for that once in a lifetime fly fishing experience, I am sad to say that you should look for a different guide service. I booked a one day trip through Iceland Outfitters for 1450 Euros out of the West Ranga Lodge and it was horrible to say the least. Here are the highlights -Guide met me in a car with a broken windshield ( which I didn’t care about) but maybe a sign of things to come -He brought 3 rods, which I thought was great. I started fishing a streamer rod with weighted line while he rigged the other ones. The streamer rod had had a right handed reel, which is what I am. The other two rods were left-handed reels. This obviously is no problem to cast, but I asked what do we do if we get a fish and he said we will figure it out. Not that it mattered because there were zero fish seen or caught. -we only went to 3 fishing holes the whole day and none of them were producing. We did not see a single fish nor have a bite. I have used guides all over the world and I’ve never had anyone not know their own river. I would’ve taken any fish, but there was nothing and these guys had no clue where to go. -and every spot we stopped the Guide got on the phone. He couldn’t find the turnoffs for some of the spots which was nuts. I later found out he was calling the shop because he couldn’t figure out what to use or why the fish weren’t biting. He was like a deer in the headlights. They also later told me this was their best guide so that should tell you all you need to know. -I will say the guy was extremely nice, but all he seemed to care about was the soccer team that he also coached and getting more coffee. It wasn’t even that cold out. We also only fished from 9 in the morning until 5 PM which I thought was a little short, especially with the lack of production and it wasn’t even that cold out. I am from Colorado and I have been Fly fishing for over 20 years. I’m not the best but I’m decent. I have done guided fishing in Sweden, Patagonia, Canada, and most of the Western United States. I have been skunked before, but there’s always fish and a chance of getting them. Never have I had such poor knowledge and service and for over $1750 USD. Do yourself a favor and find a different guide. I’m still sick to my stomach writing this and reliving the experience.

My wife and I stayed at West Ranga Lodge for a fishing trip, and we really enjoyed it. The location is perfect - right by the river and very peaceful. The lodge has a cosy feel and a lot of charm, and everything we needed was available. There was even a dedicated drying room for waders, which was super handy after a day on the water. It’s also possible to buy fishing equipment right at the lodge, which is a big plus if you forget something or need extra gear. The highlight for us was the food. The chef is fantastic, and every meal was delicious - really top quality! The room was fine for a fishing stay. The only downside was a faint old cigarette smell, likely from when smoking was allowed in the rooms. My wife wasn’t too happy about that, but it didn’t ruin the overall experience. All in all, we had a great time and would be happy to come back!

Whilst the refurbished lounge, sitting and dining areas are very good the accommodation is nothing short of child dormitory standard, even the WC is child height, only one usable socket in the room and that is under a table, no USB sockets in the room, the two very narrow beds in the room had two bedside cabinets between them, it was impossible to turn over in bed without your head hitting either the cabinets or the wall the beds where up against.