“The wedding was on hold for about twenty minutes.”

Ragnheiður Þengilsdóttir with the largest fish that was caught in the Víðidalsá River this summer. It is a female salmon measuring 102 cm.
Photo/Óli Valur Steindórsson

The couple Óli Valur Steindórsson and Ragnheiður Þengilsdóttir experienced a stressful, tense, but above all joyful moment when all was said and done at the Víðidalsá River this morning. Þengilsdóttir released a large salmon into the water at the Gapastokkur fishing area in the river. Soon the couple, who are both experienced fishermen, saw that the salmon was big, and not only that, but huge.

“The wedding was on hold for about twenty minutes. But everything went well and I think I’ll be in grace for the next twenty years,” Steindórsson said with a laugh. He then added that today he was definitely a better married man than his wife.

Þengilsdóttir was still feeling the effects of the adrenaline when a reporter from Sporðaköst, the fly fishing section of mbl.is, spoke to her. “It was just crazy and it was the biggest fish I have ever caught. The biggest one so far was 90 centimetres in the Selá River. It was crazy. I fought for half an hour to get it in and I saw this beautiful female salmon. It was a dream and we managed to release it beautifully. Óli was on the landing net and was in charge of measuring,” said the super happy fisherwoman. She did not mention the stress her husband was feeling, but that is not a big deal when things end so well.

They were asked if the measurement was correct. Óli said so, and he is an experienced man who has given two hundred percent of his hunting career. His largest specimen measured 107 centimeters and was caught in Selá. “It measured 102 centimeters.”

July 14 is clearly the day of fishing for large salmon in the Víðidalsá River. Last year, on the same date, 101-centimeter salmon were caught in the Dalsárós River. These are extremely valuable fish, and it is the large salmon that provide the largest and most beautiful eggs.

The last few days have been good for fishing on the river after a slow start. Nine salmon were landed this morning and were caught in all areas.

Mbl.is congratulated Þengilsdóttir on the big fish and at the same time, Steindórsson on a carefree marriage for the next decades.

This is the fourth salmon to make the list over 100cm this summer. This is less than what has been reported and we encourage all anglers to take careful note of the measurements of the fish and measure from the middle of the tail to the top of the head. Fish will stay on their side if they have water to splash around in. It is a good idea to put the tape measure on it and take a picture.