The Atlantic salmon is the most prized freshwater sporting fish around the world. It is valued not just for vigour with which it fights, but also for the delicacy with which it often takes the fly. In Iceland salmon run the river from late May until October, with the most popular fishing weeks from late June until mid-August. The salmon spawn in tributaries in October and stay in the river over the winter In spring eggs hatch and the surviving adults return to the ocean.The young salmon, known as smolts, stay in the river for the first three years and then migrate to the ocean. Some will return after only a year but will weigh between four and eight pounds after rich feeding at sea. Others stay longer and may weigh from 10 pounds upwards on their return to fresh water.