Salmon fishing has been practiced in Iceland since  the first settlers arrived in the late 800 AD. 
Dragnets were widely used, but now people debate if  our ancestors fished by rod or not. (A fine topic for debate, since no one can prove their point). Soon after 1860, English and Scottish gentlemen came here to fish for salmon.  They frequented rivers in the south-west area, such as the Ellidaár, Grímsá, Langá, Thverá and Norduá.  Some even bought all fishing rights in rivers, like the Ellidaár and the Langá.  This continued for the next 50 years until the First World War put an end to it.  Even thouh some of the anglers returned after the war, the attendance was never the same.

In the late 1960s some American anglers rediscovered Icelandic salmon fishing and soon Americans became the most common foreign fishermen in Iceland.  In the last two decades, the number of European anglers has increased, and by now, they are almost as numerous as Americans. 

The influx of foreign anglers increased the demand for good fishing, and raised the prices considerably, so local fishermen were not at all pleased.  By now, this dispute has settled and Icelandic anglers acknowledge that salmon fishing is a costly sport.