Weekly Report

Date: 27 June-4 July

Air Temperature: 5-14C
Water Temperature: 12C-14C
Water Height: -22cm to -18cm
No of rods: 10
No fish: 70
Biggest fish: 34lbs Alain Vanthier
No of fish 30lbs+: 1
No of fish 20-29lbs: 7
No of fish 8-19lbs: 53
Grilse: 9

Weather: Temperatures have remained remarkably cool but stable for the majority of the week. There has been some sunny weather but cool air temperatures have meant that the water temperature has been pretty constant giving generally good fishing conditions.
Manager's comments: It is proving a tougher year than normal on the Kola Peninsula as a whole (Norway and Canada as well) and this week was no different. The rewards are there though for those that persevere.

There were only nine grilse and plenty of the salmon landed were in the high teens so everyone got to see there backing during the course of the week!

There are not many places in the world that you have a genuine chance of encountering a big fish. Seven fish fell in the 20-29lb bracket and the most noteable fish of the week was caught by Alain V, an exceptional 34lber. Well done Alain!

There were at least a handful of other encounters with salmon of a similar size this week. They came unstuck for a variety of reasons such as heading into a rapid but the majority were lost for no real reason, often when the fight was nearly won and when the fish was clearly seen. These things often go in waves of good or bad luck so let's hope that guests in the coming weeks have luck on their side.

All in all it was a relaxed but fun week with representation from the UK, Australia, France, Spain and Iceland. Hope to see you all again next year, same time, same place!

Strong Finish

Date: 3 July

Air Temperature: 11C-8C
Water Temperature: 13C
Water Height: -18cm
No of rods: 10
No fish: 15
Biggest fish: 22lbs Nicolas Boisson
No of fish 30lbs+: 0
No of fish 20-29lbs: 2
No of fish 8-19lbs: 10
Grilse: 3

Weather: A cloudy start developing into light rain and a dropping air temperature. Gentle downstream breeze. Nearly ideal fishing conditions!

Manager's comments: It was in fact our best day of the week and every single rod of the 10 in camp caught a fish today. A great way to end the week.

Pat B took three and lost another six on Lyliok and Crows Nest. Nicolas B had his best day of the week with three from Poachers including a 22lber.

Arctic Chill

Date: 2 July

Air Temperature: 5C-12
Water Temperature: 12C
Water Height: -16cm
No of rods: 10
No fish:
Biggest fish:
No of fish 30lbs+: 0
No of fish 20-29lbs: 0
No of fish 8-19lbs: 8
Grilse: 3

Weather: I should be careful what I wish for in terms of weather as there was a distinct Arctic chill in the air this morning. A mild upstream wind with air temperatures not rising until mid afternoon.

Manager's comments: Today was a day of many losses, the majority of them falling off well into the fight for no real reason. Three notable big fish were lost. Arni lost an old cock fish which ran the rapid at Island and then came off close to the net after they got a good look at it. Peter T had terminal tackle failure with 35lb fluorocarbon at Poachers. Alan M also lost one after 15 mins at the hourglass at Crows Nest. On a positive note we saw a few grilse caught and Alan landed fresh sea-liced fish of 17lbs and 19lbs at Crows Nest. Good news to see fresh fish of this size coming along with the beginning of the grilse run.

Short Rise

Date: 1 July

Air Temperature: 8C-14C
Water Temperature: 12C
Water Height: -15cm
No of rods: 10
No fish: 7
Biggest fish: 20lbs Arni Baldursson
No of fish 30lbs+: 0
No of fish 20-29lbs: 1
No of fish 8-19lbs: 6
Grilse: 0

Weather: A bright sunny day with a light breeze. Wonderful casting conditions and a stunning day on Yokanga.

Manager's comments: Diligent readers of the blog will note that the water has crept up a little today. This must be the result of the few heavy downpours we had on Mon night. I expect the water will quickly drop back to where it was. Either way, it seems to have put the fish off a bit today or perhaps it was the extreme sunny conditions we experienced. Many beats were blank today after three quite good days given the season the whole of the Kola is having. Arni B lost a big fish up at Sand Island which disappeared into the rapid where he played it for a while before the hook came out. He still landed a nice 20lber and 19lber from Sand Island and Cliff. Here is hoping that we don't need the suncream for the rest of the week!

Grilse Running

Date: 30 June

Air Temperature: 8-12C
Water Temperature: 13C
Water Height: -19cm
No of rods: 10
No fish: 13
Biggest fish: 18lbs, Nicolas Boisson
No of fish 30lbs+: 0
No of fish 20-29lbs: 0
No of fish 8-19lbs: 10
Grilse: 3

Weather: Cloudy with sunny spells. A strong wind blowing from all directions!

Manager's comments: There was generally a good amount of action with another 10 or so fish lost. Both Upper and Lower Norcamp now seem to be producing fish on a regular basis which is encouraging. The first of the grilse seem to be arriving to supplement the summer run of salmon that we have throughout July on Yokanga. Nicolas B had the biggest of the day at 18lbs from Upper Island. Intermediate tips and medium sized tubes or size 6-8 doubles seem to be working best for people.

Black Clouds

Date: 29 June

Air Temperature: 6C-12C
Water Temperature: 12C
Water Height: -21cm
No of rods: 10
No fish: 11
Biggest fish: 34lbs, Alain Vanthier
No of fish 30lbs+: 1
No of fish 20-29lbs: 1
No of fish 8-19lbs: 9
Grilse: 0

Weather: A grey start turning to sunshine and clouds. During the helicopter pickup, black clouds rolled in which developed into several heavy downpours.

Manager's comments: The team caught quite a few sea-liced fish many of them 10-12lbs and hen fish. Enric S was being rowed to a new fishing spot and having left his line dangling was watching the fly skate on the surface when it was taken aggressively by a fresh 11lber. A novel way to catch Yokanga salmon! Alain V hooked a fish in Poachers and after it jumped a couple of times Arni and Vova agreed it was a good fish but nothing special. They then caught sight of it in a bay and revised their view but said nothing to Alan. It weighed an impressive 34lbs.

Conditions Improve

Date: Evening 27 and 28 June

Air Temperature: 6C-12C
Water Temperature: 14-12C
Water Height: -22cm
No of rods: 10
No fish: 13
Biggest fish: 22lbs, Pat Butler and Michel Terrasse
No of fish 30lbs+: 0
No of fish 20-29lbs: 3
No of fish 8-19lbs: 10
Grilse: 0

Weather: What a difference a day makes! The new arrivals were greeted by chilly weather, overcast skies, occasional drizzle and a light upstream wind.

Manager's comments: Finally we seem to have good fishing conditions! The water has dropped back a couple of degrees and the skies are grey. More like normal weather on Yokanga.
Enric S had a good start taking two beautiful hen fish, both of 18lbs and in the river for a day at most, from Upper Norcamp. The beat has not fished so well over the last couple of weeks so it was great to see it perform as the water is a perfect fishing height.
Pat B, having had some casting practise on another river on the Kola Peninsula, landed a fresh 22lber from Sand Island. Michel T from France also landed one of the same size from Lyliok.
What the figures do not show is the actual sizes of the fish. So many are in the middle to high teens. For the benefit of Yokanga blog readers, here is a summary. 1x10, 2x12, 1x14, 1x15, 2x16, 1x17, 2x18, 1x20, 2x22. Every single fish is a bar of silver straight in from the sea and fights like crazy under the conditions we have. If conditions remain then we hope to have similar action tomorrow.