Thursday 16 June 2016

Singles Day

Date:  15 June

Air Temp: 7 > 13 degrees C
Water Temp: 9
Water height: -10 cm
Number of rods: 15
Number fish caught: 45
Biggest fish: 38lbs Markku Lamppu
No 30+:1
No 20-29: 12
No 8-19: 32
Grilse: 0



Weather: A warm sunny morning with south west breeze, thundery storms over lunchtime (with hail!) and a warm overcast afternoon - an excellent mosquito day!

Yokanga Lodge Manager's comments:
“Singles Day” – traditional single hooked flies that is! Many fishers gave it a go for a few hours and had some good success before changing back to the more contemporary “killer” patterns like the Bann Special and Monkey.


I feel a little repetitive saying how good the fishing is, but sitting on Heron Rock (mid Home Pool right bank) and watching fish jumping all up and down the pool whilst Antii and Elephant Sasha  cover Boris’ Rock reminded me how lucky we all are to witness weeks like this.
All of the beats fished well, that is not to say lots were landed everywhere as so many fish are being lost at the moment after crazy acrobatic fights – especially with fish in the 14-20lb range -  but all beats offered excellent fishing. Crows Nest produced several in the 20’s and 7 Islands was excellent, as was Island.

However the highlight of the day was certainly at the first draw of Lower Norcamp where Markku and guide Anatoli landed a 38lb cock fish after a hard battle. Dinner commenced with several toasts and Finnish drinking songs, heralding Markku’s personal best salmon and a great weeks fishing. Having looked at some sorry expressions at breakfast this morning I can say with some certainty that many fishers over-served themselves!

Peter Rippin



Gremikha Camp: The team at Gremikha Camp are now up to over 50 fish for the week, with several in the 20’s and two fish over 30lbs. The fish are running through the lower river so fast that pulls and tweaks are regular but solid hook-ups less frequent. Great fun though and exciting fishing – James reported the loss of an ultra-fresh 40lb+ fish (it is so hard to land the really big fish in Gremikha Camp’s heavy water) and mentioned several other big fish tales which I hope to hear later in the week.