Air Temperature: 4C-17C
Water temperature: 9-11C
Water height: -9 - 13cm
No of rods: 16
No fish: 121
Biggest fish: 33lbs Philippe Gouzer
No of fish 30lbs+: 5
No of fish 20-29lbs: 39
No of fish 8-19lbs: 77
Grilse: 0
Weather: Everything from extreme wind from all corners of the compass and heavy rain/hailstones to light breeze and bright sun
Comments: What an interesting week. It is clear that the healthy fish are running through the system incredibly fast and therefore the best beats are at the very top of the middle river. Sand Island, Cliff and 7 Islands are proving to have a good head of fish and especially the biggest fish. Lyliok has been productive as always, having the benefit of the long rapid below and classic fly water above but middle beats like the Norcamps and Island are yet to begin to stop fish for long enough be productive. It was great to see Crow’s Nest coming into shape and if the water drops during this week this beat will fish better and better. Poachers also proved productive with so many classic resting areas positioned above long rapid sections. This theory is backed up by fishers from the lower camp catching relatively few fish of smaller sizes and by many of the larger fish being caught in the upper lodge beats still having sea lice. It is a case of the water being warm enough and low enough for optimal running conditions.
It was nonetheless a fantastic week to be at the lodge with many returning fishers who have become friends over the years and a few new faces experiencing Yokanga for the first time. Honours were spread fairly evenly and just when certain fishers got the feeling that luck was not with them their fortunes would change - huge battles resulted in really special fish for Jack, Olivier, Andrew, Philippe, Michael and Simon. Certain fishers always seemed to have the "Fish Gods” on their side and the "Bann Special” was without doubt the fly of the week for Jonathan. Berndt had constant fishing all week and Jacques and Louis accounted for some lovely salmon too. Andrew landed one of the fattest salmon many had ever seen from Home Pool - by all right it should have been 21lbs or so but shaped more like a carp than a salmon with girth/length ratio of 60+/100 it weight in at 27lbs (it was re-checked on two scales several times just to make sure our eyes were not deceiving us!) First visits to Yokanga gave a taste of what the rivers offers to Paul, Marc, Michael and Philippe - all of whom added a lot of fun to proceedings so thanks to them for bringing lots of energy and laughs. Martin and Simon were full of fun and thanks for Simon for giving the end of week speech in Russian - thanking staff and guides for their efforts. Five fish over 30lbs for the week, 36% over 20lbs - we look forward to what next week brings!
