Last Day of the Week

Date: 6 July

Air temp: 8-10C

Water temp: 13C

Water height: -23cm

Number of rods: 15

Number of fish caught: 23

Biggest fish: 25lb Rob Toth

No 30lbs+: 0

No 20-29lbs: 2

No 8-19lbs: 12

Grilse: 9

Weather:

Cloudy, cool breeze, occasional drizzle.

Manager’s Comments:

A week has flown past and here I am posting the final fishing report of the week. With the continuing cooler weather we finished with a solid 23 fish for the day. Fresh fish continue to enter the system and all beats are at a good fishable height and have numbers of residents building.

Last day

Rob T continued to perform and scored the largest fish of the day, a fantastic 25lber. Well done Rob for keeping at it and for a great week!

Summer colours on the Yokanga

The lodge continues to run very well. Our chef is getting high praise from many clients and Den the waiter is ever attentive. No empty wine glasses here!

Delicious starter

Bill Drury

32lber Landed

Date: 5 July

Air temp 10C-8C

Water temp 14C

Water height -23cm

Number of rods: 15

Number of fish caught: 30

Biggest fish: 32lb Rob Toth

No 30lb+: 1

No 20-29lbs: 5

No 8-19lbs: 13

Grilse: 11

Weather:

Cloudy, showers and cold wind.

New Yokanga beat map at the lodge

Manager’s Comments:

It was considerably better fishing conditions today, although the cooler north wind meant at least an extra clothing layer had to be worn.

Jim C fishing Upper Norcamp

The fishing was steady over all the beats and there were a good number of larger fish encountered but not all landed! Rob T was fishing on his own in lower Norcamp when he hooked, landed, measured and photographed and returned a 32lb fish, well done Rob.

32lber for Rob T

There are a good few pods of grilse on the move each day and when they appear in the pools double hook ups are common.

Max K with his 23lber from Lyliok

Five salmon between 20-29lbs plus another over 30lbs is a fantastic day by any standard. The weather is cloudy and cool again on this the last morning of the week, so we are hopeful of another good day ahead.

Bill Drury

Some Clouds

Date: 4 July

Air temp 17C-16C

Water temp 15C

Water height -23cm

Number of rods: 15

Number of fish caught: 20

Biggest fish: 21lbs Justin Miller

No 30lb+: 0

No 20-29lbs: 1

No 8-19lbs: 11

Grilse: 8

Weather:

Cloudy, muggy with light rain until lunchtime.

Manager’s Comments:

A muggy start to the day with rain until lunchtime. Hopefully it might be enough rain to influence either the water temperature or height. The anticipation of fishing with cloud cover was high after yesterday’s beating sunshine.

In too deep for the photo!

Andy B lost four fish in Lyliok in the morning. Justin M chose to fish the faster pocket water on Upper Norcamp to good effect losing as many fish as he landed, and in the evening landed a 21lber from Lyliok.

Fat Yokanga salmon

 A much cooler evening has enticed more rods out this evening, that and no games in the World Cup!

Suits you Sir

Bill Drury

Blistering Heat

Date: 3 July

Air temp 20-25C

Water temp 14C

Water height -21cm

Number of rods: 15

Number of fish caught:12

Biggest fish: 20lb Jim Cochran

No 30lb+: 0

No 20-29lbs:1

No 8-19lbs: 6

Grilse: 5

Weather:

Bright sunshine all day. It was 20C at 9am.

Blazing sunshine

Manager’s Comments:

It was a warm sunny day that definitely put the fish down and made the fishing tough.

Some innovation was applied by Jim C who turned a child’s toy into a tube fly! He landed his only fish of the day on it which was 20lbs!

Innovative fly pattern

Not available at Farlows

Another notable fish was a fresh 19lber for Rob T from Island.

Rob T with his 19lber

Max Krottenhaler kept up his average of catching double figure fish every single day this week with two 15lbers from Poachers.

Bear track in the sand

Evening fishing was minimal with only a couple of guys braving the mosquitoes. The option of watching the World Cup on the lodge TV seemed to be more favourable!

World Cup takes precedence over fishing

Bill Drury

Bright Sunshine

Date: 2 July

Air temp 12-25C

Water temp 11C

Water height -18cm

Number of rods: 15

Number of fish caught: 31

Biggest fish: 24lb Rob Toth

No 30lb+: 0

No 20-29lbs: 1

No 8-19lbs: 18

Grilse: 12

Weather:

Bright Sunshine!

Yokanga in the sun

Manager’s Comments:

The order of the day was protection from biting insects! Even though the wind was blowing, the heat today encouraged the insects to feast. As manager’s we recommend a daily dose of antihistamine, liberal applications of repellent and a head net for just the rare occasion. These precautions usually ensure that insects are not a problem.

Rob T at Sand Island

The fishing was good despite the very bright sun, again stories of a couple of big fish being lost. There are noticeably more grilse in the book today all very fresh spread across all the beats.

 

Heli transport to the river

Tono P continued to put fish in the book this time fishing Lower Norcamp. An 18lber and 14lber.

Tono P with an 18lber from Lower Norcamp

Rob Toth had a good day up at Sand Island and has shared the photo below.

Rob T again on Sand Island

Looking at the weather forecast it will be sunny and warm again tomorrow then cooling down again, hopefully.

Bill Drury

34lb First Atlantic Salmon

Date: Evening 30 June and 1 July

Air temp 8C-16C
Water temp 11C

Water height -16cm

Number of rods: 15

Number of fish caught: 41

Biggest fish: 34lb Jim Cochran

No 30lb+: 1

No 20-29lbs: 8

No 8-19lbs: 25

Grilse: 7

Weather:

It was a drizzly start to the day with an upstream wind and becoming sunny during the course of the day.

Manager’s Comments:

Daniel B landed his first ever first Atlantic salmon in Lyliok in the morning. In the afternoon on Crow’s Nest he then hooked another fish but dropped the rod in the water just when I was about to net the fish! Guide, Andrey, and Jim C chased it in the boat and grabbed the rod! With the fish still on it was landed downstream. It was his second ever salmon and it weighed 20lbs!

Dan B's second salmon at 20lbs

Jim C also landed his first Atlantic salmon in Crow’s Nest in the main draw right in front of river watcher’s cabin. It was a great fight and took him through the rapid into the pool below. The fish weighed 34lbs! Is this some sort of a record for a first Yokanga salmon? We think it probably is.

34lb first Atlantic salmon

Tono P had an excellent day on Lower Norcamp landing four fish. They weighed 24lbs, 18lbs, 14lbs and 12lbs which is an incredible average weight. He also lost a further five.

Tono P with 24lber

Tono P with 18lber

Another highlight of the day was when Brian W landed a grilse on a Bomber in Lyliok. A great achievement to take a Yokanga salmon in that way.

It has been a great start to the week.

Bill Drury

Week 23-30 June

Date: 23-30 June

Air Temp: 9C to 21C

Water Temp: 13C to 14C to 13C

Water height: +3cm to -12cm

Number of rods: 17

Number of fish caught: 187

Biggest fish: 32lbs John Bresnihan

No 30lb+: 2

No 20-29lbs: 22

No 8-19lbs: 131

Grilse: 32

Weather:

As is ever the case on the north coast of the Kola Peninsula it was a mixed bag in terms of weather. We had a warm day early on in the week but then a couple of cool ones with winds swinging around at the end of the week.

Returning from fishing

Manager’s Comments:

I have been hosting this particular week for some years now and certainly the final score of 187 is right up there among the best in recent years. The timings of spring and the ice melt were consistent with what we remember as ‘normal’ from years gone by and consequently the Yokanga delivered.

Team photo on Sunday morning

We had a great start with some beautiful weather and very solid fishing. The cool weather for the final two days of the week saw people scrambling for their thermals but the best fishing of all was on the last day with some impressive scores. Notably Bill W with seven to his own rod. Other than one grilse, his fish weighed 14lbs, 16lbs, 17lbs, 19lbs, 21lbs and 23lbs. That is one incredible day anywhere. It is always nice to finish on a high.

Typical June Yokanga salmon

Looking at the scores it was certainly noticeable that the colder weather was when we put more big fish over 20lbs in the book. As ever there some seriously big fish hooked which came unstuck. There were straightened hooks, fish that snagged on rocks, knots that did not hold and some that simply got away for no particular reason.

One that did not get away

Despite what I mention above, we had two terrific fish over 30lbs landed. One a 30lber and personal best for Paulo H and a 32lber to John B, also his personal best. Congratulations to both of you!

Paulo H's 30lber

John B and his 32lber

With an additional 22 fish in the 20-29lb bracket that makes nearly 13% of fish caught over 20lbs. What the figures do not show is the number of clean quality fish caught in the high teens. Subject to where you hook them in a pool and how fresh they are, these fish can go ballistic, jumping like crazy and tearing into your backing. There were plenty of stories to attest to this statement.

Quality salmon that punch above their weight

This was my final week on the Yokanga. It is always a sadness to be leaving and I would love to be there to see how the coming weeks pan out. Judging by the number and quality of the fish we are seeing this season and the collective action that people have had, I feel there will be plenty more good fishing to come this season and no doubt some more big fish will be landed.

More of these to come

I am handing over to veteran Roxtons host, Bill Drury, and wish everyone tight lines in the weeks to come.

Roxtons host, Bill Drury, taking over

Henry Mountain

Final Flourish

Date: 29 June

Air Temp: 9C

Water Temp: 13C

Water height: -12cm

Number of rods: 17

Number of fish caught: 41

Biggest fish: 30lbs Paulo Hoffmann

No 30lb+: 1

No 20-29lbs: 6

No 8-19lbs: 26

Grilse: 8

Weather:

It was a cool mostly cloudy day with an upstream wind.

Pilots standing by

Manager’s Comments:

Well what a day to finish the week on. While fishing can be unjust and there were sadly a few people who returned blank, for many there was a final flourish. Indeed, it was the highest score of the week, especially considering there were no evening fish to add to the tally on account of the traditional Friday night party.

Morning transport to the river

Fishing Sand Island and Cliff, Geoff B had two of 13lbs and 16lbs and Anna K had a nice 9lb fish on a small Black Francis conehead.

Anna admiring a salmon

Yury D took four fish 7 Islands, all mint fresh and 15lbs in weight. He reported that they all fizzed around when playing them and went airborne numerous times. Salmon of this size are simply fantastic to catch and punch well above their weight.

One from earlier in the week for Yury

Jasper P and the FFN team had an incredible last day with 10 to their two rods on Upper Norcamp. Jasper finished with another salmon north of the 20lb mark this time one of 21lbs. Alex K had four weighing a neat 16lbs, 17lbs, 18lbs and 19lbs. There were some antics with fish disappearing down rapids again! Paulo H hardly got to cast a line but had two and he finished on a high with his second personal best of the week at 30lbs. What a way to finish!

Paulo H's 30lber

Just a word on tactics. The default position on Yokanga is often to try and fish as deep as you dare without snagging (there are a lot of rocks) and to use a large weighted tube but these guys (and a few others) proved that that is simply not necessary. Jasper fished a size 10 double most of the time and used the hitch to some effect. Paulo stuck with his float/intermediate for most of the week and Alex did similar. There is a time and a place for fishing deeper, but it should not necessarily be the standard unless perhaps in the very early season with colder water temperatures.

The Lower Norcamp team of Lance R and Jean G had a fish each, weighing 16lbs and 15lbs respectively. John B had three from Nahodka and Golden Reach and Matt H had three, two of 12lbs and a sea liced hen fish of 20lbs when finishing up at Poachers. Again, a good finish for them.

The last patches of snow

Arni B (also a floating line advocate) took three from Home Pool and Lyliok, one of 19lbs and two smaller ones. Sadly Manuel L returned with a blank and lost a very big one. Surely you will get lucky next time Manuel.

Manuel on a luckier day

It is a common myth that those of us hosting weeks on Yokanga do plenty of fishing! Pat B very kindly let myself and Bill Drury fish his rod on the last couple of days as at aged 87 he was feeling justifiably tired after two week’s fishing in Russia. We are all in awe at your stamina Pat! Bill had a 25lber from Lyliok in the morning (it could well have been bigger as he was on his own) and your faithful blog writer had a weighed 27lber from the tailout of the Lyliok rapids in the afternoon. Both were hen fish. Interestingly this cooler weather seems to have stirred up some of the older and larger hens.

Camp Manager has a cast

Henry Mountain