Saturday, 18 July 2015

Weekly Report

Date: 11-18 July

Air Temperature: 5C-10C
Water Temperature: 6C-9C
Water Height: -21cm to -19cm
No of rods: 7
No fish: 156
Biggest fish: 33lbs Rudi Navratil
No of fish 30lbs+: 2
No of fish 20-29lbs: 8
No of fish 8-19lbs: 59
Grilse: 87

Weather: A remarkably cold week for mid July. Mostly overcast with occasional rain preventing the river levels from dropping.

Manager's comments: What an outstanding week. While known for big salmon, many people forget that Yokanga has good runs of grilse and smaller salmon all through July and even into early August. This is unusual for the rivers on the north coast.
First time salmon fisher, Rudi Navratil, took the best fish of the week, a sea liced  33lber from Cliff.
The week averaged 22 fish per rod. There are not many places to do that and know with certainty that you are fishing over salmon of 20lbs and 30lbs on a daily basis!

More Grilse

Date: 17 July
Air Temp: 11 C
Water Temp: 10 C
Water height: -20cm
Number of rods: 7
Number fish caught:15
Biggest fish: -
No 30+: 0
No 20-29: 0
No 8-19: 4
Grilse: 11

COMMENTS:   Weather remained warm and overcast. Fishing was good with fresh Grilse caught on all beats.

Friday, 17 July 2015

Bug Special

Date: 16 July
Air Temp: 10 C
Water Temp: 9 C
Water height: -19cm
Number of rods: 7
Number fish caught: 23
Biggest fish: -
No 30+: 0
No 20-29: 0
No 8-19: 12
Grilse: 11

COMMENTS:   The weather is stable and much the same as yesterday. There was no rain but the sky remained overcast and it was an almost windless day. Definitely a day to apply insect repellant!

Smaller Fish Day

Date: 15 July
Air Temp: 8 C
Water Temp: 9 C
Water height: -20cm
Number of rods: 7
Number fish caught: 23
Biggest fish: -
No 30+: 0
No 20-29: 0
No 8-19: 12
Grilse: 11

COMMENTS:  While it has warmed up a bit on Yokanga, the weather is remaining relatively cool which is helpful for the fishing. The day produced some rain showers but we do expect to see the river to move much. A light breeze meant generally good fishing conditions but no large fish were landed today after yesterdays sea liced 33lber.

Wednesday, 15 July 2015

Prime July

Date: 14 July
Air Temp: 5-6 C
Water Temp: 8 C
Water height: -23cm
Number of rods: 7
Number fish caught: 36
Biggest fish: 33lbs - Rudolf Navaratil 
No 30+: 1
No 20-29: 4
No 8-19: 13
Grilse: 18


WEATHER:  Cold and grey still with light morning rain.
COMMENTS:   Well done to Rudolf N on his first Salmon trip in Russia with another monster this time in the holy grail of 30lbs... Great stuff and sea liced to boot!

Great Grilse

Date: 13 July
Air Temp: 7 C
Water Temp: 9 C
Water height: -26cm
Number of rods: 7
Number fish caught: 31
Biggest fish: 25lbs Rudi Navratil
No 30+:
No 20-29:1
No 8-19: 10
Grilse: 20


WEATHER:  
COMMENTS:   

Monday, 13 July 2015

First Salmon

Date: 11 evening and 12 July
Air Temp: 6 C
Water Temp: 9-10 C
Water height: -26cm
Number of rods: 7
Number fish caught: 31
Biggest fish:    30.5lbs        Rod: Martin Mullane
No 30+: 1
No 20-29: 2
No 8-19: 11
Grilse: 17


WEATHER:   Overcast, cold and rainy through the day.
COMMENTS:   Well done to Martin M for his 30.5lbs fish on Saturday evening. And well done to Rudolf N for his first time in Russia, first time fishing for Salmon and his first fish weighing in at 25lbs!

Saturday, 11 July 2015

Weekly Report

Date: 4-11 July
Air Temp: 4-11 C
Water Temp: 9-11 C
Water height: -10 to -18cm
Number of rods: 16
Number fish caught: 160
Biggest fish:    30lbs        Rod: Ian Eckersley
No 30+: 1
No 20-29: 22
No 8-19: 75
Grilse: 63



WEATHER:   Everything from bright sunshine and nearly cloudless skies to rain and hail. The only constant was the NW wind. 



COMMENTS:   It is generally accepted that numbers are down on all Kola rivers this year, but with a week of 160 to 16 rods the fishing is still pretty steady. There has been the odd quiet session for some rods here and there, but then balanced out by a few bumper outings - such is the nature of fishing. Offered a week of fishing where you catch 10 fish per rod, with at least one twenty and 60% of fish are salmon over 8lbs - I’d take that any time! The wind blew upstream pretty well all week, and at times was quite ferocious, but this did not deter the stalwart team of guests for most of whom this was not their first rodeo. If the water could have been covered more effectively on some days, perhaps the weeks total may have been greater? What certainly was a feature of the week was the daily story of huge fish lost. Early season is traditionally the best time to catch a really big fish, but the numbers of encounters over this last fortnight suggest there is a very real chance throughout the seven week season.
Lodge life was a lively affair with several comics and the Irish love of story telling and the craic. Great company both on an off the water.

Lower Norcamp

Date: 10 July
Air Temp: 9 C
Water Temp: 10 C
Water height: -18cm
Number of rods: 16
Number fish caught: 23
Biggest fish:    23lbs        Rod: Ross Varian
No 30+: 0
No 20-29: 4
No 8-19: 7
Grilse: 12


WEATHER:   Overcast, brightening through the day. Gentle NW breeze.


COMMENTS:   Every beat produced fish, but seemingly thin pickings with about one fish to each rod. However, Lower Norcamp was a different story with Eric W and Rod H-J landing five between them (best 18lbs) and lost two fish; one in the twenties and the other described and bigger than the combined weight of everything they landed!! After a classic big fish take “I thought it was stuck on a rock, then it moved” the unseen fish steadily made its way up into the pool and kept on going for 150 yards apparently totally unperturbed by Eric leaning into him. Having explored the majority of the pool the fish headed back to the tail and the rapids below where he came unstuck. Un-sighted we shall never know what it was, but Eric will remember this fish for some time yet! Elsewhere on the river Ross V landed his biggest of the week at 23lbs near Boris’s Rock and brothers Martin and Jerome M tucked into an on form Crow’s Nest landing five with a couple of twenties to note.

Bomber Action

Date: 9 July
Air Temp: 8 C
Water Temp: 9 C
Water height: -16cm
Number of rods: 16
Number fish caught: 20
Biggest fish:    21lbs        Rod: Mike Bowsher
No 30+: 0
No 20-29: 1
No 8-19: 11
Grilse: 8
WEATHER:   Very thin, patchy cloud cover and a bright start to the day. Clouding over after 4pm.
 

COMMENTS:   Seemingly no rhyme nor reason to salmon behaviour - Bright sunshine today and some beats fished well under these conditions while some waited for the afternoons cloud cover before showing fish. Rob W and Stephen L had 6 fish from Crow’s Nest between 4pm and 6pm, Mike B landed his PB of 21lbs at Seven Islands (well done Mike!), Pat M produced 3 from Lower Norcamp and Ian E continues to pick up fish where others have no joy including one landed and one lost on a bomber! It’s amazing how fish will move with meaning to the surface even in relatively low temperatures.

Friday, 10 July 2015

Crows Nest


Date: 8 july

Air Temp: 10-11 C
Water Temp: 9 C
Water height: -13cm
Number of rods: 16
Number fish caught: 27
Biggest fish:    30lbs        Rod: Ian Eckersley
No 30+: 1
No 20-29: 3
No 8-19: 13
Grilse: 11

Weather: Gentle downstream breeze, warm and overcast


Manager’s Comments: Almost perfect salmon fishing weather today – it felt like a lovely July day!  With the river dropping the fishers left the lodge in great spirits and expecting good action. Sean M landed a nice 14lb hen first cast from the first of the 7 Islands and brought to an end a tough couple of days for him with another fish that tore off downstream causing his reel to “bird’s nest” – thankfully the fish stopped and a 10lb hen was landed! Elsewhere on the river Ian E landed 3 fish of 14, 15 and 24lbs from Crows Nest (what a lovely beat in July!) Stephen L and Rob W landed 6 between them and lost several others. It was clear that in the higher water and rough weather fish had moved about quite a bit and some previously productive beats proved hard going whilst others served up nice surprises for hard working fishers.  Not feeling the day was quite done, Ian E headed down to Pump after dinner and hooked into a huge cartwheeling fish that was eventually landed at Heron Point - many of you will know just how far downstream that is – that weighed in at just over 30lbs – the first real Yokanga monster of the week…….although the previous 4 days have yielded 17 fish between 20-29lbs – not exactly minnows! What a fantastic end to the day!

Small Double

Date: 7 July

Air Temp: 6C
Water Temp: 9C
Water height: -10cm
Number of rods: 16
Number fish caught: 36
Biggest fish:      28lbs x 2     Rod: Rob Hall-Jones and Stephen Lodge
No 30+: -
No 20-29: 3
No 8-19: 17
Grilse: 16

Weather: Cold and heavy breeze (again from the north), though during the day  the wind dropped a little and the temp rose a degree or two. Light cloud cover in the evening.


Manager’s Comments: Fractionally improved weather improved the fishing markedly, although as ever some beats were more productive than others. Geoff B landed 7 for the day to 20lbs and Stephen L and Rob H-J both had cracking fish nudging close to that magic 30lb mark. Edwin O lost a very large fish on a floating and small double fly and we all felt that the big fish are still very much in the game – which keeps everyone on their toes! Encouraging numbers of fresh summer 2SW salmon in the mid teens are pulsing through the beats and taking well when covered and the grilse run joining them is building also. Fingers crossed for the weather to continue to improve.

Personal Best

Date: 6 July

Air Temp: 4C
Water Temp: 10C
Water height: -13cm
Number of rods: 16
Number fish caught: 24
Biggest fish:     27lbs      Rod: Pat Mullane
No 30+: -
No 20-29: 6
No 8-19: 14
Grilse: 4

Weather: Bitterly cold upstream wind all day with hailstones (!!!) at times.



Manager’s Comments: Seriously tough weather for July! Those fishing above 7 Islands found their boat blown upstream of the anchor on several occasions! If fishers could find a sheltered corner then fishing was good and there were plenty of fish to target.  Rob W has three fish of 17, 24 and another PB of 26lbs from Lower Norcamp, and Stephen L had a brace of fish of 10 and 20lbs from the same beat. 2 big fish were lost by Pat  and Jerome and most fish that were landed were targeted using sink 3 tips and Willie Gunn or Cascade type patterns. If it wasn’t for the weather we feel like the tally would already be very impressive for the first days of this week!

Powerful Resolve


Date: Evening 4 and 5 July
 
Air Temp: 6C
Water Temp: 11C
Water height: -15cm
Number of rods: 16
Number fish caught: 30
Biggest fish:   25lbs x 2            Rod: Martin and Pat Mullane
No 30+: -
No 20-29: 5
No 8-19: 13
Grilse: 12

Weather: Warm downstream breeze on evening of 4th then strong and very cold upstream wind from the north east all day Sunday


Manager’s Comments: An enthusiastic group of largely Yokanga regulars hit the river on the first evening, from Boulder Alley down to Lyliok, and were well rewarded with 8 fish including a lovely 21lb fish for Martin M above Pump. Sunday proved testing with a very cold, very strong wind chilling everyone to the core, however fish were picked up and everyone had a bend in their rod at points during the day. Rob W braved the cold evening to pick up a PB of 24lbs from Lyliok and lost another couple of good fish – “fortune favours the brave!”

Saturday, 4 July 2015

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.

Friday, 3 July 2015

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!

Thursday, 2 July 2015

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.


Wednesday, 1 July 2015

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.