Week 8-15 June

Date: 8-15 June

Air Temp: -1C to 30C

Water Temp: 11.5C to 6C
Water height: +5cm to -3cm to +40cm

Number of rods: 14

Number of fish caught: 42

Biggest fish: 35lbs Andy E

No 30lb+: 5

No 20-29lbs: 15

No 8-19lbs: 22

Grilse: 0

Weather:

Yes we are on the Kola Peninsula but still it has been a wildly changing weather week! After the high of 30C and then the dramatic drop down to 0C it has still remained cold for the latter part of the week with air temperatures struggling to get much above 5C in the morning and then only rising a touch later in the day when the sun has put in a brief appearance.

Manager’s Comments:

The combination of rain earlier in the week and melting snow from Tuesday meant the river rose significantly for Wednesday which combined with very high winds made the fishing tricky. Conditions improved for the last two days of the week and this was reflected in the scores.

David M landed his personal best, a mint 33lber fishing at Boris’ Rock in Home Pool. The same day, Sam A had a successful evening on the right bank of Lyliok and landed a 19lber and 18lber.

David M and his 33lber from Boris' rock

Carl A also joined the 33lb club with a large cock fish which interestingly was also hooked close to Boris’ Rock. That is now the third 33lber taken from the middle of our Home Pool. They are definitely not the same fish but keep them coming!

Carl A joins the 33lber club

Markku L had a 28lb hen fish on Thursday from Golden Reach. The fight took some 35 minutes with the fish using the current to its advantage. In fact it took so long that Markku was obliged to hand the rod to the guide for a short time while he answered the call of nature before resuming the battle!

On the last day, having already landed a 22lber from Lower Norcamp, Erkki K landed a 31lber from Poachers. Shortly afterwards he then landed a third fish for his day, an 11lber. What a great way to finish. His 31lber brought the weekly tally of 30lbers to five.

Lyliok looking good

The water is relatively high and we finished the week with 7C water temperature. People have been using the full range of sinking tips and flies but there is no single winning formula. Medium sized snaeldas have been used a fair amount so feature heavily in the fishing record but salmon have also been taken on medium sized and sparsely dressed doubles. The water clarity remains excellent despite the rise in level by the way. There have been a number of reports of fantastically aggressive takes with large salmon attacking the fly on the surface which suggests that there is no particular need to go dredging!

Weather and water conditions have been far from ideal this week so congratulations to the team for sticking at it all week. All of the rods have fished this week before and appreciate that it is spring fishing where you fish hard for a smaller number of fish but are likely to encounter a quality salmon when you connect. With nearly 50% of the catch being over 20lbs this was certainly the situation this week. With everyone knowing each other there was plenty of banter around the dining room table and it felt very much a team effort on the river.

Different water colour from the Lyliok tributary

Given the very high percentage of larger fish, it is clear that the main run is still to come. The weather seems set to stay cool for the next week which will hopefully mean they will move through the system slowly so that we can have a good go at them.

Peter Rippin and Henry Mountain

Gremikha Camp, Lower Yokanga

We have received the following from James B, one of our Gremikha regulars.

Greg on the first evening

Gremikha Camp caught a total of 26 fish with Greg getting at least two over 30lbs and Tony one over 30lbs and 4 over 20lbs. Tony was top rod with 8 salmon, his best week ever at Gremikha.

Greg with another over 30lbs

 The fishing was very tough, with one day ending with the camp an inch or two under snow! By all accounts, the fish are yet to turn up in numbers, but those that were found, were on the large side. In particular for Greg on the first night, whose 110cm x 65cm fish, gave him an exhilarating fight.

Superb Start to the 2019 Season

Date: 8-11 June

Air Temp: -1C to 30C

Water Temp: 11C

Water height: +5cm to -3cm

Number of rods: 14

Number of fish caught: 21

Biggest fish: 35lbs Andy E

No 30lb+: 2

No 20-29lbs: 8

No 8-19lbs: 11

Grilse: 0

Weather:

When the team arrived in Murmansk at 10am local time the weather was a steamy 27C. Tropical style rainstorms and thunder were over the Kola Peninsula and it had measured 30C at Yokanga Lodge that day. Quite something for early June!

T shirt weather in Murmansk

Sunday was very cold and windy with everyone grateful for a hot shower back at the lodge. Monday was a pleasant turnaround with temperatures in the low to mid teens and thankfully little wind making casting a pleasure.

Lyliok in stunning weather

But what a change in the weather on Tuesday... We woke to very strong upstream winds, low cloud, the air temperature at -1C and persistent snow. This combination meant no flying in the helicopter and sensibly none of the guests chose to even try and fish water close to the lodge.

A change in the weather

Manager’s Comments:

Water conditions on the Yokanga are nothing short of ideal for this time of the year. The water height is such that you can see all the features of the river and the fly swings nicely in all the favourite places.

Great water clarity at Heron Point

The week kicked off with Jake C landing the first fish of the Yokanga lodge season and his first ever salmon which weighed an impressive 21lbs. Andy E and Sam A both landed a fresh fish in Lyliok on the first evening so it was with some excitement that the party went to their beats on the first full day.

Jake C with his first salmon

Charlie M had a great start to his week with three fish weighing 28lbs, 22lbs and a ‘small one’ of 18lbs.

Charlie M with one of his three

The two camp managers wandered down to the Home Pool to have a few casts at Heron Point and lo and behold lucked out with a fresh 33lb cock fish!

One of the camp managers gets lucky

Monday was a red-letter day for Sam A and Andy E up at Sand Island and Cliff. Andy started his day with a 16lber from Sand Island and then landed his largest salmon ever, a fresh cock fish of 35lbs, in front of the keystone at the top draw of Cliff. Sam landed three, 11lbs, 14lbs and 17lbs and collectively they both reported plenty of other action. Dean M took a cracking 27lber from Upper Norcamp adding to the tally of fish over the magic 20lb mark.

Andy E with his 35lb cock fish from Cliff

After some superb quality salmon in the first couple of days, Tuesday was sadly a write off given the atrocious weather conditions.

Sam A with one of his three

The river is at a good height and has great clarity so most are using light sink tips (10 ft of slow sink) or intermediates. There seems to be no real need for huge flies and indeed there is a preference towards small tubes or even doubles in the usual garish colours.

This is the first week of the season and as expected we appear to be at the front end of the run. As ever it is a bit hit and miss as to where you might bump into a resting salmon. The quality of the fish is absolutely as we would hope for at this time of the year. The forecast seems set to be cold for the rest of the week but that will hopefully not deter the salmon from taking our flies when we can get out on the water again!

For regular readers of the Yokanga blog, we will be bringing you a mid-week update on a Wednesday and then a weekly report on a Sunday this season.

The wifi has been poor so we have had limited contact with the team down at the Gremikha Camp but word has reached us that they have landed a few fish, notably a brace of fish over 30lbs to Greg V.

Peter Rippin and Henry Mountain

Pre Season Update June 2019

With the 2019 Yokanga season fast approaching we wanted to bring you the latest news from the river.

View of Boulder Alley

The Yokanga is already at a good fishable height (+9cm) as the photos demonstrate and the water temperature is currently at 8.5C. A small amount of snow remains so things are looking good for the start of the season this Saturday. The forecast seems to be showing higher air temperatures for the latter part of this week so that should lift the water temperature a little further still. Conditions are well within what we consider to be the normal range.

Downstream towards Lyliok

Prospects for the Yokanga 2019 season, running from 8 June to 20 July, certainly look promising. Yokanga lodge staff and guides are all in place so we look forward to seeing you there.

Henry Mountain and Peter Rippin

2018 Yokanga Season Review

The 2018 season has seen the Yokanga perform at its very best. The spring melt arrived at exactly the normal time and with snow levels within normal parameters, the season panned out precisely as it should.

Spring arrived on time

The first week of June (Week 0) was the opening week of the season and was cold and with high water, so classic spring conditions hunting for smaller numbers of quality fish straight in from the sea. True to form a couple of huge fish were hooked and lost. One of them being a vast fish of about 40lbs, hooked and played by Michael F at Sand Island. During the battle the fish leapt repeatedly, more like a summer grilse, before throwing the hook!

Early season 30lber

The following three weeks of June saw some of the prime weeks of the season perform incredibly well with the main runs of large multi sea winter salmon. All the fish were in truly excellent condition, fat and fighting fit and guests reported 12-15lbers tearing off into their backing and giving them a seriously good fight.

Quality 15lber

July saw some warmer weather and rapidly dropping water levels and it was noticeable that the cooler days produced the larger fish. With a strong run of grilse and numerous smaller multi sea winter fish in the 8-15lb bracket, the July weeks were among the most productive of the season. The grilse were in superb conditions, really deep for their size and aggressive to the fly.

One of the dozen salmon over 30lbs

The river as a whole produced 823 salmon to the 87 rods that fished with us on the Yokanga in the 2018 season. That included 121 in the 20-29lb bracket, 12 of 30-39lbs and 1 over 40lbs. A total of 134 in excess of 20lbs or 16% of the entire catch across the season! The numbers demonstrate that the Yokanga is undoubtedly one of your best chances anywhere in the world to try for a large Atlantic salmon.

Largest of the season 41lbs

The largest of the season was an incredible fresh salmon landed by Ismo U that measured 112cm x 68cm (44 x 26.5 inches) and that went in the book at 41lbs. They are too numerous to list but notable fish over 30lbs included a 32.6lber for Marcus S from Upper Norcamp, a 34lber for Roger T from the first island of 7 Islands and a 34lber from Crow’s Nest in early July for Jim C which was his very first Atlantic salmon!

 

32.6lber for Marcus S

What the figures above do not tell is the sheer number, quality and fun had with the numerous salmon under 20lbs that do not catch the headlines. One glance in the record book and you can see rows of salmon in the mid to high teens. These can be aggressive takers and will test both your ability and tackle.

Many fish in the high teens

The nature of the river with its rapids and boulders is that the biggest fish have the advantage. Inevitably there were stories of big fish that came unstuck. Colin S hooked and lost what he considered to be the largest fish he has ever hooked on the Yokanga and he has landed plenty of 30lb salmon there over the years. He hooked it close to the bank in Lyliok and it towed him up and down for 15 minutes and breached in full sight of him and Big Andrei before coming off. Colin was near speechless on his return to the lodge that evening! That loss was hot on the heels of another smaller fish the same day for Colin that wrapped him around a rock and broke him. Other guests broke rods when playing fish and some people were on the receiving end when good sized fish disappeared into rapids and had them running down the bank after them.

Fancy catching one of these in 2019?

We much look forward to more of the same in the 2019 season. If you are interested in joining us on the Yokanga next season, please do get in touch soonest as there are limited rods available.

Henry Mountain and Peter Rippin

Week 7-14 July

Date: 7-14 July

Air Temp: 7C-26C

Water Temp: 12C-16C

Water height: -26cm to -33cm

Number of rods: 14
Number of fish caught: 157

Biggest fish: 26lbs David C and 26lbs Jean Marc F

No 30lb+: 0

No 20-29lbs:  6

No 8-19lbs: 38

Grilse: 114

Weather:

After a reasonably cool start to the week it was a hot finish with some sweltering sunshine.

Bright sunshine

Manager’s Comments:

Looking at the numbers we had a good start to the week with the cooler weather. As you might expect this was when the larger salmon were landed. There were two terrific fish, both of 26lbs, landed by David C Jean Marc F.

26lber from Pump

The increasing sunshine and air temperatures over the course of the week meant increasing water temperatures and consequently the bigger fish were elusive and reluctant to take a fly.

26lber for Jean Marc F

There has been a good push of grilse in the month of July and these fresh silver bullets have provided good sport throughout the week and have kept morale going.

Rob W at 7 Islands

I head home now after an enjoyable three weeks on the Yokanga. There follow a couple of weeks of Russian clients and our final week of the season will commence on 28 July.

Bill Drury

Hot Day in Waders

Date: 13 July

Air Temp:14-26C

Water Temp :16C

Water height: -33cm

Number of rods: 14

Number of fish caught: 19

Biggest fish:

No 30lb+: 0

No 20-29lbs: 0

No 8-19lbs: 0

Grilse: 19

Weather:

Sunny, thin cloud and a warm wind.

Manager’s Comments:

It was another very warm day out on the river. With the water temperature at 16C and bright sunshine, the larger fish have become less aggressive. The odd one can be seen rolling, just enough to keep us focused. Today was another day for the grilse with 19 of these 4-7lb fresh fish landed.

Hot Weather

When the clients returned to the lodge they were very happy to get out of their waders! It was like being in your own personal banya!

Bill Drury

Grilse Galore

Date: 12 July

Air temp: 14-25C

Water temp: 15C

Water height: -32cm

Number of rods: 14

Number of fish caught: 21

Biggest fish: 10lbs David C

No 30lb+: 0

No 20-29lbs: 0

No 8-19lbs: 3

Grilse: 18

Weather:

Warm and sunny.

Manager’s Comments:

A warm bright start to the day was compounded when due to circumstances out of our control we had to quickly draw up a walking program.

Ready for the walk

Despite the day remaining very warm and bright, the rods applied themselves well to the conditions and landed 21 fish. A very respectable number considering. The fresh grilse once again made up the bulk of the catch and comments of the great condition of these fish were spoken about by all the guests.

Changing fly in Home Pool

All is back on track for a normal program tomorrow so we are looking forward to a good final day.

Helicopter service again on Friday

Bill Drury

Hot Sunshine

Date: 11 July

Air temp:13-24C

Water temp: 13C

Water height: -30cm

Number of rods: 14

Number of fish caught :16

Biggest fish: 15lbs Stephen L

No 30lb+: 0

No 20-29lbs: 0

No 8-19lbs: 3

Grilse: 13

Weather:

Warm very bright sunshine.

Manager’s Comments:

Today was a tough fishing day with hot sunshine dominating proceedings. The fish were not in a taking mood and very few fish were seen moving on the beats.

Rob W at 7 Islands

Stephen L landed a fresh 15lber from below Lyliok rapids. Peter E had a 13lb fish from 7 Islands. Elsewhere the pods of fresh grilse running through provided intermittent sport.

Grilse masquerading as a salmon

Bill Drury

Sunny Skies

Date: 10 July

Air temp:10-17C

Water temp: 12C

Water height: -28

Number of rods: 14

Number of fish caught: 34

Biggest fish: 26lbs Jean-Marc F

No 30lb+: 0

No 20-29lbs: 1

No 8-19lbs: 13

Grilse: 20

Weather:

Sunny, cool NE breeze.

Manager’s Comments:

Today was a day of mixed fortune with some beats fairing reasonably well while others were blank. I am sure the quick change from cloudy to clear blue skies played its part.

Yesterday

Today

Jean-Marc F landed a lovely 26lber from Lyliok in the evening topped off with a grilse. A good after dinner session.

 

26lber for Jean Marc F from Lyliok

There were also fish of 17-19lbs caught by Rob W, Gordon A and Branson A. The pods of grilse pushing through the pools continue to provide sport albeit fleeting at times as they are continuously on the move.

Bill Drury

Thick Fog

Date: 9 July

Air temp:10-13C

Water temp: 12C

Water height: -27cm

Number of rods: 14

Number of fish caught: 24

Biggest fish: 17lb Mike M

No 30lb+: 0

No 20-29lbs: 0

No 8-19lbs: 6

Grilse: 18

Weather:

Heavy fog clearing at lunchtime. Sunny with a cool breeze.

Manager’s Comments:

Today’s heavy fog meant that we drew up a walking program for the day fishing from Poachers down to Crow’s Nest.

Thick fog in the morning

The order of the day was a good healthy and sporting crop of grilse, 18 of the 24 fish caught were these well-conditioned little bullets.

Wading the Pots

The biggest fish of the day was caught by Mike M a cracking fresh 17lber from Lyliok.

17lber for Mike M from Lyliok

 The fog has returned this evening. Here’s hoping it has gone in the morning.

Bill Drury

Superb Start

Date: Evening 7 July and 8 July

Air Temp: 7C-10C

Water Temp: 12C

Water height: -26cm

Number of rods: 14

Number of fish caught: 42

Biggest fish: 26lbs David C

No 30lb+: 0

No 20-29lbs: 5

No 8-19lbs: 12

Grilse: 25

Weather:

Partly cloudy, cold upstream wind.

First day

Manager’s Comments:

The evening of arrival was a real success for Peter E who landed a 24lb fish from Pump. Angus C landed his first Yokanga salmon shortly after enjoying his birthday cake!

 

Birthday cake for Angus C

The strong upstream wind was on everyone’s mind this morning and on certain beats it caused some problems.

18lber for Gordon A

The fishing remains steady and some good size fish were landed notably David C’s 26lber from Island. There were three very nice fish from Crows Nest. A 23lb for Rob W who also landed a 14lber and 18lber. There were also two 20lbers for Geoff B.

26lber for David C

The number of fresh grilse caught are rising and they continue to give good sport.

Bill Drury

Week 30 June-7 July

Date: 30 June-7 July

Air Temp: 8C-25C

Water Temp: 11C-14C-13C

Water height: -16cm to -23cm

Number of rods: 15

Number of fish caught: 157

Biggest fish: 34lbs Jim Cochran

No 30lb+: 2

No 20-29lbs: 18

No 8-19lbs: 85

Grilse: 52

The team depart

Weather:

The weather this week was similar to the previous week in that the good cloudy fishing conditions gave way to bright warm sunshine which thankfully changed back for the last three days.

 

Sunny day on the Yokanga

Manager’s Comments:

This week we had a number of anglers who caught their first Atlantic salmon and one, Jim C, whose first Atlantic salmon was a fish of a lifetime weighing 34lbs. Dreams can and do come true on the Yokanga!

 

Jim tells the story of his 34lber

There have been a lot of fun experiences this week and entertaining stories of various wading exploits and even rods taking off with fish on! Almost everyone in the group had a story of a big fish hooked and lost.

One that did not get away

The river temperature has now dropped back a couple of degrees again and the level has remained the same for the last four days following the rain we had earlier in the week. This is all good news and bodes well for the coming week.

Bill Drury