Season Report 2016

2016 will surely go down as one of the tougher seasons we have had on the Yokanga.

It was an early spring with the river breaking on 5 May and we started with a couple of fantastic weeks in what can be a very cold time of the year with high water and smaller numbers of quality fish entering the system. In the event, guests who have experienced hard fishing in previous years lucked out and had some epic fishing and landed some quality fish. There were 10 fish over 30lbs landed in the first two weeks of the season.

 26lb early season Yokanga salmon

The two prime weeks that followed had unusually summery conditions and fishing was sadly below what we might normally expect. It was unfortunate that an early spring coincided with the year that the fishing calendar had been reset and everyone’s weeks were running as late as they ever would. As guests basked in hot weather, it was hard to recall the same week at the of June only two years previously when we looked out on a dusting of snow, wore fleeces to dinner and no one was keen to venture out in the evening!

34lb fish caught during week 18-25 June

 

The normally short summer persisted for more than several weeks through July and water temperatures remained very high which hampered successful fishing and the biggest salmon remained elusive. These July weeks are when we would expect to see the biggest scoring weeks but conditions were simply not in our favour this time round. The same was being experienced on all other rivers on the Kola.

There was a constant topping up of water levels through the season and at one stage the river came up nearly 4 feet over a two day period. The result was that water levels were much the same at the end of the season as at the beginning and guides with 15 years’ experience on the river had never seen water so high in July. It seemed to be a season of extremes.

 

Heading off fishing

 

If the above may sound downbeat, we should remind ourselves that even in a tough season the fishing on Yokanga is exceptional by any other standard and we landed 854 salmon. The Yokanga produced 130 salmon in the 20-29lb bracket and a further 16 over 30lbs. By way of comparison, the 2015 season was 108 and 12 respectively. The Yokanga remains statistically your best bet for a big fish on the Kola Pensinsula.

Yokanga - your best bet for a big salmon

 

The biggest fish of the season were two remarkable 38lbers. Scale samples from one of them showed it to have smolted after three years and then to have spent four winters at sea, so a seven years old fish. We have scale readings from a further 25 salmon which we will report on in due course but interestingly there were a number of previous spawners among them.

 

46.5 inches x 25.5 inches = 38lbs

We are pleased to report that the lodge and operation was running better than ever. Guests unanimously enjoyed the wine, beer and vodka which is now included as part of the package. Yuri the chef did an excellent job with sashimi on the bar every night and it was generally agreed that the food was the best ever. We now have free internet for guests and while we do not encourage updating your Facebook profile it has allowed guests to tell those at home that they are having a good time without the need for costly satellite calls.

 

The best food ever during the Yokanga 2016 season 

 

We would like to thank all of our regular visitors and in particular those who fished with us on the Yokanga in 2016. The 2017 season will be upon us before we know it and we hope to see you out there.

 

If you are interested in fishing the Yokanga please email enquiries@flyfishergroup.com for prices and an itinerary.

 
Henry Mountain and Peter Rippin

Could this be you in 2017?

Week 6 to 13 August

Dates: 6 -13 August

Air Temp: 8’C - 20’C

Water Temp: 16C
Water Height: -20cm to -27cm
Number of Rods: 14
Number of fish Caught: 27
Biggest fish: 28lbs Ari Lahti & 25lbs Heikki Hamalainen
No 30+: 0
No 20-29lbs: 2
No 8-19lbs: 26
Grilse: 15
Sea Trout: 4

Weather: Generally speaking, greyish days with the odd spell of sunshine and the odd shower.

Managers Comments: A very mixed week this week but some good results nevertheless. We had two different groups this week, changing over on Tuesday night half way through the week. The first half of the week's fishing was certainly the tougher half. However, Ari L did manage a super fish weighing in at 28lbs. A true Yokanga monster, and a fish of a life time. Well done Ari!

The second half of the week did bring us slightly more action and some of the salmon seemed to have got slightly razzed up by something, perhaps the drop in pressure. All the pools began to liven up by the Wednesday. Everyone coming back to camp reporting that a lot of fishing were jumping.

We did as a team manage to get stuck into a few of the moving fish. We also had a couple of encounters with some monsters; Timo had an exceptional fight with a huge fish that sadly bent his hooks open resulting in loosing the fish. Heikki H managed to land a lovely 25lber, and almost every other rod had a salmon note. So well done to the team for keeping at it and coming away with a few good fish.

In summary, it has been a really good fun week. We've had some very entertaining evenings with people of the the guitar and a good singalong on the Friday night. A couple of really fantastic fish have been caught, and we've had two Bear and Elk sighting this week which always adds to the excitement of being out in the tundra.

Great to have met you all, thank you for such a fun week. I hope to see you on the banks of the
river again soon.

Tight Lines!

Toby Burrell

Lost Fish

Date: 11 August

Air Temp: 18’C - 20’C

Water Temp: 16C
Water Height: -27cm
Number of Rods: 14
Number of fish Caught: 9
Biggest fish: 16lbs - Antero Vesterinen
No 30+: 0
No 20-29lbs: 0
No 8-19lbs: 3
Grilse: 6

Weather: A good grey day all day with no rain and a slight downstream breeze.

Managers Comments: A far better conditions for fishing today, some people coming home with some good results. Timo K had a great day in Nahodka, hooking five fish and landing four of them. The fish he lost was a serious fish of note, taking him up near the top of Nahodka it shot off like a rocket. Timo was having to put up a solid fight to prevent it going down the rapids and he just managed to do so. However, after 20 minutes of an almighty battle there was a heart-sinking moment as the fly came pinging out the water towards Timo and the fish slowly disappeared back in to the depths of the peaty Yokanga. The amount of pressure Timo was having to put on the fish had bent the hooks, and his hooks are certainly not weak ones. With the three eye whiteness of the fish we have come to the conclusion that its estimated weight was 30+lbs. Although disappointed to have lost the fish, a fantastically thrilling experience leaving us with another fisherman's tail to tell.

The result of playing a monster

On other parts of the river, Pentti K had a lovely 12lber that wasn't too coloured, perhaps been in the river for 10 days or so. Heikki once again had plenty of action ending up with only two on the bank and sadly loosing a couple of very acrobatic grilse.

Pentti K with his fish from Poachers

Jukka H also had a couple of nice fish out of upper Norcamp 6lbs & a 12lbs. Both on a small Willie Gunn. Antero V had a lovely 16lbers which is the fish of the day. Well done Antero.

More of the same weather forecast for tomorrow for the final day of the season... let's hope we can finish up on a high.

Toby Burrell

A 25lber

Date: 10 August

Air Temp: 18’C -22’C

Water Temp: 16C
Water Height: -22cm
Number of Rods: 14
Number of fish Caught: 10
Biggest fish: 25lbs - Heikki
No 30+: 0
No 20-29lbs: 1
No 8-19lbs: 1
Grilse: 6
Sea Trout: 2

Weather: Incredibly strong down stream winds with bright sunshine.

Managers Comments: Today was a tricky day, bright sunshine and just to make it a little harder we had gale force winds.

Heikki with his fish from the Lake

Just trying to put an upstream mend in was damn near impossible. Even trying to balance yourself on a rock was a struggle with the wind. However the team persevered and returned home with some good results.

Hannu N and Heikki H had a good day in Poachers and on down to camp. They managed to land 5 fish between them, the biggest at 25lbs. Heikki had the 25lbers out of Lake, mid pool. He caught it on a size 8 fly - we haven't managed to come up with a name for it. But it is a sort of mixture between and green highlander and a Willie Gunn. Only a very small bit of buck tail on a green and silver body. Most of our fish that have been caught over the last 10 days have all been on floating lines with sinking tips but today however four of the eight caught were on full floating lines and very small flies. Perhaps a change of tactics is in need with the dropping water.

Heikki's killer fly

A good result today putting yet another 20lber in the book. Well done Heikki, hopefully its the first of many to come on the Yokanga. Let's hope the winds calm down tomorrow and we can get couple more monsters on the bank.

Toby Burrell

Scorching Day

Date: 9 August

Air Temp: 18’C -22’C

Water Temp: 16C
Water Height: -21cm
Number of Rods: 14
Number of fish Caught: 1
Biggest fish: 6lbs Pentti Kuusela
No 30+: 0
No 20-29lbs: 0
No 8-19lbs: 0
Grilse: 1

Weather: Another scorcher today with bright sunshine and very little cloud in the sky. A strong downstream wind.

 Incoming heli 

Managers Comments: Not an easy day again today, we are really struggling with these conditions. There are very few fresh fish entering the river now at this late stage in the season and the older fish certainly don't like this bright sun in their eyes all day.

The team!

One half of the team headed back to Murmansk this afternoon meaning the only got a few hours fishing. Seppo K did manage to hook into a nice fish but sadly it was lost just before the net. A shame to have lost his first salmon but I'm sure that now has him hooked.

The other six rods that have joined us for the second half of the week all arrived safe and sound last night, both Juha and Juhan headed out to Lyliok but sadly with no success. It is getting increasingly more and more difficult to fish after supper with dark nights riding in earlier every night.

Ready for action in Poachers

Our saviour today was Pentti K who managed the only salmon for the team. A grilse out of Lower Norcamp, a good effort to get hold of him in the midday sun. I hope he can do the same tomorrow if we get similar weather.

Toby Burrell

Bright sunshine

Date: 8 August

Air Temp: 16’C -18’C

Water Temp: 16C
Water Height: -20cm
Number of Rods: 14
Number of fish Caught: 2
Biggest fish: 11lbs Yrjo Ojaniemi
No 30+: 0
No 20-29lbs: 0
No 8-19lbs: 1
Grilse: 1

Weather: A very warm day with bright sunshine all day and hardly a cloud insight.

Managers Comments: A very tough day today which was half expected with this very nasty weather - well nasty if you want to catch fish, rather good if you want to catch a tan!

The fishing at Poachers was very tough indeed today, although I am told lots of fish were showing. The two fishers did have some excitement with a very curious bear. Yrjo and Juha were both fishing away when a rather large brown bear started wandering down the bank towards them. In panic, Yrjo shouted for the guide to bring the boat over, Sergey paddled over to his rescue. At this this point the bear was sitting only metres away just casually watching them. Landing on the opposite bank they thought they were safe and out of harm's way. Not so lucky… the bear then jumped into the river and swam across. After a bit of yo-yoing back and forth keeping well away from the beast, it soon got bored and disappeared off into the tundra. Lots of excitement for both Yrjo and Juha and to top their day off Yrjo had a nice 11lber out of beach on the way home. Both full of smiles when arriving back at camp, a day never to be forgotten.

Elsewhere on the river was also a real struggle for our guests today; they have all said that there were plenty of fish showing but nothing was encouraging them to take.

Hopefully we shall lose this sun and they will come on again. A small bit of rain forecast for tomorrow, let's hope it comes. A good night sleep is in order read for action tomorrow.

Toby Burrell

28lber for Ari

Date: 7 August

Air Temp: 13C to 17C

Water Temp: 15C

Water height: -20cm

Number of rods: 11

Number fish caught: 7

Biggest fish: 28lbs Ari Lahti

No 30+: 0

No 20-29: 1

No 8-19: 2

Grilse: 3
Sea Trout: 1

Weather: 
A bright day with the odd wisp of cloud.

Manager's Comments:
A slightly slower day on the fishing front today but nevertheless a glorious day on the Yokanga. Island pool has provided well today by coughing up four fish for our two guests, Ari L and Pentti K. Pennti had a lovely fresh grilse of about 7lbs and another nice 12lber. Ari has had an enormously successful day by landing his biggest fish to date, 28lbs. A truly monstrous fish.

Ari's monster from Island

Ari’s fish took him high up in the Island pool draw in the the slow water. Fishing from the boat they immediately rowed up into the pool well away from the rapids to increase their chance of landing the fish. Although the fish had been in the river for a week or two it still gave an almighty battle. To begin with Ari felt rather helpless as the fish was torpedoing up and down the pool, even with a 15ft rod a fish like that does feel a bit like you've taken a knife to the gun fight. But Ari stuck it out and 35 minutes later he landed his 28lber. Well done Ari, a great fish to get and great start to the week.

Ahti M also had a nice 18lbers out of Upper Norcamp this afternoon. He got it out of the first main draw in upper Norway, a fantastic spot that has yielded many a big fish over the years, and this season. A really fantastic big fish spot!

Another nice Yokanga fish 

The weather seems to be warming up again now, let's hope that it only lasts a day or two!

Toby Burrell

Week 30 July to 6 August

Date: 30 July-6 August

Air Temp: 8’C -17’C

Water Temp: 14C-16C
Water Height: -17cm to -20cm
Number of Rods: 11
Number of fish Caught: 74
Biggest fish: 25.5lbs Erik Cullin
No 30+: 0
No 20-29lbs: 5
No 8-19lbs: 27
Grilse: 42

Weather: Much more steady temperatures, showers on and off all week and usually warmer afternoons. River levels staying at about -20cm all week.

Antonio with Red Sergei and Old Vova

 

Managers Comments: Fish numbers continued to rise this week. I think with the weather and water levels finally steadying up it has allowed the fish to settle and bring them on the take. The water temperature has certainly been far better this week keeping at a steady 14 degrees which is much better than our pervious 16, 17 and even 19 degrees.

 

Michel and his fish

 

Everyone has put in a fantastic effort this week and we’ve come out with some good results. Michel G was our top rod for the week. A fantastic result, especially as it is only his second time fly fishing for salmon. He has really sussed it out and anyone would guess he has been doing it for years. He did, however, manage to hook his inflatable boat at the start of the week! Luckily his guide, Pasha, managed to get them to the bank before completely deflating. I think quite a shock at the time but amusing in hindsight. But Michel has done very well and with a 20lber in hand I'm sure the success will continue for years to come.

 

Daniel about to release another

 

Daniel S also has done very well for his first time ever on a salmon river. He got off to a flying start with a nice 21lber and 12lber on the first day. His first salmon is a fish that many fisher man spend a lifetime looking for. One of the fantastic traits of the Yokanga is that these mystical silver monsters can become a reality and every pull, every knock could be the one. Tremendously exciting.

Big smiles all round

 

The biggest fish of the week goes to Erik C who had a lovely 25.5lbs fish out of Crows Nest in the last few hours of the week. Erik and his fishing partner Tor have had a good week, landing plenty of fish between them and a handful of nice salmon. The week’s team has been a mixture of Mexicans, Swedes and Brits. It has been another great fun week with the Swedes introducing us to some traditional Swedish fishing songs in the evening and the Mexicans bringing plenty of Tequila to the table which certainly spiced up our evenings. A fun week, thank you all and hope to meet again somewhere in the fishing world.

Tight Lines!

Toby Burrell

25.5lber on the last day

Date: 5 August

Air Temp: 13’C -17’C

Water Temp: 14C
Water Height: -20cm
Number of Rods: 11
Number of fish Caught: 13
Biggest fish: 25.5lbs Erik Cullin
No 30+: 0
No 20-29lbs: 2
No 8-19lbs: 3
Grilse: 8

Weather: Extremely heavy rain showers on and off all morning with a nice cool sunny afternoon.

Managers Comments: This morning’s weather left most rods very wet on the banks of the river. We had some serious rain showers that really soaked us through to the bone. Luckily, however, it was fairly warm and we were saved by the sun breaking out by about 2pm.

A fat hen fish from Home Pool

 

The fishing was mixed again today. There do not seem to be any consistent hot spots at the moment. Every day the fish that are caught are in very different places. Erik C had a wonderful fish out of Crows Nest this afternoon. The fish took him right in the last draw of the beat. He was unable to stop the fish rocketing off down the rapids toward Gremikha. Erik was forced to run after his fish at high speed, not easy on those big boulders. By the time he had made it to the bottom of the rapids there was still 100 yards of backing out. He then managed to get the fish under reasonable control where upon his fishing partner had come to help. They managed to net the fish, weighing in at 25.5lbs. A fantastic fish with an epic fight. A real Yokanga experience and certainly a fish that will be remembered for a long time. Well done Erik.

 

Endless options

Raul and Daniel S both managed a couple of fish each out of Lyliok, also this afternoon just as the sun broke out. So a nice way to finish the week with Daniel doing especially well with this being his first time on a salmon river. He has come out with an exceptional result and a 20lber under his belt.

Some success on a rubber legged  nymph

 

Michel G once again has come home with a large tally, landing another four fish for the day and losing a couple more. All from 7 Islands, he caught his fish on a surprisingly large black and yellow skull head. A fly that worked well last week and still seems to be providing plenty of action.

 

 

Michel G with another nice fish from 7 Islands

Mark H managed a couple out of Beach this morning. I went up to join him in the later part of the day and we had a very entertaining couple of hours down through Boulder Ally. We decided to put on a hitch and see what we could produce. We managed to find one pot that seemed to have a few fish in it. Sadly we never managed to land a single fish but we had a very exciting time with the hitch and plenty of action. Both an amusing and frustrating afternoon.

 

All in all a good day on the river and well done to those who managed some fish.

Toby Burrell

Happy Faces

Date: 4 August

Air Temp: 13C to 17C

Water Temp: 14C

Water height: -21cm

Number of rods: 11

Number fish caught: 12

Biggest fish: 20lbs Michel Guirette

No 30+: 0

No 20-29: 1

No 8-19: 5

Grilse: 6

Weather: 
Another day with all sorts of weather. Some heavy showers in the morning and glorious afternoon with very little wind.

 Raul & Daniel having a quick lunch break at Poachers

Manager's Comments:
Another varied day again today with some rods doing rather well and others struggling to find contact. It seems to be the case at the moment and I think it is most likely to stay like that for the rest of the season now... some people just hit it right when there are a few fish on the beat and get stuck in.

Today Michel G was certainly in the right spot and he managed to make hay while the sun was shining. He ended up with four fish out of Sand Island and Cliff, the smallest weighing in at 10lbs. There was also a 14, 17, and 20lber so a fantastic day by any means. Michel’s big fish was actually from 7 Islands - he had floated down from his own beat to find Max fast asleep on the bank. After waking him a rather large fish showed very close to the bank. Max decided Michel should have a go for it. Sure enough, second cast…

Raul managed another 14lber late on this afternoon in Lake Pool on the home stretch. The fish was exceptionally lively, torpedoing down the pool and almost wrapping itsself around the boulders at the bottom. But with a bit of Mexican skill he managed to get the fish back up to the top and safely in the net.

Raul with his 14lber

In summary, another reasonable day on the Yokanga and some happy faces in camp this evening. A very jolly supper and we even had the two Swedes, Erik and Tor, singing some traditional Swedish fishing songs after supper. A very entertaining evening!

Toby Burrell

Mixed Day

Date: 3 August

Air Temp: 12’C - 16’C

Water Temp: 14C
Water Height: -22cm
Number of Rods: 11
Number of fish Caught: 11
Biggest fish: 15lbs Tor Helenius
No 30+: 0
No 20-29lbs: 0
No 8-19lbs: 4
Grilse: 7

Michel G with a good fish from Poachers 

Weather: A mixture of rain, sun cloud and wind. Some heavy showers in the morning followed by strong winds and short spells of sunshine in the afternoon.

Managers Comments: A good fishing day today and we seem to have lost that nasty upstream wind, making life much easier on the casting front.

A rainy day

A mixed day on the fishing front today. Some people managing to find some active fish and others really struggling to get hold of anything.

Erik and Tor spent the day in Poachers which provided four fish for them. A good result indeed. They didn't see much movement all day apart from the fish they hooked. All four where caught on reasonably big tubes, size 8 and 6. All with a bit of weight on to get down to the fish.

Mark H managed another nice salmon today of 14lbs out of Upper Norcamp. He took it out of the first draw right in the centre of the river, this time he managed to keep his fingers well clear of the reel and landed the fish safely without injuring the fish or himself!

Mark H with a fish out of Upper Norcamp

Antonio J held up the Mexican contingent in Island pool with another nice salmon. A reasonably fresh 12lber. He also hooked a couple more but sadly they didn't quite make it to the net.

In summary, a patchy day today with fewer fish caught. Let's hope its perks up again tomorrow. Some warmer weather due in the next couple of days.

Toby Burrell

Action Aplenty

Date: 2nd August

Air Temp: 10C to 13C

Water Temp: 14C

Water height: -20cm

Number of rods: 11

Number fish caught: 18

Biggest fish: 17lbs Michel

No 30+: 0

No 20-29: 0

No 8-19: 9

Grilse: 9

Weather: 
A very grey, warm day. Soft breezes ranging from South to North East.

Mark H with a nice fish out of Upper Norcamp

Manager's Comments:
Another better day on the river. Very nice conditions indeed with grey, good cloud cover and not too much wind.

Michel G did well in Poachers and had plenty of action all day. He hooked 8 fish throughout the day with numerous other pulls and knocks but sadly not all 8 made it to the net but most did. The biggest one of those was 17lbs and he lost another really good fish. An action packed day with some good quality fish - well done Michel!

Antonio J also did well today coming away with five fish by the evening. He managed two during the day on his beat, 7 Islands. On his way home in the boat they spotted a big fishing rolling in Upper Norcamp, immediately anchored and has a go for it. Sadly they didn't manage to hook the monster but did manage to hook and land 3 other fish in the 20 minutes they were there. A pretty good result really.

A friendly chap, feeling a bit cold

Mark H took three fish out of Upper Norcamp, two salmon and and a grilse and all were reasonably fresh. His fishing partner Graham S also managed a nice 10lber.

Raul and Daniel on their way home

Fishing continues to improve with more and more older fish starting to wake up now. The Mexican contingent are certainly doing their nation proud and continue to catch a good number of salmon. But the Brits and Swedes are hot on their heels and have every intention of catching up with them by the end of the week.

Toby Burrell

Good Fishing

Date: 1 August

Air Temp: 8’C -10’C

Water Temp: 14C
Water Height: -17cm
Number of Rods: 11
Number of fish Caught: 10
Biggest fish: 23lbs Max Daniel
No 30+: 0
No 20-29lbs: 1
No 8-19lbs: 2
Grilse: 7

Weather: A very grey day with with the odd light shower. A very light North wind.

Managers Comments: A good fishing day today and we seem to have lost that nasty upstream wind, making life much easier on the casting front.

 This week's team

The older, bigger fish are certainly starting to come to life now with this cooler water, and the team have done well. Today produced another 20lber so that is two in two days - far better than the previous ten days. Max D was the lucky fisher that managed to get today's big fish. He had a very exciting fight; it steamed up and down Poachers Pool for 25 minutes before he managed to get it into the net. A relief for both him and his guide Red Sergey. But both very chuffed to already have such a nice fish under their belt so early on in the week.

Getting a tow through Poachers

Mark H had a serious encounter with a fish in 7 Islands this morning that sadly didn't make it to the net. A monster took right in the tail of the first draw and went like a freight train towards the rapids. Mark, in an attempt to tighten up his drag, got his finger caught in the reel sending blood in all directions. He managed to slow it slightly before in rolled over the rapids. Just enough to get a good look at the fish. Mark said it was like a Boeing 747 going down the runway ready for take-off. Sadly there was nothing he could do to stop the fish and it was lost in the rapids. Leaving him with another story to tell and rather a sore finger.

Michel with a fish on

Today there were lots and lots of fish showing all over the river, perhaps they are coming on the move again after the long spell of warm water we have had. In summary, a good day on the river and some good fish caught. Hopefully this trend will continue throughout the week and we might see some more monsters being caught.

Toby Burrell

First Day 20lber!

Date: 31 July

Air Temp: 8C to 10C

Water Temp: 15C

Water height: -17cm

Number of rods: 11

Number fish caught: 10

Biggest fish: 20lbs Daniel Sanche

No 30+: 0

No 20-29: 1

No 8-19: 4

Grilse: 5

Weather: 
Bitterly cold all day with a strong up stream wind. Cloudy with some very light showers in the morning.

Daniel S releasing his first ever salmon (20lbs)

Manager's Comments:
All guests arrived safe and sound from Murmansk in good time on Saturday afternoon and some set up there kit and headed out on to the river. Raul S got the team off the mark with one grilse out of Lyliok. So well done him.

Today's fishing has been fairly successful, not an easy task casting in that cold upstream wind. Daniel S, who is salmon fishing for the first time ever, managed two fish - a 12lber and a 20lber. Not a bad effort for his first day on a salmon river! He also popped down to Lyliok this evening and quickly landed a grilse before retiring to his bed for the evening.

Daniel S with a nice 12lb hen

Antonio had a slow day with very little action in Golden Reach until the last half an hour when he hooked three fish and landed two of them - both very fresh fish which is good to see. Erik C also managed a couple of fresh fish out of Island, both in the same spot - the main draw in island pool. Interestingly, all but one fish today was caught on a Willie Gunn ranging from size 8 to 12. It is certainly a good start to the week with one 20lber in the bag already and a few nice fresh salmon. Lets hope our luck continues…

Toby Burrell

Week 23-30 July

Date: 23-30 July

Air Temp: 8’C -21’C

Water Temp: 14C-17C
Water Height: -6cm to -15cm
Number of Rods: 12
Number of fish Caught: 68
Biggest fish: 22lbs Tom Craig
No 30+: 0
No 20-29lbs: 2
No 8-19lbs: 11
Grilse: 55

Weather: Generally speaking a much colder week, a couple of warmer days early on, but finishing off with much cooler temperatures.

Managers Comments: A better week this week and we certainly finished on a high. The week started fairly slowly with the warm temperatures. Sunday was cloudless skies and baking hot. Monday brought us some slightly better weather but not much. The odd shower and mainly cloud cover. As the week went on the temperatures dropped and we began to see a few more fish on the bank.

The early few days of the week produced very few salmon indeed. Mostly grilse that were reasonably fresh and in great nick, most of them 6lbs+. As the week went on and temperatures began to cool off we started seeing more salmon. I think the only explanation is that the water cooling off must have shifted them off their lies and woken them up a little bit. By Wednesday we had a few salmon in the book and the numbers just continued to rise for the rest of week.

Stuart C and his 22lber

Rob L has done well this week. He hit the ground running on Day 1 with three out of Lyliok all in the space of 30 minutes and also lost another. He managed to continue ticking away at the fish all week, not quite in the same fashion though. Rupert D has had a few great fish this week. Late on in the week he seemed to pick up some really nice big fresh fish. Good to know there are still some coming through.

Salmon in net

Tom C was top rod and holds the title of ‘Fish of the Week’ with an awesome 22lber out of Upper Norcamp. Tom has certainly had his favourite fly this week, the black and yellow skull head. He has had most of his fish on it and has been handing them out to fellow fishers who have also had some success with it. Tom is a very accomplished fisher who has managed some cracking fish and has been tucking in to plenty of grilse as well. A great result in some harsh conditions, well done!

Tom C and his 22lber

Again the fish have been very slow soft takers this week, meaning we have had endless pulls, knocks and bites but many of which are just not hanging on to the fly long enough. I don't know what the answer to that is… other than carry on as normal and hope that a few more of them start to stick. Perhaps the cooler water will make them more aggressive this week.

Toby Burrell

Encouraging Finish

Date: 29 July

Air Temp: 8’C -14’C

Water Temp: 14C
Water Height: -15cm
Number of Rods: 12
Number of fish Caught: 15
Biggest fish: 16lbs Rob Layton
No 30+: 0
No 20-29lbs: 0
No 8-19lbs: 4
Grilse: 11

Weather: Mainly cloudy all day with the odd spell of sunshine in the afternoon.

Managers Comments: The cooler weather continues and the water temp drops down to 14 degrees. This is certainly a good thing and has meant we've bumped into a few fresher fish today as well.

A taste of Yokanga

Tom C had a couple of sea liced grilse in Lower Norcamp today which is good news. Both fish caught on the black and yellow skull head, one of Tom’s personal favourites, that has done him well over the past week. He has even been handing them out in camp and I believe Nick WD managed a couple of fish with one yesterday.

Beach - good for a running fish

William D and Simon S had a brilliant day in Poachers and Beach. Numerous hook ups all day and they managed to land six between them. A mixture of fresh and slightly older fish. A great way to end the week so well done them! Rob Layton managed a lovely 16lber out of Upper Norcamp, a reasonably fresh fish, perhaps four or five days in the river. The fish put up a good fight and was safely released to continue on up on its migratory route.

The main draw at Poachers

It would seem with the few fresh fish caught today, that there are still some coming in which is great and hopefully this will with continue with this cold weather. Also it would seem obvious that some of the older fish have definitely been shifted and come to life somewhat allowing us to catch the odd one here and there. Perhaps it will come right in the next few days and we will get a good crack at them.

Toby Burrell

Productive Day

Date: 28 July

Air Temp: 8C to 11C

Water Temp: 15C

Water height: -15cm

Number of rods: 12

Number fish caught: 13

Biggest fish: 22lbs Tom Craig

No 30+: 0

No 20-29: 1

No 8-19: 4

Grilse: 8

 Tom with a cracking fish out of Upper Norcamp

Weather: 
Some brief showers before lunch, and dry cloudy with a North East wind all afternoon.

Rupert D with a fish on in Snake Pool (Lyliok River) yesterday

Manager's Comments:
We have far better fishing conditions now, and its is seriously increasing our salmon count which is great news! I am positive that this cooler weather is all that is making the difference and if it continues we may really see a difference in numbers of fish caught. The figures this week have certainly been increasing everyday as each day gets cooler and cooler. Lets hope this continues for the next couple of weeks.

Rupert with a fresh fish from 7 Islands

Gordon had a fantastic day in Lyliok today. He landed three fish and two of them were really quite fresh indeed and had certainly not been in the river more than a week. One was a lovely 15lbs hen fish. So an action packed afternoon for him.

Rupert and Nick managed three fish between them - a 14lbs fish each and Nick also had a 7lbs grilse. They had these out of the draws in 7 Islands, a beat that I think has fished exceptionally well this year. It is without a doubt my favourite beat on the system, a mixture of fantastic pools and very dynamic in that it has everything from lovely streamy necks, big boils and brilliant fast-flowing glassy draws that all feel so unbelievably fishy.

Tom C has had a great day today. He was fishing Upper Norcamp and had a nice 22lber that he caught on a huge sparkly cone-head sun ray shadow. The fish took with huge ferocity and proceeded to rip yards and yards of line off the reel at high speed as it steamed of down the pool.

The drug of the tug!

Tom and I deployed up the Lyliok River again last night after supper and he managed a lovely 16lber that also put up a great fight so once again the walk was worth it. Really good fun to catch such good quality fish out such a small little river.

Tom C with another cracking fish

In essence, a much better day and let's hope we keep this cool weather for as long as possible and the fish numbers will continue to rise.

Toby Burrell

Better Results

Date: 27 July

Air Temp: 8C to 11C

Water Temp: 17C

Water height: -17cm

Number of rods: 12

Number fish caught: 10

Biggest fish: 13lbs Stuart Campbell

No 30+: 0

No 20-29: 0

No 8-19: 0

Grilse: 5

Weather: 
More cloud cover all day, light drizzle and a cold swirling wind. Heavy rain by 11pm.

Manager's Comments:
The second day of cooler weather has certainly brought more fish on and made some of the older resident fish slightly more active, giving us an opportunity to catch them. I believe that every rod had a fish on some point during the day, sadly not everyone landed one. Gordon had a couple of good fish take him in Poachers this morning but annoyingly didn't quite make either of them to the net. One was certainly 20lbs+.

Stuart C did well to get a nice 13lber out of the left bank pots of Boulder Alley. The fish took him right up against the bank and motored off down towards home pool. William D also had a fish of similar proportions out of Island pool. His fish also took the fly with in millimetres of the bank, at first William thought he had a grilse until it suddenly darted for the rapids and nearly made it over the edge.

Geoff B managed a brace of fish out of Crows Nest this afternoon, both reasonably fresh. Rob L had a good 12lber from the first draw in 7 Islands and Rupert D also had a salmon out of Lyliok this evening.

In summary, we are defiantly moving in the right direction with the fish numbers. This colder weather has certainly moved a few of the older fish and brought them on the take. I think the colder weather is going to stay for the rest of the week and hopefully the rest of the season.

Fingers crossed!

Toby Burrell

Better Temperatures

Date: 26 July

Air Temp: 8C to 11C

Water Temp: 15C

Water height: -17cm

Number of rods: 12

Number fish caught: 10

Biggest fish: 7lbs Rob Layton

No 30+: 0

No 20-29: 0

No 8-19: 0

Grilse: 10

Weather: 
Good cloud cover all day with comparatively cold temperatures and a nippy downstream breeze.

Manager's Comments:
Today's conditions certainly felt a lot more like a fishing day with much cooler weather and no
sunshine at all. We perhaps didn't connect with quite as many fish as we had hoped but having said that at least most rods did manage to hook a grilse at some point in the day. I think after the amount of hot weather we’ve had we really need a few more days of cold to really cool the whole river system down.

Rob L and Stuart C had a good evening on right bank Lyliok again, managing to land four between them in a reasonably short period of time, perhaps a small pod of them just coming through. They also saw numerous other fish showing out in the pool.

Stuart C with a 20lber 

Stuart C with a fish on in Lyliok

Tom C and I went on a little adventure up the Lyliok river again, after supper we deployed up to the only three pools on the small river. We had very exciting results indeed, endless follows and swirls at the fly. I think mainly all grilse but very exciting all the same. Tom managed to land two of them, both taking yards of line of him, he did well to stop both disappearing down the rapids into Pinro Pool. There is rather a large cliff between the two pools, so anything leaving the pool down the rapids is almost a guaranteed lost fish. But a very exciting action packed evening for Tom and great fun to see these fish come zooming after the fly form quite some distance at times.

We can only now pray that this cooler weather stays with us for as long as possible and hope that the water temperature drops off quickly. This should begin to shift some of the older fish and hopefully reduce a few bigger one for the book.

Toby Burrell