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