Beginnings and Endings

Local Fishing Club opens its doors this evening after summer break dedicated to actual fishing part of this sport. I’m not able to go today, but next week I will – unless I go fishing that evening.

Most of the rivers here close after the September the 10th. This is because of Spawning season of Brown Trout. Rivers will open again at November the 15th. But bottom line is that the brown trout season is ending.

I will have a chance to fish grayling in Kuusamo at the end of September. There is also one river near my wife’s father’s house where I can fish stocked rainbow trout few times.

I bet that Tom will fish whole autumn. I do envy him… At least I have more time to tie flies than he does.

Lead it deep

This morning I had chance to do some fly fishing with my cousin Niko. He is my regular fly fishing partner, but this was only the second time in this season that he was able to go fishing. This is because Niko - as well as his friend and our mutual fishing partner Mika - are building houses for their families. They both also have small children so with the building project, family and work, they just are running out of fishing time.

We had some nice conversations, but did not do very well in the actual fishing part. There was some mayfly and caddis fly activity, but only few raising fish. My start was good however as I pulled first grayling in first or second cast from spot where I usually get my first fish. Grayling was small, only about 25 cm or 10 inches. It accepted #14 Superpupa with green body - a fly pattern which is showing some promise. But after this first fish, I did not manage to hook any fish for few hours. Time was running out - we had a work day ahead of us. I was fishing under the bridge and decided to add few split shots to my rig of bead head nymph with a streamer dropper. I changed my technique from downstream swing to nymphing. I didn’t add any strike indicator but fished with a short tight line. With tight line technique I keep my stick not high - as in high stick nymphing - but very near the water surface.

After few minutes of serious fly fishing I felt a strong fish and to my surprise it was not a trout but a grayling. It took another few minutes before it was in my net. This grayling was about 38 cm or 15 inches. It happens at times that even I stop banging my head to the wall and do something right for a change.

Don’t I just look Good with my fit-over Polaroid’s?

Dream

One of my dreams is living in a white house located in a hill overlooking a perfect trout stream. My wife shares this dream at least to some extent.

There is an interesting thought in Where the trout are all as long as your leg by John Gierach. He states that at the age of six: “I already knew all I’d ever know for sure about fishing: that when done properly it is socially unacceptable, and that the farther out there you go the better it gets.”

So where is the socially unacceptable part of my dream? Probably my wife would argue that I shouldn’t be fishing all the time.

Shopping online

Shopping online is way too easy: I just checked for a few Gierach's books that I don't have and noticed that it would cost me some 25 € to get them in 5 to 7 days, so without hesitation I clicked OK.

When it comes to shopping fly fishing rods and reels, I favor my local fly fishing shops. Service and knowledge of the sport is at high level. Fly tying stuff is little different, I buy it both from the local shops and online. But when it comes to fly fishing books written in English, I always shop online.

Amazon.com and amazon.co.uk have been my favourite for a long time. Amazon has a very good selection and stock of books and it is reliable.

Netting action

XXVI Portugal World Fly Fishing Championship 2006 is very near. While we wait for it, here is a link to nice video from Czech Republic: World Youth Fly Fishing Championship 2005

Check out the netting action - the rules state that fisherman cannot touch the fish and it must be netted.

The Streamer: Supertinseli

This is the streamer I have been using a lot this season. It is known as Supertinseli and it has lot of variations. One on the bottom row is closest to the original. It is fast and easy to tie and looks more like salt water pattern than traditional freshwater trout stream streamer.


Supertinseli (Hannu Pakarinen, early 1990s)
Hook: Short shank wet fly hook. Originally sizes 6 - 4 but can vary.
Thread: Black.
Under wing: Silver Flashabou, cut or trim to shape.
Wing: Darker shade of flashabou, cut or trim to shape.
Head: Dubbed black Fly-Rite or antron. I usually don't tie head at all for Supertinseli.

One variation has short red or fl. orange dubbing near head of the fly. I use Ice Wing instead of Flashabou.

This pattern can be fished like normal streamer with the downstream swing, but the most effective way is to cast upstream and strip a little bit faster than current.

I should have tied the Green ones

Last season I used Green Deep Sparkle Pupa pattern and I was very happy with the results. For this season I made both Yellow and Olive variant of Deep Sparkle Pupa and Emergent Sparkle Pupa patterns in various sizes. For some reason I did not do any Green Sparkle Pupas. Well I have catched some trouts with my Sparkle Pupas but their success has not been anywhere near what it was last season. I should have tied the Green ones.

Instead, I tied Edwards Pupas and Tabou Caddis Emergers. Again a few fish, but nothing remarkable. Last week I even tied some Supar Pupas. I'm going to give them a try tonight, but I have a feeling that they don't work for me. I have even prepared some silicone bodies for pupa patterns because we all know that silicone can do miracles.

But the problem is not in the different patterns. It is in me. In this season the streamers are working so well for me that I don't fish good with pupa patterns. I also do well with dry flies, but pupas don't work.

I should have tied the Green ones.

½-way there

I am now 35 years old (and currently recovering from the birthday party). I have a lovely wife, two children (boy and girl - naturally). My own house and mortgage. Two cats. A car. A job that pays well but is not very inspiring.

Do I need to read the Fly Fishing Through the Midlife Crisis?

Urban Fly Fishing on the Kelvin: Casting pool

Alistair visited the Glasgow Angling Centre and found a casting pool with water (click here to see this post). I would like to see those in Finland as well.

Night fishing

Well, no big trouts this time. I arrived just after sunset - about 10.30 pm. The hatch was not as good as I excepted but it was there. Some time after midnight most of the fish stopped eating. I left at 1.30 am.

In the picture above, you can see the streamer. Below is another trout still resting about two hours after I released it.

Anticipation

I feel light tickling in my finger tips. I am going fishing tonight. Is this the night when that big trout gently takes my emerging caddis pattern?

At this time of the year, rhyacophila caddis is hatching in my local rivers after sunset. Fish are everywhere. I can hear them splashing yet it is hard to see them. All casts I perform are more or less random.

However it is quite possible that tickling sensation in my fingertips results from lack of nicotine as I haven't smoked a single cigar in eight days... And worst still, it is possible that there is no hatch tonight.

Rod Building - Part 4

I have decided to build a 7 weight ten footer. That would be a good choice for stillwaters and for bigger trout in rivers Kuusinki, Kitka and Oulanka. Picture below is from upper Kitkajoki.



Stillwater fly fishing is something that is relatively new to me. With 7 weight rod I should be able to use fast sinking lines and rigs of multiple flies. I think that I will subscribe Trout and Salmon or some other UK fly fishing magazine. They seem to know a lot of stillwater fishing in UK. I will also need to tie new sets of flies - mainly for stocked rainbow trout but also something for pike.

Keywords: Rod building, Stillwater

The Streamer

Last night I fished with some dry flies and surface pupa patterns as usual. But again larger trouts accepted a streamer pattern much better. So far I haven't posted anything about this streamer pattern, but it has been best trout fly this year for me.

In Finland it is very common pattern but I don't know if it is known in other countries as well. Let's call it The Streamer for now. Modest name, isn't it? ;)

Dusk trout

Just released this one few hours ago. I will write something more, but now I go to bed...

Fly selection - Part 1

I currently have two fly boxes that I carry to the stream when fly fishing trout and grayling.



A few years ago, I had something like 4 - 6 fly boxes. It has been a part of an attempt to Lighten the Load as in John Gierach's essay.

Number of fly boxes is one thing, the number of fly patterns is another. I haven't counted how many fly patterns I have in my two boxes, yet I think that there are too many of them. And at the same time I think that I still lack a few. Strange, isn't it?

If you look my smaller fly box, you may notice that it has some discipline in it. There are free living caddis larvae patterns in different sizes and colours, Gary LaFontaine's Sparkle Pupa patterns and some POPA Caddis patterns by Oliver Edwards. Bigger box has less uniform selection of dry flies, streamers and big nymph patterns. That is because I put the content of my old streamer box and dry fly box in single fly box. But also the number of flies in specific size and colour variation of pattern is not as disciplined as in smaller box. I'll have to work with that next winter.

Wallpapers anyone?

Just playing with Picasa 2. Here is a wallpaper for you:

The Trout Underground

The Trout Underground is a nice Fly Fishing blog or site. It reminds me not to take this thing too seriously. I recommend this "On the Road, Alone." essay for you if you like fishing alone or would like to try it. For me, fishing alone is a true treasure. In fact, I do most of my fishing alone. It's my time. It's not that I don't like the company. In last week's night session, I spent almost an hour talking with older fly fisher at midnight - after all spin fishers have gone home or to their tent to sleep.