Updates and tying.

So,five days more to go for a new pike adventure I wrote about in my last post,study the shoal on a map closer and with no hurry and noticed it's going to be a tough task to fish every inch of that place in just one day so MAYBE a tent....and two days of fishing could ease the pressure here :)
I'm also unsure if I will fish from my kayak or is it gonna be floating tube

The area is huge,it's about seven km long and nearly two km in wide with reed pockets and rocks both on and under the surface,pot holes here and there but with water level from two to six meter and outside the shoal the water level is from ten to nearly thirty meter so many different fishing situations can be faced.

Have also updated some things behind the scenes which I'm gonna introduce to you now:
First of all I bought me a new DH-rod,Vision Cult 13,8 ft line weight #9.
As a reel to that beauty I choose Vision Tank #11.

Hoping for one Autumn trip to Langinkoski later on...

made also an impulse buy: a ABU rod made of glassfiber for an old reel,maybe some nostalgic fishing sometime...Who knows...

And my latest add is not for just fishing even if I had that in my mind too when I decided to buy me a new car (not a brand new),a Wolkswagen passat,a stationwagon model mostly for my fishing gear.

 Closing in for early Autumn fishing too so even if I really didn't need new flies I still wanted to tie some.
These are tied in Niklaus Bauer style  with dry fly hackle,big fly fiber and Lateral scale as a tail,then different flash in a dubbing loop and finally Sculpin wool as head except that green/gold fly which has Marabou as head because I didn't had any orange colored Sculpin wool.

Hope to get these flies in test in front of judges next weekend,especially the green/gold because I have not caught too many fishes with that combo even if I have heard so much praise for it.
It might be my next mission,a pike with green/gold.

Summer 2013 Memories

Have to admit that my summer season is over but what a season,9  +100 cm fishes landed and a bunch of fishes between 90-99 cm made this season my best ever.
Not only the fishes made this summer memorable,also my paddling trip to my early childhood fishing places were nice and a pretty small jack was my most memorable fish in many years,about 40 years since I caught my first pike here.

Also my bad sunburn will get a place in my memories,like my bleeding thumb too.
I can't really find nothing but nice memories from this summer and a big thank's to that belong to my kayak,a Commander 140 which opened a whole new world for me.
My fishing is not anymore just fishing,it's a combination of silence,no hurry,enjoing nature,landscapes and taking photos and my latest add is to make my trips cosy and peaceful is to have real warm food in a food thermos with me,waiting for cold autumn afternoons sitting on some small islet eating real warm  food and listen to the silence and feel nature getting ready for the long cold winter.
Anyway,have made some collage of "better fishes" and some other things from summer 2013

This weekend will not be anything else but work but next weekend will be an early season opener for my Autumn season,and I hold my fingers crossed up to my elbow that me and my brothers plan will become true.
We found on a map a huge shoal pretty far out from the shoreline.We gonna go with boat to a islet close to that shoal and from the islet we gonna go fishing with floating tubes or maybe I will use my kayak,have to see weather conditions...Can't wait,stay tuned :)

15.7 Fishing of my life.

Once again I have to keep a pause in my fishing because of different reasons,no wind and extremely hot on top of all reasons.
Was very early out at sea this morning and even if the forecast promised some wind and a bit cooler there was no wind at all and a air temp around 20 c degrees already at 7 am,not what I wanted but nothing I could do about it so......
I was just about to launch my kayak when my brother called me,he was out fishing with some of his friends and we decided to meet at  one of mine spot.
With no wind at all paddling was quick and easy,I came to a shoal and made just one cast and to my surprise I managed to land a very small jack with my first cast on a place I never had succeed earlier,maybe not a bad day after all.
Made some more tries but nobody home anymore.
Paddled to our meeting point and talked to guys but no fishes for them this morning.
We were fishing on a spot that has been kinda productive this year but with no wind and five guys fishing a small area wasn't that fun I would have loved to continue,maybe I should have....
i wasn't too far when  in a short time get two messages of some decent sized mam's caught in no time,well,you can' always win.
Went on trying to find some windy places and no long before I came to a place were i had a + 100 cm landed not so long ago.
A small breeze but at least in right direction made me parking here,at least until I found something better to do.
Fished some time here and landed 6-7 pikes but the size was XXXS.Here was really a lot of these small buggers.

No need to stay here longer teasing these baby's so I decided to have a lunch and while eating my brother and his friend arrived but when I told them here was only baby's they decided to go on to a bay not long way from here.
After finishing my lunch I slowly started to paddle after them but stopped at a reed edge to let them finish their fishing first,at this spot I landed my biggest fish so far at this trip,probably at least 60 cm.....

Well,soon I saw my brother and his friends came out from that bay waving me goodbye so I decided to paddle in but started to from the other end than they did.
Can't describe the feeling but somehow I had faith in this place and believe me or not but after some minutes I had a real fight partner at the other end of the line,and minutes after that I posed with a ma'm measured 106 cm.

My "dream season" seem to continue,oh maaaaaaan this really made my day but there was more to come.
from the same anchoring some casts later among all reed I felt a big heavy tug and If possible this ma'm was even more aggressive then the first one,she made a super nice jump high up from the water,and "danced" on the surface with only her tail touched the water,shame I didn't have my GoPro cam with me.

A 102 cm very skinny ma'm Made this day to one of my best this summer,Had to just sit and enjoy this feeling,it might be ordinary stuff for someones but for me this was dream fishing.
Had me some coffee and sandwiches and wonder should it be better stop fishing here with a superb feeling or just continue even if it could be blank from now on.
Had my kayak in perfect position to cast in every direction so I decided to make some more casts,dropped some small ones,landed some small ones and I was just about to move on couple meters when i once again felt something bigger at the end of the line and even if it wasn't a + 100 cm it was big enough for me to call this a "big gun" and made this to my most memorable day for a long time

Even if there would have been hours to fish I decided to not tempt fate,no need to be too rapacious now when I already have had the time of my life so I started to slowly paddle back to the shore with a big smile on my face and with a happy mind,this is how all hobby should feel.

3 days of fishing.

Was a bit afraid if the water has become too warm for pike fishing but decided anyway go out paddling  with some coffee and food with me just in case that my day would turn into a fuckin picknick instead of fishing.
I had a four day off from fishing because last time I was fishing I got me a bad..no...I mean BAD !!! sunburn on my legs which was aching so much I barely could walk.

But everything except the weather was fine for some fishing/paddling so out on the water was the name of the game.
The weather was extremely hot so I had no big expectations for today  but I love to be out at sea so no panic.
paddled around casting every now and then,landed some small jacks,took some photos and just enjoying the silence and the landscapes.

After a couple of hours paddling around I stepped on a small islet to eat something,and while I was eating I noticed that the wind went stronger and stronger and after 15 minutes there was whitecaps on the waves.
Now I started to believe that I could land some bigger fishes but very soon I found that it was too dangerous to continue fishing so I paddled along the shoreline back and ended this trip.FUCK YOU WEATHERMEN !!!!!!!!

Next day seemed to to be a bit better even if it was very hot there was at least some light breeze so....why not.

Knew the wind direction and planned my trip on that base.
from the first three-four hours there's not much to tell you about,some small jacks and coffee breaks.

Was already about to give it up but decided to checkout one more place and go home for dinner.
Thank god I decided to fish this place,landed three pretty decent sized fishes in no time.let my kayak drift along the shoreline and about two hundred meters before the end a train hit my fly and I knew it was more then just a "nice" pike,put some pressure on the fish and with a landing net I managed to land the fish before it was too exhausted.
a nice 102 cm mam was the result of the last spot.Fishing feel so good right now.

It's always nice to end fishing after a 100 cm (39 inch) fish.

Next morning when I woke up I had a strange feeling inside me,I wasn't sure if I wanna go fishing,had me some breakfast while I was looking out from my livingroom window.
The sky was grey,no wind,very hot.
after an hour of thinking should I go or not I finally decided to go.

I was at the shore about 10 am and a 150 km driving changed the weather too,it was sunny,not so warm because of a pretty fresh wind and of course it was against me first 4 km:s but it console me a bit to think that on my way home I'm gonna go with a tailwind.

Anyway,it was very heavy to paddle so I was in a need for a break right after the first planned spot which gave me a blank draw after an hours trying.
 I wanted to have something to eat but not in my kayak,saw a small islet and decided to have my break on it.

i felt much better after some sandwiches and coffee and started to paddle to my next spot which wasn't too far away.
Not too far before I landed my first one and a minute after that I dropped two in a row,fished a couple of spots until I arrived to my final destination,expectations was sky high....
Two hours later and only four small buggers was definitely not what I expected from this place...
I was sooooooooo fuckin disappointed I needed a second break right now......

While I was drinking some coffee I desperately tried to figured out what to do,got two solutions:
Number one was to paddle back to the shore which was almost first on my list.
Number two was to go a bit further to a place which I had not fish for a while.
I decided to paddle back......Paddled about hundred meters before I suddenly changed my mind,fuck,I'm on holiday,where and why hurry,took me about twenty minutes to get to my destination.
Weather had also  changed from sunny to cloudy and the wind was even more fresh then at morning,whitecaps here and there,thought about my paddling back,4 - 4.5 km with a sidewind and rest 5 km: with tailwind.
Biggest issue was:is there a thunder on it's way?

 
I was here now and nothing I could do about it anymore,looked at my watch,an hour max to fish.
Started to fish among the reed but after about 30 minutes I had only one contact which I dropped just behind my kayak,a very small one so no matter.
Changed the position a bit and with my third cast just outside the bed of reed I felt a heavy hit and the battle was on.
A very aggressive mam who dived under the kayak,30 meter long runs into the reeds,at one time I thought I dropped it and that my lure had twisted itself round some reed.I ripped and ripped and felt she was still hooked,Oh boy what a ride but after some minutes she was landed.
Could not get an exact measure of her but somewhere between 100 and 106 cm,who care,a big gun at least for me.

As you can see she didn't wanted to co-operate in photos either.
This really made my day,decided to start paddling home,but just a couple casts more and with my third or fourth cast (can't remember) BOOM, once again a heavy hit,
Not a big fight with this one as with the first one but man.....for some of you this might be ordinary but for me it was fishing of my life,second +100 cm in 15 minutes,third in two days.

NOW it really was time to stop,felt so damn good I didn't wanted to ruin everything with "empty" casts.
The wind from side didn't felt bad at all,my thoughts was completely somewhere else.
Wonder what this fella thought about my paddling back to shore with a big stupid smile on my face.

Some fishing 2-3/7

After my last 33 km long paddling i had aching feet and neck and also shoulders so I wasn't out on water before around 10 am and when I came to the shore I noticed a very strong wind but after all driving here i decided to  give it a try anyway.
Immediately after I paddled out from that sheltered bay I met the rage of the sea in form of that wind and big waves,for my kayak those waves were huge,liters of water splashed in my kayak and I was on my way to give up but managed to paddle behind an small islet to think about my next move.
I didn't dare go on paddling further on to any good spots so nothing else to do then to start looking for some fishes from where I was.
After two and a half hour fishing this same small area was a bit annoying so I decided to move on,if the wind would be too strong I would give up and paddle back to the dock with help of a massive tailwind.
And as I feared I had not a slightest chance to go on so I just changed course and gave up,nothing more to tell you about this short trip.

Next day I woke up a bit earlier and a after some breakfast into the car and a hours drive and launched my kayak and out on the water.
A light breeze,sunshine,some clouds on the sky made my feelings a bit mixed,not a fishing weather in any meaning but I have had some tremendous fishing sessions in these weather conditions  so I felt pretty reliant.

On my way to the first planned spot I decided to spent some time close to a range of rocks,just for fun actually but after about fifteen minutes I had landed just one XS-sized bugger so I decided to go on to my first planned spot.
It could not have started better,first cast and fish on,a small one but you know....a planned place,first cast...fish on,it simply taste good.

Fished this spot for a while with a feeling this place could hide some surprises but after a while I decided to go on but also planned to stop here on my way back to the dock.
Paddled to the shore of a small islet and eat some sandwiches and continued with fishing,also some photos of both fishes and landscapes.

While I was paddling a little bit longer trip from a spot to another my thoughts went couple of weeks back when I landed two +100 cm fishes,oh man it would be nice to feel that heavy hit again,but it was time to stop daydreaming and get back to reality.
Once again,first cast,fish on but I dropped it just behind the kayak,no matter it was a small one anyway.
Let my kayak drift slowly along the reed line made some casts when suddenly BAM,a really heavy attack and I knew this was a way better size fish then the other caught today,it was a short but intensive fight,and when the pike was to surrender I thought it might be better using a landing net instead of a chingrip to be able to release the fish in the water due to the watertemp.
Made some new adjustments on my camera yesterday and this was a good chance to test it again.
here's the result.

104 cm:s pure steel in form of a nice summer pike.
It was good to end this day here,didn't even stop at my first spot anymore.

An adventure 1/7 2013

Vacation is on and I desperately wanted to fulfill  a plan of go fishing to my childhood places were I fished for first time in my life.
Had study the map and drove with my car around to find a place to launch my kayak from and after a while I had everything sorted out so early on Monday morning I started my adventure which I had waited for for a long time now was about to start.
5.15 am my tour started.

As you can see on the photo above there was potential fishing area right from the start and even if the water was murky I every now and then made some casting but without any results.
After half an hour I arrived to a wider place on this river which was some kind of a graveyard for some old ships.
I forgot to fish for a while and paddled around these wrecks,very interesting in my opinion.

Spent here a while wondering why these ships were left here,anyway it must be a long time ago looking at the condition of them.
The first river section was about 5 Km long with good looking fishingspots  but not until the end of it were there was a open area I was able to land my first river pike,a very small one but...a pike is a pike and the game was on .

Paddled to the start of the second river section and let the boat slowly drift along the river when I suddenly drifted over a deep pit and what did I see in my echo sounder.

Big fish.Drifted a bit away and throw the anchor and started to cast into that pit and with my third cast I felt a heavy hit but dropped it after just two,maybe three seconds and after that,nothing.
Tried different tricks but nothing seemed to help so I decided to give up and go on.
Drifted along and fished and took some photos too,this is an "must" place later on autumn,only thing that this is an hours paddling away from the dock and even if it smells pike this place did not have any evidences  yet.

A minute after I took the photo above I felt a hit on my spinnerbait and knew it was a slightly better sized  fish and I wasn't gonna drop this one and after a couple of minutes I landed a nice madam and had a chance to test my new camera mounting.

Not the best quality but I'm sure you can see what it's all about :)
Still need some adjustments.
Anyway,drifted further and further from the dock and closer and closer for my final destination.Landed a fish every now and then,took some photos more.

I found a large or should I say huge area one to two meter deep with a lot of Lily pads,and a lot of pikes too.
Landed several pikes here,all of them XS or S sized,it was a bit difficult to get a "clean run" but almost every time you managed to do so you caught a pike.Very interesting place.

The clock was ticking and a quick check on my GPS showed me it was not a long way to go anymore and finally after a small islet I saw a familiar sight that I still remember even if it was a long time since I last saw it.

.

It was a pretty emotional moment paddling closer to that bay were I fished for first time in my life and spent so many years fishing with my dad.
When I went to the bay I took some time to just paddling around while taking photos,and living up to old,very old memories.
Decided to anchoring for a while to have something to bite.
Here is some photos from a bay that was a awesome fishing area for me when i was a child.

And of course coming from so far and after such a long time back here there has to be some fishing too.
Could not remember the best places anymore so I just had to try my luck,and after some dropped fishes I finally manged to land a small bugger.
Yes,a small one but this one got a special place in my heart.
Here it is,a shitty photo but a pike caught on same hoods I caught my very first pike for over
 40 YEARS AGO !!!

Everything end at some time so even this nice adventure,paddling back,caught some fishes,took some photos but my mind was somewhere else.
Went back to the dock 8.15 pm,fifteen hours and 33 km:s later,was exhausted but happy and felt very relaxed.
Not sure if I ever will be back here,feel like this was kinda trip I just wanna do once,but we'll see.