It's been and excellent and thoroughly enjoyable six weeks. I've done a massive amount of the hidden work that keeps Sexyloops running and have really put some miles into the bike. It's interesting how much time one hobby takes - fly fishing for example takes up an enormous amount of time, so much so that I don't even think of it as a hobby. In fact it's really a way of life. After all, like many on Sexyloops, it's also a full-time job for me.

Triathlon is another major time-grabber. Even as a hobby and very much of amateur status, it still takes up around two to two and a half hours of training time every day. That's also a pretty major commitment. There are so many things I would like to do in life, like learn to play guitar, or learn some new languages, but I just don't see how I can fit these things into a life that's already very busy. In fact I haven't fished properly for a month, and that's the longest lay-off I've had in a very long time!

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When I first became a fly fishing Instructor I used to run weekend courses at Ardleigh reservoir for beginners. Now the problem I had is that flyfishing stillwaters is a huge subject, you have methods, you have seasons, knots, flies, flyline densities, trout behaviour. It’s a huge subject. And how to convey even part of this information along with learning to cast and going fishing? And so I wrote a small book.

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Fly Fishing for asp often asks for the highest possible amount of action in one's fly. Otherwise the asp will refuse nearly all of the time! One way to increase action is to learn the best retrieving techniques. The other (very important) way goes down the road of fly design.

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Last week was busy one, not because of fishing but because hay making. Beginning of July we had rain almost two weeks and temperature was around + 10 celsius. Then last week it warmed and dried so we need to make hay for wintertime. Last Thursday we started to work on 9 am and we were ready on Friday morning at 4 am. Just few hours before next rain. During the weekend we had ladies’ and master’s national finals in flyfishing in Kuusinki river. Satu took part for that. Same water will be on August when men have their finals and next year World Championship final will be held in Kuusamo.

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The name alone - Thunder & Lightning - is enough to let you know that this is a fly to have in your box. It's also a very old fly (I know I've been going on about old flies, but it's just another fascinating facet of this wonderful hobby and lifestyle, and there's *always* something new (or old?) to be (re)learned). Just imagine the feeling of catching a good fish on a pattern that's been catching fish since 1850, or earlier.

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Every angler has fishing spots that will always hold a special place in the deepest recesses of their heart and mind. It may be because of an extraordinarily special catch, or because of a unique, memorable past experience. In my case, however, it's neither.....it's something much more.

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