Ghost fish and the one which will haunt me

Since that we have been doing ice-fishing trip every year together with Satu. We have been using cabin behind Kebnekaise, which is highest mountain in Sweden. In fact in one of those trip 2014 I propose Satu and she said yes, so we have been married now 5 years ( 6.6. is official day). Our trips have been more or less in beginning of May. It is beautiful views, nice fishing and some adventerous snowmobiling. Every year we have had one snow storm day and sometimes really difficult conditions to return. But those are just good memories.

This year we had our kids with us. We have been planning this quite long and now it was kind of last call. They start to be teenagers so soon they are more keen to boy and girlfriends than parents. Last Thursday at 5 am we started to drive from home. We drove 8 hours to Nikkaluokta and then 2 hours with snowmobiles to cabin. Totally with breaks and unpacking and packing it took 12 hours to get there. And like always it felt like coming home when you see cabin from high up. Cabin is by the lake and it is good lake to fish. When we arrived to cabin Stugvärden (google says landlord but that is not correct translation,  he is more like cabin manager) was greeting us smiling like always and we hucked. During these years we have become friends and they have been there 25 years in each winter. Couple is now about 75 years old and they really make you feel like home.

On first evening we just got settle down and did some routines, carried water from lake, chopped wood for heating etc. Next morning after breakfast we had naps. Weather was bad and we were in holiday so we could wait couple more hours. Then fishing on the lake. First we need to shovel about 40 cm snow layer of the snow and then I drilled holes. There was about 160 cm ice and our ice drill got thru just barely. If we would’t shovel snow then there was no change to get thru. I made 5 holes so each of us could have one. After short fishing Aino, my youngest daughter caugt nice one. Then some bites to others also and I got small one. In that point I decide to go make some holes in other places which has been hot spot in earlier years. Same thing shovel snow, make hole etc. I made 5 holes and fished shortly. I got only small ones, so I return to others. They had some bites and small ones but not big ones. Wind and snowing was getting heavier so we decided to return cabin and have dinner.

Next morning it was sunny and really beautiful day coming so we headed to lake where we got engaged with Satu. When we were in half way I noticed that we don’t have matches with us so I had to return to cabin to get ones. During that kids were having fun with sled, all the fjells (mountains) are great sledding hills. Eventually we got to lake and noticed that there were other people also. Lake is quite big but ”my” hot spots were occupied so we had to select place I haven’t fish never before. For our luck it was good spot during that day. Anni and Aino got nice size fish and also Satu and Juha got some smaller ones. We were fishing about 6 meter deep water. I fished some shallow water, only 1 meter under ice and got couple okay fish. During the fishing we had nice campfire and lunch break. Life couldn’t be better.

Last whole day. In the morning I went with Anni (my older dauhgter) to check bait rods ( not right translation, in Finnish it is ootto-onki, which means rod with bait which is waiting fish to strike), there was nothing. Weather was really bad with wind and rain. So we decided to go sledding which means that I would took her up with snowmobile and she would do sledding down. And then to next mountain. We had blast about two hours and she had sledding hill with 250m height difference in 1 km distance. In afternoon weather was clearing and we went fishing. Others were having naps. We drove again in one of my favourite spots on home lake but got only small ones. Afterwhile we decided to go back nearby cabin to fish. On the way back I noticed some old holes so we stopped to try those. Those holes were in middle of lake where I had never fished before but I had experience that big ones likes to swim in deep waters. So we opened holes and started to fish.

Anni got one small one and I was fishing about 3 meters from her. There was about 7 meters water and Anni was fishing just about 50 cm about above bottom so I lift my jig higher. I started to fish in about 5 meter deep. After couple of minutes I felt that something was pushing jig sideway. I lifted it 10 or 20 cm more and I got heavy bite. I made counter but fish didn’t made it normal pull back. I started to lift line by hands. I felt that fish was big and I told Anni that now I have big one. It made one heavy pull and I gave some line between fingers and then kept taking line in. I had to be careful not to tangle with line because wind had turned so it was blowing from right and that was direction where I lifter extra line. ( so wind was blowing line over hole). Fish was coming up really easy and on that point I had no idea how much line I have left to pull. My hole was full of slush so I couldn’t see what is happening in tube. Suddenly I felt that fish is in the tube and I could see that water was rising in hole. ( that hole was made with 6 inch/15 cm drill). So I knew that fish is in tube and coming up, that was also sign that it is big one. I could feel how fish started to swim up in tube and I start to make last lift to get fish on ice. Line slipped little bit on my hands in first time and I had to grab line little bit too high and couldn’t get long last lift like I wanted. I made final lift to get fish on the ice. What happened next was like slow motion movie with no sound effect….. I saw water coming out of hole, I saw head of fish and my jig…. and I felt how hook took off. Only to jig was going on the ice about 2 meters from me and fish was loose. Because fish was swimming up from tube it finnished it swim and came almost totally out from hole. I could see beautiful white edge in fin, burning orange belly, copper green side…. then fish slipped back to slushy hole. I was numb, so numb that I couldn’t even try to get fish from hole diving after, which would be difficult because I was about 50 cm higher than hole level. I was shocked. It was monster fish, queen of fishes. I won’t lie if I say it was more than 2 kg fish. Afterwhile Anni got strike from same fish and then it was gone.

Those fish are truly ghost. Small ones you can find easily, basicly lakes are full of those but big ones…. They come and go even there is lot of big ones also in lakes but to get them strike. One day it doesn’t matter where and how you fish and you get plenty of them, next day might feel like the whole lake is empty. That fish will haunt me long time. I have had strikes from big ones every year but this was first I could see. I have had good fishing every year and some decent fishes around 1 kg but monster…..

Ou,…. what is this ghost fish, queen of fishes? It is arctic char. It is most beautiful fish I have ever seen, orange belly, white edge in fin, copper green side. I will take whiskey for her tonight. She beat me and I will go back. Mountains, snow, fishing and company, it is perfect closure to winter season. We had great time with family and fishing.

Have a nice weekend

Mika from Finland

Ps. on the way back snow had dissapearred from trail and we had to cross rivers with open water by snowmobiles, our car broke and we had to get rental car to get home. My car is in workshop 450 km from here…. what a adventure it was.