Mika Lappalainen | Friday, 15 May 2020
Last week we decided that we will renew one of our room. We call it back room, but it is kind of guest/kid/drying/work cloth/flytying room, depending who is using it. Before we could start I had to made some room in garage, means sort and clean up. Well it was about time anyway. We have lived here now 5 years and some of moving boxes are still unpacked.
Monday I started in garage, re-organizing cabinets and shelves. Tuesday I had to go fix fence between paliskunta so reindeer are not passing border so easily. We fix it once but snow had broke some areas again. And on the way back it hit. I was driving snowmobile back home when suddenly it basicly sunk. It went thru snow and sink on slush, 80 cm of snow, ice and water. I would say shithole. Impossible to get it up alone without gears. So I walked 3 km in snow which was now and then (more now than then) deceiving under me. So I found myself quite often in the snow all the way up my balls. Finally I got out and Satu pick me up by the road. Wednesday I had to go rescue snowmobile early in the morning when we had cold night and snow was hard enough even walk. My originally plan was going fishing. (it was my birthday and Satu gave me day off). So after couple of hours I got snowmobile out and back to home. After that I went scout some rivers because summer have to come eventually. It was looking good but I’m not sure if there will be still snow on the shore when season starts. It does not really matter.
So Thursday I continued sorting and cleaning. And I found photos I have been missing years. I knew that we had them somewhere but never thought they would be in garage. Photos were from hiking and fishing trip which I did about 20 years ago. It was small river up in the mountains and weather during fishing was rainy and kind of shitty but fishing was good. I got lot of artic char, not big ones but even smaller ones were great. It was river I found myself just looking maps and thinking maybe it could be worth of hike. Later I have returned to this river and it was even better than first time. On later trip I fished down part of river and there was lot of big graylings and some nice trout also.
The photo I had really missed was about my first over 50 cm grayling. It was on same trip but different river which is achievable by car. I saw rises on the middle of the river. So I wade closer to reach that spot. At the same time there was two other fishermen down from me and I heard that one of them got pike with nymph. I was fishing with dry fly and suddenly I got rise but fish missed the fly. And it happened twice after that, I start to think that it has to be lunitic pike, which earlier took nymph. On fourth time fish took the fly. I had no idea what fish it was, I kind of felt that it was big. After some time fish came so close that I could see its back fin. It was huge and fish was big grayling. I almost went in panic because I realized that it was record breaking fish. I try to net it few times but I couldn’t do it. At the same time one fisherman came on the shore and asked if I need help. I said yes and he but net in the water and fish basicly rushed to the net. ( I think I have been telling story earlier but now I have photos to proof that it really happened.)
It was just first of many big graylings but it was first one and I can still remember it like yesterday. Life is made out of stories, good and bad ones but those are something to remember when you are getting old.
Have a nice weekend
Mika from Finland
Ps. Happy ZZTop day, it is 15th of May
