Coming clumsy

Coming clumsy

Mika Lappalainen | Friday, 9 October 2020

I laughed to my friend during summer, when he had problems with wading without wading stick. He told me that he had started to use it during this summer when he felt that he is not sure about wading anymore. We talked about that he said that before he was fine but this summer he needed to have one. He is one year older than me and we laughed that I will need wading stick next year when reaching his age.

During the summer I had few situation that I felt same way like my friend but I accused shoes and bad studs on those. I changed studs and things were better. So it was studs which made my wading difficult. On last Sunday I went fishing and checked also new spot. River is same which I fish in this time normally but stream was new one. It is short stream with some really nice spots.

While wading I noticed two things. Rocks were slippery under water but also not stable at all. Slippery is pretty obvious thing. Reason for unstable stones we have to go back on time about 80 years. That river like many others in Finland have route for logs. When they have been harvesting forest streams and rivers have been main route how to get cutted trees to harbor by the sea. They have made in middle channel for logs. When they have done that water (and logs) has more straight line to go downstream. It means also that everything smaller like sand and gravel has been swipe out from stream. Now when they have renewing this streams there is no material which would attach stone as they have been. Of course they make gravel and sand beds that fish can do spawing but most of stones are loose and can’t be trusted.

So my clumsiness had reason. Thank god, I’m not getting old. But….

When I was heading again in to river after break, I saw good spot. There was stone close to the shore and from that it looked easy way to go on river. Between shore and rock there was some gray stuff and leaves over that, water just barely running over that. So I thought that another rock, I step on that and jump on another, simple plan. Great plan which I have been doing many times in different places, I’m like mountain goat jumping on stones. That how you want think about yourself.

So first step and nothing, no stone, no rock, just leaves and I felt down over next rock, hitting my knee. Going over that planned stone and on my hands. I had rod in my hand so I kind of throwed that out from hand to water that I won’t break it. First thouhgt, idiot, second one, is rod all right, third, if reel and line are okay. Then if wading shoes are still fine. And last one if I hurt myself. Everything was okay so I could keep fishing.

So maybe I’m getting old and clumsy after all and I need to learn how to fish with wading stick. We see that on next summer. I have had stick in garage 3 seasons now and once I had tried. It would be great help but I’m not that old yet.

About fishing, it was okay, not big graylings but fishing was good like it is everytime when you are doing it.

Have a nice weekend

Mika the legend