Mika Lappalainen | Friday, 17 May 2019
So today I started my summer fishing season. We have private small pond (I think you called pond because it is only about 3 hectare). On that water we have naturally whitefish, perch and pike, but we also stock some rainbow trout also in there every second year. It is closed water so rainbow trouts can’t escape. There is 4 streams coming, two of those are from spring and one stream is leaving. So there is always fresh water.
We had group today fishing in the pond. I cleaned road from snow last weekend and I was hoping that it would dry so we don’t have muddy walk to pond. My hope didn’t come true and road was still wet and really muddy today when we walked to pond, but it was luckily drivable with ATV so we got all the stuff to pond. ( cooking equipment, water etc) So group arrived and we started to walk after 15 minutes we arrived to our fireplace where fishing gears were allready waiting guests.
I gave short info about fishing and which decks to use. They splitted as pairs so each pair had landing net and I told that I will take one person by boat on the middle. Everyone moved to they fishing spots and I went to boat. I just started to give lifejacket to fisherman that we could take off when I heard ”Fish on” from deck which is next to the boat. I took landing net and went to land nice about 1 kg rainbow trout. It was his first cast and boom. While we were landing the fish I heard yelling from other side of pond. They caught tree and one guy was climing like monkey to tree and saved the lure.
I was clearing lure from landing net when other guy was walking to me with landing net and fish inside. I started to clear that one and loose hook when next one was coming. So they got 3 rainbow trout just in 10 minutes. I told to guests that now you have to manage without me and I will go to fireplace to clean and fillet the fishes so we can flame them as lunch. I was just ready with first three ones when man from other side came to fireplace….. holding two trouts in his hands. In that point I noticed that I need to have some coolers to keep fishes okay. We had agreement that we cook some as lunch and rest they can take with them and make dinner in their lodge.
So I took ATV and went to pick coolers from farm and when I came back there was 2 more trouts on cleaning place. Everyone we sitting on fireplace and enjoying their lunch which Satu had made during I was gone. Result was that 7 fishermen and 7 rainbow trout, only after one hour fishing. So we had long lunch and talk about fishing etc. After lunch we walked back to farm and byebye. I went to pick up fishing gears and fished about 30 minutes but no even bite. Our pond is like that. When you fish right time….. well you get plenty of fish and then it is dead. It is most of fishing, right place, right timing, right lures… fish… and then if not dead, it means lot of work to get one. But it was nice start for guiding season and I know that we have fish in pond so during the summer I can go and have a good time.
The real fishing is season is so close that I can taste it allready. Only two weeks and rivers are open. It has been long winter as always. Snow is gone now and water levels are rising as they should in this point. Now sun is setting at 10.39 pm and rising 3.24 am. It means that there is no darkness anymore and you can manage without light outdoors 24 hours.
Have a nice weekend and go fishing
Mika from Finland
Ps. on the photos there is flood in Oulanka river and photo of baby reindeer who is 12 hours old + gears for summer.
