Yesterdays Fishing report

Yesterday was surprisingly good considering it was -2'c. We caught a total of 17 pike between the 2 boats which was even more of a surprise to me. No lunkers but two pike over 110cm and the rest Jacks of around 60-80 cm. Still, the pike are feeding up before the ice over which was encouraging. Shit 5 months of no fishing. I can see a trip to Ulf's place in a few months will be on the cards.

A day at the office

I went out yesterday for a few hours to test some new tube flies and ten or so casts in and I hooked into this nice looking girl. Several locals were fishing for perch and were not only amazed to see someone fly-fishing the area but frowned at the idea that I was specifically targeting Snotrockets. One chap was adamant that there were no pike to be found, yet to see the smile wipe off his face was priceless once he saw I had this one on. Anyway after a good 8 min or so I had the young girl in my hands, unhooked, a quick photo and then back in the water. This action though wasn't met with great cheer as I then spent the next 5 min receiving a barrage of complaints from the old boys ( All in their late 60's I might add) for slipping her back. They actually became so irate with me I had to leave the area due to the racist abuse that rained down on me. I've been here long enough to know that "Me" the fucking Englishmen know nothing about fishing and that I should fuck off back to South Africa. Ignorance is bliss I say!

Will post where I fished on my Google maps sometime tomorrow.

Google maps fishing reports

Went yesterday for a few hours to Sommarösund found on the south west of the island. A stunning bay that I had been itching to get out with waders on and chuck some fluff at Mike. Unfortunately it was a belter of a day weather wise, well over 25'c and probably got there to late & in doing so I hit my 1st blank of the season. I did have 2 Snotrockets on, but lost both withing seconds of them hitting the fly.

Click the images to go to PikeFFarticles fishing report map or go to the sidebar on the right and click on the yellow markers where the dots in the middle are.

Out & About

After pottering around in the Garden all day…………I know, go on say it!…….well a mans got to earn his points wherever he can get them, I say. Anyway I drove a few km’s up the road from my place half way between Björköby & Replot and chucked some fluff around the shallows with the hope that maybe a snot-rocket might be looking for a tasty morsel in the way of one of my flies, but unfortunately for me I hit a blank.

In my defense though, water temps are barely above 3’c and there was plenty of ice still floating about. I did manage to see an Osprey & 2 White tailed eagles flying around, as well as numerous wading birds resting up in the shallows…..so not all was lost.

Go to the Google maps in the side bar to see where I was.Green markers with dots in the middle

Cobwebs dusted

Woke up yesterday morning with a hangover from hell from the previous nights family gathering. Copious quantities of alcohol and good food made getting out of bed nigh impossible but I was determined to dust off the cobwebs once and for all with a short session before breakfast. The water is still way too cold for me to be positive about catching any pike……..maybe in a week or so conditions will improve enough, although pike here still have the spawning period to contend with - (Well that’s what I was telling myself)

Anyway Lena & I headed back to Söderudden where I nearly sank Pasi’s boat last week and fished from the bank. I cant tell you how fantastic it felt to have a rod in my hand again, and to hear the distinctive sound of the fly line zipping past me back & forth with each chuck. The water was surprisingly crystal clear which made the fly extremely visible as I slowly retrieved it back with each strip. Unfortunately the wind got up and a snagged line halted any more fishing but on the whole it was positive session for all the right reasons....

Go to the Google map in the sidebar to check out where I was fishing.The Pink marker with the dot in the middle on the west of the island is the last place fished.

Don’t forget what a wise man tells you!

This has to be the worst fishing drought I’ve gone through in my life. Everyone over here in Finland has banged on about how wonderful this winter has been – with all the snow n’all ….Yet if you want my opinion and this is coming from a fly-fisherman’s perspective ………..(Shouts loudly)……”IT’S SHIT”! I’ve been locked indoors …..for what? 5 months now, having to endure all my newly found blogger friends fishing escapades. Week after week I’ve read countless tales of their own fluff chucking escapades, and looked at their smug faces as they paraded their fish porn for all & sundry …..me included! to ogle over. Its been pretty much unbearable at times.

So for the last two weeks now I’ve been out in the car doing my daily patrols around the Island…….. reconnaissance missions, I tell Lena, Looking for any openings in the ice large enough for me to go chuck some fluff at. News has spread fast here on Replot within the local community, that the mad South African is tearing up the asphalt like a man possessed, looking for any open water. Anyway I got a call from one of the them yesterday saying that he’d heard about my plight, god knows how he got my phone number …unimportant really! What was important and joy to my ears was that the small bay opposite his summer cottage had opened up sufficiently enough for me to release some of this pent up fishing angst I had coursing though my veins and was wondering if I would like to use his small rowing boat for a couple of hours……Eh yeh!, do bears shit in the woods fella?

No need to pack the car, just check the map, grab my camera And I was off. 20 min later I arrived at Pasi’s summer cottage…..dribbling profusely. Now I would have thought that seeing he’d phoned me he would have realized & understood how desperate I was to get it on! But as I’m truly exotic to these neck of the woods, no sooner had he clasped my hand to shake it was he pushing me indoors to meet his wife and have a cup of coffee & some Puula - (Finish cake). Pasi, now in his late sixties, had never heard of fly-fishing for pike let alone seen it in practice So with life stories shared and new friendships cemented.

I grabbed my rod n flies and paddled out into the small bay.

In my sheer haste to dust the cobwebs from my tackle, I had forgotten to place the plug in the bottom of the boat which Pasi had told me was hanging up outside next to the wood shed. Think I got 40m out before I heard him shouting from the bank but to be honest I thought he was just wishing me luck waving to me. It wasn’t until I saw my fly box levitating around in the back of the boat did I realize what all the commotion was about…Perrrrrrrrrkkele! I mumbled to myself (Finish expletive word that encompasses (Shit, Bugger, Bollocks, Crap all in one, depending on how you pronounce it and how many rrrrr’s you have)

Cant imagine what must have been going through Pasi’s mind as he watching me slowly sink his rowing boat. Anyway by the time I landed the half submerged craft, I was completely drenched and freezing my bollocks off. I wouldn’t have minded but I hadn’t even chucking a fly. Suppose the morel of the story is to always listen to what a wise man tells you

The pink dotted marker on the west of the island is where I was if you are interested.

PikeFFArticles new fishing reports on Google maps

With spring just around the corner and once the ice melts from the sea I thought I would add a new feature to P.FF.Articles in the way of an interactive look at where I will be fishing this season around Replot island. You will be able to follow my pike on the fly antics not only through my reports but also on the Google maps widget I have installed in the sidebar.

Each trip whether wading or on a boat, will be logged and marked down with its own co-ordinates on the map. Not only that, I will show images of where I have been for that day, What fish I have caught…if any, & with what fly, ….etc etc, so giving you all a better insight into Replot island and the world natural heritage site it belongs to.

Just for starters if you go to the map in the sidebar I have already placed the above image of the frozen sea at Korsören at Norra Vallgrund on the west coast of the island as well as where our house and office is located with regards to the island, and also my last pike on the fly session for last year at Replot harbour with some fish porn to look at.

Lastly I have an ulterior motive for doing this project. Google maps Satellite image of the island isn’t as detailed as what I think it “Should” or “Could be” especially with it being part of Finland’s only World natural heritage site ( KVARKEN). And in so plotting and recording the island in this way, I will approach Google maps at the end of this year with what I have done so far to see whether improvements can be made. Yes an ambitious & somewhat time consuming project but hopefully one that will put this wonderful area on the Map……so to speak!

Use the map as you normally would in Google maps,click and drag,increase or decrease the image as you see fit. Points marked might seem like they only have one image but sometimes might have 3 0r 4 for that specific fishing trip.