Got blanked, again

On Friday, right after the work I once again headed to the coast, trying to get some contact to seatrouts. I was a bit worried about the wind so I took both my fly rod and baitcasting rod with me. While driving along the sea, I noticed that the weather was not that bad, I could easily use my fly rod. Great!

Once I got to the outer shore, I noticed that the waves were much higher than they seemed to be and the water looked clear but it was very murky in reality. The water was grey! They are digging the ship routes deeper and all the fine sediments flush to the shores now. It's fucked up because it will ruin all the seatrout fishing in this area for this season.

Grey waters.

Despite the wind, my rod and line played very well together, I could still fling the fly out for about 20 meters straight through that head wind. Also some cool currents were there, flowing through the rocky lagoon, between the shore and a little rocky island. If the water would have been clear, I'd be 100% sure to catch something from that stream.

Cool currents.

Sunset was close and I fished until it was time to go back to my car before it was too dark to climb on those slippery rocks. I took a few more pictures and had a little sightseeing on this nice outer island.

Waves hitting the outermost rocks.

When I walked through the pine forest in almost pitch black, I faced another problem. I was in the middle of a network of old trenches, dating back to second world war. Took a little time to navigate through there as it was too dark to start leaping over them.

Shallow shore.

Finally I found a way to the road and to my car, the trip was finally over. Nice fishing, great surroundings once again.

Hunt for the silver.

Right after the work I put on my waders, loaded my car and headed to sea. I had a nice hour and a half to try for some seatrout on a fly. Weather was nice, wind was tolerable and old waves hit the shore gently, making the water flow just nicely. Still no bites at all, which was not a surprise but the surroundings were phenomenal. Wading in the deeper inner lagoon while the waves break in the outer reef, swans and other birds swimming by, wondering what the hell was I doing there. I enjoyed the golden hour and fished until the dark.

Golden hour.

This was my first trip with my new seatrout outfit. The rod was TFO Ticrx 7wt, the reel was Nautilus FW7+ and the line I used now was Guideline Coastal slow intermediate in 7wt also. It worked like a charm, casting was easy and effortless and I could get good distances with minimal effort even with moderate headwinds.

New outfit under testing.

This is a good start. I'll be doing this sport until the sea gets frozen. Hopefully I get to catch something too although it's not very important. 

Therapy fishing

I had a plan I'd go fishing this morning. I looked outside and the temperature was -5.5'c, way too cold for fly fishing so I had to wait until afternoon. The water has still been messed up in the coastal areas so I decided I'd go to a little quiet river once again.

When I got the shore, first thing to do was to break the ice inside my boat. It took a bit of violence before that two inch thick ice was in pieces. All the stuff on board and off we go!

The water was very clear and the weather was calm. All the shallow coves were frozen from the surface. I tied one of my latest fly patterns to the end of my line. Those flies really had some great moves underwater. They pulsate like jellyfish and they also have jerkbait-like gliding action in both vertical and horizontal directions. When the stripping is paused, they sink very very slowly. Perhaps I'll try to add some thin saddle hackles or similar to give the fly even more movement under water.

It's getting icy.

First cast and while testing how the fly moves, first little jack attacks from beneath and goes straight past the fly, wondering where did the bright colored bugger go.  Rest of the day went just the same way. I landed a total of 8 pikes in about two hours but the size was a disaster, almost all of them were under 1 kg. Nonetheless, It was so damn interesting to see those pike rushing to the fly and I saw many of them, 35-40 pcs in total. Water was 2-3'c and the pikes were so clumsy that only few of them hit the fly. I also lost two bigger fish after a careful take as they only grabbed the tail of the fly and started pulling. First one made a huge wave after hitting the fly and the second on was on for about 5 seconds. During that 5 seconds it pulled like a maniac and opened its mouth and the fly was let loose once again. After the last missed fish, I frustrated and turned back to the shore. On the way there I got a few more little jacks and saw about a dozen of them trying to eat my fly.

 

As a conclusion, It was awesome to see those little jacks ambushing their prey. I've never had a change to see so much underwater action on one trip. Too bad most of the fish were so small.

I must tie more of these.

Still I got to admire those little pikes, one of them had the guts to rush for the fly five or six times before actually hitting it. It seems that cold water really makes things small.....

Winter is coming, part 1

It's this time of the year again, fishing can be excellent at times but choosing the correct clothing could be difficult. A few thoughts about clothing when fishing from boat, mainly about gloves and headwear:

Mornings are cold as temperatures are usually close or below 0'c. Sun is also still hiding for the first moments of the fishing trip, especially when travelling to hot spots by boat so it will get chilly. Most important thing would be to keep your head warm as it will dissipate most of the heat from your body. It is also quite difficult to cover your head well enough when travelling at higher speeds. Ultimate solution would be a well fitting neoprene hood that keeps the wind away as the normal headgear lets the wind between the hat and the head.

Need to get me one of these.

Ursuk is one manufacturer whose products are easily available here and the hood in the picture is priced at about  22 euros, very tolerable price for comfort on the seas.

Another critical piece of clothing is gloves. I still have not found gloves 100% suitable for fly fishing but I have been close. I have carried at least two pairs of gloves with me, thick neoprene ones for travelling by boat and normal fleece gloves for fishing. Depaul Design's cheap orange gloves have been quite nice, they are warm even when wet but they are also a bit too thick so the feel is not too good.

Another nice pair of fishing gloves is Snow Fox's thin neoprene gloves. They offer a very nice feel and the grip is excellent. They don't last too long though but it is not an issue as they only cost ~6 euros a pair. Not the ultimate solution for warmth.

When fishing from boat, your feet usually get cold very easily. I bought myself a pair of safety boots as they have a nice soft sole with a lot of grip even on wet fiberglass. Always buy shoes that have enough room for at least double socks without being tight. I like to use thick wool socks in my boots.

Decisions to be made once again

I think it's time to end pike fishing season in the northern archipelago as all the murky waters of the river delta flow through it and make the fishing too difficult. Also it's a pain in the ass to move there by boat as all the underwater rocks are invisible now. This also renders a great deal of excellent pike fishing grounds further north totally useless. Luckily the western and southern coast will still produce some nice pike fishing as soon as the water gets clear after the last week's gale. But the jerkbaits won't be used this season anymore, as I only used them once this year and the only reason why I used them was the murky waters and one lure maniac in the boat on our last trip.

On the other issue that has been on my mind for more than a year now: I need a new boat. I have little rowboat by a little river in the middle of wilderness where it suits very well. On a trailer, I have a strange looking 4.5m long combination boat that was originally intended for both sailing and motor use. It has a full length, 30cm deep keel and it has some weight as a ballast. It has some nice features, it's very sturdy for its size and one could stand  on the side without excessive roll at all. It's also very good when letting it drift in the wind and the sides are not too high for pike fishing when behind some protecting archipelago.

On the other hand, it's very slow so I need to use a lot of time when travelling longer distances and it is way too small and low sided for the windy days and open seas. Also it is rather heavy for its size and the keel makes it run quite deep.

I've been looking for a center console boat in about 5 meter class with a 40-70 hp outboard motor. It seems that used boat market is way out of balance as the offering of such boats suitable for fly fishing is minimal compared to the demands. The prices are sky high and when a suitable boat comes on sale, it will be sold instantly if the price is somewhat right.

It seems that the boats larger than 5 meters are much less wanted. For normal pike fishing, a boat of 5.5-6 meters might feel like a little overkill and it will be difficult to maneuver when in the middle of rocks. Also the trailing will be difficult, as I need to change my car also. But on the other hand, there is no boat big enough when travelling to outermost seatrout islands through the cross currents and those bigger boats are available at very decent prices. It really makes me think.

Oh no, it's far too complicated once again. And it's getting expensive for todays engineer salaries. A boat, a car, my god.......

And now I'm gonna take a phone call for one 5.6 meter boat with a 70 hp motor. Good bye dear money, see you again in 10 years...

It's getting more and more difficult

This morning I took my boat on a trailer with me and drove to the rocky and shallow archipelago. Pasi drove from Tampere to meet me at the shore where I had time to put the boat in the water before he arrived.

It was a bit tricky to open knots from the ropes as they were all frozen. Also my depthfinder was unreadable at that temperature. Luckily it was sorted out when sun started to shine and the air warmed up a bit.

We headed to the other side of the bay, which is full of nice shallow and rocky coves. When I first saw the water, I knew it's gonna be difficult; The water was like coffee with a dab of cream and it was low, about 50 cm below normal level. Also all the rocky shores and little islets looked so different now. This is more than enough to upset the big mamas.

We started fishing from one of the rocky lagoons where Pasi had a pike mayhem on our previous trip. Pasi is a die hard lure maniac and I also decided it would be easiest to use jerkbaits instead of flies. With this visibility, we needed to fish every square meter of water very carefully because the lure was only visible until the depth of 15 cm. Getting strikes from there would be almost impossible.

We fished the first rocky pools which smelled like pike. Not a single bite, not a surprise though.

We moved further on until we arrived to vast shallow reed beds between two bigger islands. As we started fishing the long passages in the reed bed area, water started to flow in from the outer sea. This water was much clearer now and I could see my lure again.

The place was more than ideal for big autumn pikes and the water looked fine now. Still no bites. More casting to the lonely rocks inside the coves. FISH ON! A small little bugger, WAIT A MINUTE, It is not a pike at all.

Yeah, it's silver, not gold....

I had to take a picture from the bloody bream that was really hooked from its mouth. I've got plenty of them with jerkbaits and pike flies hooked from the sides or the neck but none has been hooked from the mouth before.

So we fished and fished, place after place and still no bites. I was getting frustrated as we had fished reed beds, rocky lagoons, deeper banks etc. and still nothing.

Smells like 'big mama'

We checked more places with the same results, nothing at all. Best offering was the coffee break between two island that gave us some shelter from the cold wind. It was unbelievably warm and relaxing to drink some hot coffee in a warm autumn sun.

Nobody was home, we checked.

After the coffee break, we headed back to the shore and fished a few hot spots on the way there. With no bites at all. And someone still dares to say that it is so easy to fish pike.

Coffee, fisherman's best friend.

After all, this was a great trip. Weather was fine, it just can't get any better this time of the year. I'll have great time memorizing nice trips like this in the long winters.

Fly reels for pike, light or heavy?

Most people say that the reel is not important in fly fishing. I don't agree completely.

I've had more than half a dozen fly reels during the last two years and I have only been pleased with two of them.

The worst thing I know is an unreliable reel that does something it is not supposed to do. My Vision Koma has been a pain in the ass, although I have used in light fishing. To be honest, it's a great reel for its price, it's light, has a large arbor, the drag is excellent. But it sometimes loosens its drag on its own and the one-way clutch might slip randomly. Also I have managed to catch the spool release knob with the flyline a few times. Nicest thing to do while in the stream: Looking for your spool from the water.....

I had an Airflo-brand cassette reel as one of my pike reels. It also had a nice drag, the cassette spool system was handy and the mechanical structure felt sturdy in my hands at first. It felt solid until I got to fight a few 90+ cm summer pikes with it. It started to flex so badly that the spool hit the reel body. The flexing also caused the reel foot screws to open so the reel started to fall apart when fighting fish. It wasn't even saltwater proof. Despite all the washing with fresh water, the clicker system jammed totally because of the salt and I couldn't any more line out. This happened on a dark and foggy late autumn day when I managed to hook a 96cm fat and mean torpedo. I will never again fight a fish of that size with a seized reel.

I have a Guideline Reelmaster as one of my sea trout/pike reels. It's a nice basic reel and quite reliable too. Only it's drag system, made of brass and plastic cones, is prone to uneven operation. Also the surface finish is not smooth and might damage the fly lines. A good reel after all.

This spring I bought my second Colton, a little 3-4wt reel. It's nice and very inexpensive, I remember it cost me about 70 euros total. It's completely machined, has excellent drag and the one-way clutch is supported by ball bearings. Great reel for the price and I like it a lot. My choice for very light creek fishing.

The first Colton I bought was the Torrent, for line weights 8-10. I think it will hold a 12wt line and loads of backing. It's really a heavy duty saltwater reel for those big fast buggers from the warmer waters but the moment I really got pissed off with my previous pike reel, I decided that from now on, I will only use tackle designed for such use. I've had no regrets for that decision. I'm totally in love with this piece of equipment. It's as sturdy as it gets, no free play in any direction can be felt. Material thickness in every place of the reel is generous, this reel won't flex when reeling in that big bastard.

Pic not taken by me...

Torrent has some very nice features that I value very highly. It doesn't have a one-way bearing that is prone to failing in low temperatures. Instead it has a mechanical, quad pawl for engaging the drag. The pawl ring is made of titanium and coated with some super-plastic and they say it should last a lifetime. Don't know about that but it works like a charm. The drag itself is unbelievable, smooth as butter but has total of 18lbs of braking power, which is way more than needed for pike. I only need the use the 3-4 lowest steps. The brake adjust is very precise, drag knob is large and steps are very clear. The whole range can be adjusted in about one revolution of the knob.

As the anti-reverse pawl system is mechanical, the reel doesn't reel the line in by itself as many of the other reels do, which is nice. The feel in the retrieve is very sturdy, it screams "reliability".

Same picture as before.

The main shaft is very thick, drag seems to be sealed and the spool is suspended by a an oversized bronze bushing instead of ball bearings. Ball bearings have a habit of collecting salt and other debris inside and the bushing system seems to be almost maintenance free, just some cleaning and changing the lubricant. I got the reel at about 250e total, which is a steal for a reel of this grade. It really competes head to head with Abels etc..

The reel is quite heavy, which I first thought to make casting a bit heavier. I was wrong, it seems. It really seems that the heavy reel balances the whole rig when casting heavy lines. Now I can cast the whole 12h days with my 9wt without any sign of fatigue. Before this with the lighter reels I quickly started to feel stress in my wrist. I think that the heavy reel combined with fast casting strokes needed with my fast action rod, the reel counterbalances the weight of the line when doing casting strokes as opposed to slower action rods and lighter reels. Slower action rods seem to cause me more stress and fatigue when casting long periods anyway, I think it's a fault in my casting style as it is best suited for fast, tip action rods.

Some new 7-9wt reel is also arriving soon, I'll put some review about it when I get my hands on it.