Lapland clave 2004

"Jarmo Hurri" wrote in message
...

Roger The timetable was set when Myron told me that those dates were
Roger the best for him.

Ok.

Roger I wouldn't personally mind it if it happened a week later, but
Roger I'm more than OK with the set date too =). The pictures that I
Roger included in my first post were from the first week of August so
Roger normally it is a good time of the year for that area.

I don't know if one week really makes any difference, but I guess I
would prefer the earlier week for more light (less sleep? :-)) and
maybe a bit warmer weather.

I have an idea or two about good flies, but new ideas and suggestions
are always welcome. (The hottest part of the tying season starts right
after Christmas.)

Jarmo,

Mayflies and caddisflies =)
Not the answer you wanted?
Well, here comes what I've discovered so far:

Caddisflies like elk hair caddis (hair winged caddises) with greenish body.
Actually all insect life in the area tend to have nuances of green. I think
it has to do with the greenish water.
Mayflies, also in green nuances. Last time we were up there an olive variant
of the Wulff series flies worked excellent.
Nymphs in the color "guess what", pupaes like the superpupae (olive).
Klinkhamer.
Black wooly buggers for streamers. Actually I've also tried an olive
(surprise) variant with some success.
Soft hackles in low water. Stewart's black spider. And yes, an olive
variant.

Of course almost any fly will do. It was during those days when fish weren't
cooperative that we found the color green/olive to do better than other
colors.

/Roger

Roger Well, here comes what I've discovered so far:

Roger Caddisflies like elk hair caddis (hair winged caddises) with
Roger greenish body. Actually all insect life in the area tend to
Roger have nuances of green. I think it has to do with the greenish
Roger water. Mayflies, also in green nuances. Last time we were up
Roger there an olive variant of the Wulff series flies worked
Roger excellent. Nymphs in the color "guess what", pupaes like the
Roger superpupae (olive). Klinkhamer. Black wooly buggers for
Roger streamers. Actually I've also tried an olive (surprise) variant
Roger with some success. Soft hackles in low water. Stewart's black
Roger spider. And yes, an olive variant.

The two times I've visited northern Sweden I've observed that green
Klinkhämers and Superpupas in various colors are very effective. Why
green Klinkhämers were effective seemed obvious after examining the
contents of the stomachs of a few fish: loads of some green insects
that had almost completed their metamorphosis. Last year Vaughan dug
up a couple of real hits from his vast collection of flies: the
Streaking Caddis and some *very* small fly.

The importance of mayflies up north - which is what you always hear
and read about - has fascinated me for some time. If I remember
correctly, we didn't really catch fish with adult mayfly imitations
last year, but we saw lots of these orange/brown mayflies flying
around:

http://www.cis.hut.fi/jarmo/fishing/...002/mayfly.jpg

Now what will be really interesting is to try to catch some
charr. Never caught one with fly-fishing gear before (just some small
ones with spinning gear). Any special tips for this mysterious but
delicious fish?

--
Jarmo Hurri

Spam countermeasures included. Drop your brain when replying, or just
use .

"Jarmo Hurri" wrote in message
...

Roger Well, here comes what I've discovered so far:

Roger Caddisflies like elk hair caddis (hair winged caddises) with
Roger greenish body. Actually all insect life in the area tend to
Roger have nuances of green. I think it has to do with the greenish
Roger water. Mayflies, also in green nuances. Last time we were up
Roger there an olive variant of the Wulff series flies worked
Roger excellent. Nymphs in the color "guess what", pupaes like the
Roger superpupae (olive). Klinkhamer. Black wooly buggers for
Roger streamers. Actually I've also tried an olive (surprise) variant
Roger with some success. Soft hackles in low water. Stewart's black
Roger spider. And yes, an olive variant.

The two times I've visited northern Sweden I've observed that green
Klinkhämers and Superpupas in various colors are very effective. Why
green Klinkhämers were effective seemed obvious after examining the
contents of the stomachs of a few fish: loads of some green insects
that had almost completed their metamorphosis. Last year Vaughan dug
up a couple of real hits from his vast collection of flies: the
Streaking Caddis and some *very* small fly.

The importance of mayflies up north - which is what you always hear
and read about - has fascinated me for some time. If I remember
correctly, we didn't really catch fish with adult mayfly imitations
last year, but we saw lots of these orange/brown mayflies flying
around:

http://www.cis.hut.fi/jarmo/fishing/...002/mayfly.jpg

Now what will be really interesting is to try to catch some
charr. Never caught one with fly-fishing gear before (just some small
ones with spinning gear). Any special tips for this mysterious but
delicious fish?


Ah, now there's a question for the masters of this pastime called fly
fishing. As you know I plan to hold a mini clave at Ransaran creek, this is
where you will be measured and judged ;-)

The Arctic char is among the most difficult fish to fool. This for a number
of reasons. Arctic char feed mainly on midge pupae's and a fresh water
shrimp "Mysis" of the Mysidae family and as such not often feed on caddis
and/or mayflies. At times they will however feed on these two species'
nymphs. The char's habitat often being very cold water, far north and/or in
the mountains equally often puts them in waters clear as gin. A big Arctic
char will make a sip of a rise not distinguishable from the small Arctic
char doing the same thing.

I never seem to get a grip on how these fish feed. Some of the mystery, I
guess, has its answer in the fact that when feeding on Mysidae or Diptera
there is often an abundance of these in the water and you can cast until
your arm fall off without success. When the char is feeding on such insects
I often, and not without success, trick them with a method that will induce
a take (slightly unethical). I watch them feed as they cruise by and try to
figure out where they are going. Once I think I have a clue I cast a large
caddis fly in their path. Then when the char approaches I simply strip the
fly in front of the fish. Mind you, it doesn't work all the time.

Also, the bigger the char the more difficult. Where you would use a streamer
on a big trout you're not likely to have the same kind of success with this
particular fish. I've seen lb 11 Arctic char feed on Mysis only to duck away
from more than twenty different nymph imitations and streamers presented by
me. Imagine the feeling of seeing such a fish in a 4 yard wide crystal clear
stream, imagine also that you were able to approach to a point within reach
of a cast. Then you get to see this huge fish ignore everything you can
think of.

Sometimes these fish actually rise to caddis or mayflies, often this
coincide with a major hatch. You can sometimes see them rise without any
obvious surface activity regarding insects. At times you're so completely
emptied of ideas that you start thinking of giving up fly fishing.

God, I love this fish. So beautiful and so damn hard to catch.

/Roger

Now what will be really interesting is to try to catch some
charr. Any special tips for this mysterious but delicious fish?

Roger Ah, now there's a question for the masters of this pastime
Roger called fly fishing. As you know I plan to hold a mini clave at
Roger Ransaran creek, this is where you will be measured and judged
Roger ;-)

Yes, I remember this plan very well with great pleasure. :-) Hmm, I
tried to look through my files, but I couldn't find the planned date
for this event. Was it right after midsummer (or before it)? I've got
to secure the home front well ahead.

Anyway, lo and behold, I picked up the newest copy of "Flugfiske i
Norden" today, and found in it an article with title "Röding in
Ransarån". What a coincidence! I can see why the river will be a
really nice place to pay a visit. :-) I don't know how popular the
creek has been so far, but it might very well see quite a few anglers
next year - I guess this type of articles tend to create some
additional activity.

[ Snipped a nice piece of text describing how to catch arctic
charr. Well, it was mostly about how _difficult it is_ to catch these
fish, perhaps best described by the following excerpt. ]

Roger I've seen lb 11 Arctic char feed on Mysis only to duck away
Roger from more than twenty different nymph imitations and streamers
Roger presented by me. Imagine the feeling of seeing such a fish in a
Roger 4 yard wide crystal clear stream, imagine also that you were
Roger able to approach to a point within reach of a cast. Then you
Roger get to see this huge fish ignore everything you can think of.

I've heard this type of stories before, and it immediately reminds me
of salmon fishing. Except that these fish are feeding actively, and
they _still_ ignore your flies. And you can see what they're
doing. What a terrible source of rejection anxiety.

One of the most interesting things I've read about these fish is that
they are very curious, and that characteristic can be used to catch
them. For example, the only way I've ever caught some of these fish
was by tying a small fly with a piece of monofilament behind a
lure. The fish come to see the lure, and then strike the fly. The fly
by itself did not do the trick. I've also heard of people teaming up
so that one guy uses spinning gear to attract the fish and another one
then catches them with fly-fishing gear. In the fear of a mighty blow
from the purist :-) I must immediately add that nothing like this will
take place in our group next year.

The author of the Ransarån article describes similar experiences and
techniques as you did (at one point it even occurred to me that you
might have been the author). There are also a couple of fly
suggestions in the article.

--
Jarmo Hurri

Spam countermeasures included. Drop your brain when replying, or just
use .

"Jarmo Hurri" wrote in message
...

Now what will be really interesting is to try to catch some
charr. Any special tips for this mysterious but delicious fish?

Roger Ah, now there's a question for the masters of this pastime
Roger called fly fishing. As you know I plan to hold a mini clave at
Roger Ransaran creek, this is where you will be measured and judged
Roger ;-)

Yes, I remember this plan very well with great pleasure. :-) Hmm, I
tried to look through my files, but I couldn't find the planned date
for this event. Was it right after midsummer (or before it)? I've got
to secure the home front well ahead.

Right after midsummer.

/Roger

"Jarmo Hurri" wrote in message
...

Now what will be really interesting is to try to catch some
charr. Any special tips for this mysterious but delicious fish?

Roger Ah, now there's a question for the masters of this pastime
Roger called fly fishing. As you know I plan to hold a mini clave at
Roger Ransaran creek, this is where you will be measured and judged
Roger ;-)

Yes, I remember this plan very well with great pleasure. :-) Hmm, I
tried to look through my files, but I couldn't find the planned date
for this event. Was it right after midsummer (or before it)? I've got
to secure the home front well ahead.

Anyway, lo and behold, I picked up the newest copy of "Flugfiske i
Norden" today, and found in it an article with title "Röding in
Ransarån". What a coincidence! I can see why the river will be a
really nice place to pay a visit. :-) I don't know how popular the
creek has been so far, but it might very well see quite a few anglers
next year - I guess this type of articles tend to create some
additional activity.


Yes, but the stretch only allows 10 fishermen per day and I planned on
booking 10 for 48 hours.
The article was from the exact same spot where I caught my five Arctic char
on the last trip (all but one exceeding lb2). The inlet in the upper calm
stretch that the author writes about was where we had pitched our tent. You
can see more pictures from the area in the two Ransaran trip reports on the
web site, unless you already read them..
I'll get back with more info on this mini clave in May.

/Roger