Cold weather and cold water conditions
Tough conditions on the Kola Peninsula last week. A huge low pressure came sweeping in over Northwestern Russia and left 30 cm of snow in many places! The week went by with gale force winds, sleet, snow and rain, and maximum daytime temperatures of 1-3 degrees Celsius. High water, deep low pressure area and cold water made it crucial to fish the fly deep and above all – slow. I had success using an intermediate/sink 2 line (The Yokanga River is relatively shallow, especially over the necks of pools, so a full sinking line would snag) with a fast sinking polyleader and weighted fly. All to avoid fishing the fly too fast in the high and cold water. This setup produced a real Yokanga beast of + 30 pounds and a 20 pounder on after ½ hour fishing the first evening. So, the basic rule – cold water, low pressure, cold weather = a slow fished fly - is a good one!
Jan Delaporte
Jan Delaporte
