Exploring Slovenia with the baby

By: Veera Viitanen

In early June, when the summer sun was just rising, we drove to the airport with our ten month old son sleeping in the car. There was excitement in the air as we were heading to our first fishing trip abroad as a family. By noon that day we would be in Slovenia, which had stolen our hearts a year before. We had no idea if we could fish or not during our trip and even though we were waiting so hard for the rising fish, at the same time we were getting ready for a normal family vacation. Because as you know every day with the growing little human is a new mystery and his rhytms are your schedules.

The flight went better than we could even hoped and the baby was in a good mood also during the way over the mountains by car from the airport to the accommodation. The place we stayed in Slovenia was a nice little farm with child- friendly atmosphere. Our target river was flowing opposite of the yard and there was also a smaller one running through both the forest and the village nearby. We had a really good vibes about this trip together.

The weather was really hot and bright the first day in our destination. Water was crystal clear and its level was quite low, which meant difficult fishing for us. It hadn’t been raining for a while in Slovenia, so the fish were really picky and passive. We had chosen the fishing area by the experiences we have had before. The river and the spots we fished, were familiar for us so we didn’t have to waste expensive time with the baby by searching the right area to fish. We could make short and a bit longer visits to the different spots for checking if we could find some rising fish. The baby was thrilled about everything new around him and loved to play with the rocks and sand. He enjoyed his time on the backpack so much that we were able to spend the whole day on the riverside.

On this holiday we had Deuter Kid comfort 3 carrying device that was a really good option for the trip like this. It is ergonomic for both the carrier and the baby. There is also an integrated rain- and the sun cover. It also has protection against the risk of falling and enough space in the pockets for all the stuff needed on a daytrip. What we usually needed on the river during the day, was diapers of course, food stuff, changing clothes, first aid supplies, milk and water bottles, toys, tissues and some breathable gauze that we could put over during the naptime.

The next day Antti went to fishing with our friend while I was taking it easy and resting with the baby at the farm. Boys were catching fish and we were enjoying our time on the pool and watching animals. Fishing days are long even for the adults so somedays off are definitely necessary with the kid. But we didn’t know that the weather was radically changing and we would have to stay away from the river for a couple more days. The storm stole us a few fishing days at the end. Because of the hard rain the water level rose high really quickly and the river was far too milky for fishing. Normally, without the baby, we would have changed the river and driven as far as it would be needed but with the kid that wasn’t an option.

On the first rainy day, we spent our time driving around the mountains and went to meet an old friend of ours. He told us about a smaller river nearby of our accommodation. When the large rivers were out of the count we still could have some chance with the smaller ones. So even though the weather was still bad on the next day, we headed to the small river. It wasn’t good either on that day but it was a bit better at least, so we gave it a try. The weather was also getting better slowly and we all three were really happy to be outside in the nature again. Baby didn’t mind about the weather or how milky the river was, and that is exactly what you are looking for your fishing companion, isn’t? ;) –Every weather, everywhere, everytime.

Finally after few days, when the water level was almost ok we were happy to get the opportunity to fishing one more day before our trip in Slovenia would be over. We had the sun shining again and in the afternoon, also the water came to a perfect level. The rain did good things for the rivers and fishing because the last evening turned out to be magical.

It seems that when the best evening hatch is just beginning, you must help the baby to get sleep so we took turns of fishing on our last evening. It was my turn to fish first. I had heard the stories about the big marbles which came to the rivers when the water level is high and on that evening those stories came true. When I waded to one of my favorite fishing spots and was just making my first cast I saw a big shadow moving in the deep and then disappear. I felt a cold shiver on my skin. What was that? Maybe just an illusion? I started to fish and noticed quite soon how active the fish were on that moment. I had many bites and caught a couple of small fish. When I hooked a tiny little baby marble, I suddenly noticed that something was following it below. When it came closer I realized that it was a large marble trout. I don’t even have to lie when I say that it was a monster size, really a huge fish. I was terrified while waiting for what would happen next. Maybe it saw me or noticed that its target already hooked, because it stopped and swam back to the darkness. I was relieved as I netted the small marble but there was more drama coming. A rainbow trout I hooked a little more down the river was attacked by the large marble again. The bow literally swam to my net to save himself from the monster. I felt that there was no point to fish any longer with small nymphs and dries and we needed the big streamers. So I went back to the farm and told Antti to take his streamers with him to the river. Just before the sun went down, he actually had a good size marble that took his fly but he lost the fight at the end. His mind was too distracted after that loss to fish anymore so it was Game over for us.

Although we were traveling as a family, it was a good option to have turns on the fishing as it offered more opportunities to fish at the right time in the right place. We felt sad because the evening was our last one there, but we were really satisfied for the trip as a family. We didn’t except anything but we got everything. Not the biggest fish or seven days fishing, only three of those actually, but all of our happiness came from the laughing little explorer on our backpack.

Fly fishing and traveling with the baby can be challenging sometimes but it gives a lot. Since we became a parents and decided to take our son to fish with us, we have had a different attitude and a whole new point in the experience. You are not chasing the big fish but the adventure. It doesn’t matter how many fish you catch but the reaction your baby has in every new thing he sees and learns. Fly fishing with a baby or kid doesn’t have any right style and no one can really tell you how it’s going to work, because babies are humans and the humans are all different. What is the best and actually most challenging thing, is that they are growing and learning new skills so fast that every trip is different and unique. Every trip had to be planned in a new way, thinking about the situation that you have on that moment. But every journey is teaching us more. The whole point in fly fishing with the baby is to share the adventure and experience together. Be a family, the best team ever! Offer those moments to your kid that make you happy. Be the one who teaches, who inspires and who makes it possible. Who creates the memories and shares the feelings. Let nature be the playground.

Even though we all have our ways and habits, I still want to share some of the tips and lessons we have learned while fishing during the baby- year.

• The right attitude : It is not a fishing trip, it is family adventure
• Carrier device : Invest in quality, comfort and safety
• Food bags : We often pack foods to bags (like a smoothiebags) which don’t need much space, don’t break easily and are not heavy like a glass and they are easy to eat or drink in the nature
• Disposable bottles/bags : Doesn’t need to be dishwashed and they are hygienic
• Travel high chair : Makes feeding easier in the hotel room and restaurants (there were no baby seats in the restaurants in mountain villages of Slovenia) , can be packet in the small place and it’s washable
• Shell jacket : It is always a good weather for fly fishing when you have a right clothes
• Right destination : Choose the destination which is not too difficult to hike or wade, and make sure the way back to car is short enough if the baby is losing his patience
• Mosquito net: Definitely needed in Finland! and helps with other bugs also if the baby is sleeping on the ground with carrier device
• Medicines : Panadol or Pamol can help with the ears during the flight, Precosa for the stomach problems like diarrhea
• Sunglasses : Use sunglasses on you and also on the baby, if it’s just possible. In our case, they are on the ground immediately, so we are just extra careful with the casting or taking turns by carrying and fishing as the baby is without the sunglasses most of the time. Hat and sun cover of the backpack keep him away from the sunlight

And the lesson number one:

Don’t look for the fish rising, you are going to miss them anyway when changing diapers or running after kid. Just give a try for every fish you see, with every fly you find from your box!

And then two:

Don’t waste your time sneaking to the fish, one scream from your backpack will ruin the only chance you have. Just make a quick cast where ever you can and hope for the best.

Baby year was easy for us to fish together but I think we have more challenging times ahead as we have a toddler now. But we are open minded and excited for exploring together no matter what. Maybe soon it is time to teach our son to cast himself? Or what about the bellyboat? Well, it will be another story then…

Learning the hard way

The social media is full of great looking fishing trips showcasing the great success of the fishermen and women that posted them. What nobody usually talks about are the multiple trips that were not a great but that gave us knowledge and wisdom that eventually led to the fishing trip of a lifetime.

This is short story about one of the less successful fishing trips that provided me tons of new knowledge but fairly poor fishing.

Here is the original plan for a weeks fishing trip to northern Norway of Finnmark as it is called usually.

Two guys

Two 30kg backpacks

First real hike and fish style trip

About 50km of hiking in the fells on a well planned route

Fishing both lakes and rivers

Targeting on big grayling, brown trout and the first arctic char with a fly

Making a film of the trip

Getting some awesome photographs

Expectation of a normal northern weather close (between 12-17c)

And well afterwards I can say that pretty much everything went differently then I had planned it. Even so we learned a hell of a lot about hike fish style trips in a week.

Here's how the trip actually went. 

Before we even got to our car we were expecting a weather around 10c in the north and we chose our gear accordingly. Lots of warm clothes like wool shirts, beanies and long johns. As we got to Norway it soon dawned on us that it was not going to be cool days and nights in the north but quite the opposite as the forecast changed for our week from cold to insanely hot.

We started our hike with the temperature being closer to 25c the whole day and way into the night. This made the first 15-20km really hard for us first-timers. 

Then we realized that our original route plan would not take us to our first basecamp the first day because the route took us into an area that was surrounded with a really hard going swamp. So we made camp a bit earlier then we were planning and decided to fish for a day on the small but beautiful river near the camp and then try to find a path through the swamp the next day.

The next day scouting the surroundings made it very clear that we would have to hike back the way we came and then get to higher ground for easier walking. At this point we decided not to try to get to the first basecamp but to go straight on to the main campsite which would be our camp for the rest of the trip. This meant a hard climb and hike over a big fell and adding closer to 20km more to our walking distance.

We went to sleep tired and sweaty as the temperature had climbed to 27c and the sun and heat had drained us out. The next morning began even more hot than the other day. We were faced with a question could we do the hard hike in that heat? 

We had a long talk about our options and the weather just did not seem to be on our side as the forecast promised more extreme heat for the next few days and then heavy rain storms after that. So we decided not to push our luck and so we packed the camp and started our hike back to the car with the temp rising close to 30c.

That pretty much killed the camping part of the trip and we ended up driving around Finnmark looking for new fishing spots closer to the roads and trying to avoid the heavy rains rolling over the area.

This meant a lot less fishing than I had hoped but it did take us to many new fishing spots and areas I had never even heard of but which I will definitely visit again some day.

The trip ended into Finnish Lapland on the river Könkämäeno. The river where I went on my first Lapland fly fishing trip many years ago. It holds a very special place in my heart even though this time the river did not show us it's best side. It was still great to be there again and we also meet the owner of Graylingland Aki Huhtanen there. He once again had great tips for us on his home river which we of course listened carefully. 

After that we left for home with nothing really amazing to tell about fishing but with a lot of useful information in our pockets for future fishing trips to the north. 

And so we did not catch a lot fish and even less the big fish. There is now film about the trip because of the short time we actually were fishing. Most of the photos are from the first three days the weather was nice and after that I didn't really feel like taking photos in the rain. 

Still I feel that the couple of good photos I did get deserve to be seen so here they are and thanks for reading about our trip.

-JanneV-

The Andros adventure 2016

Decision

When you one day get the green light from your wife, you find that your bank account is on the positive side for once and even your boss promises that you can have two weeks of work. What do you do? You pick up your phone and start calling all your friends to find out who's ready to go on a DIY flats fishing expedition.

In the end of 2015 I had this situation and got my friend Saku excited about the trip. He had never fished saltwater/flats before but he was ready to try it right away. We did some research for a couple of weeks and ended up choosing North Andros for our destination. We wanted a DIY destination that would no break the bank but would offer some great flats fishing for different species. The decision was easy after a friend of mine told me about a place called Hanks Place located in Fresh Creek. He told me that they could give us a package deal including room, food and a skiff. After that it was just a matter of contacting Hank to book us the room and start making plans on how to get al the way to Andros from Finland.

Hank turned out to be very patient and helpful as we had to use his knowledge a lot to plan our flights to Andros. After some sorting we finally got out flights in order and we were set to go the 1^st of February 2016. Now all we had to do was to get the gear ready and wait for couple of really long months.

Trip

On the 2^nd of February we found our self on the airfield on North Andros. Because everything about the place was new to us we had by mistake taken our flights to an airport situated a long way from our hotel. So our Andros adventure started with a long ass taxi drive down to Fresh Creek. Live and learn!

Finally after a couple of hours on a extremely crappy road we got to our hotel. As was to be expected out hotel was not a 5 star resort but our room was big enough for two, clean and with nice big beds and running hot water. This was all we needed for a two week stay. We found out that the room was next to Hanks restaurant so not a long way to get some dinner after fishing.
Our skiff was old but the engine had been maintained frequently so we were really happy with it. Everything had a real Bahamian feel to it and even though things seemed to be a bit shabby, we were excited to be there and to go fishing with our own skiff for the first time.

Fishing

As it is with all things new we had to get to used to the skiff fishing and the tides on Andros. I say tides because even though I had a tide table for Fresh Creek with me the times of low and high tide inside the creek had a timetable all of their own. This took some getting used to but after a couple of days we got the hang of it and started finding fish. We mostly did fly fishing for bones, barracudas and jacks but we also brought a spinning rod for difficult days and some night time trolling.

I had been reading a lot about the great fishing for bones on Andros and those stories in my mind are accurate but it still was very different than I expected. The weather in early February did a number on us as we first had a couple of very nice and hot days with mild winds but the last part of the trip was in pretty cold and windy conditions. The weather was the biggest factor why we were having difficulties finding any fish with heavy clouds, cold, rain and high winds. But on the good days the fishing was just awesome. We found nice sized bones cruising on very shallow waters and they were hungry as hell. Pretty much every fly worked as long as the presentation was ok.

There were no really huge schools of bones in the creek or the surrounding flats but there were a lot of small groups of bones coming and going with the tides which were easy to spot.

Fighting hard

Biggest of the trip

First Bonefish ever for Saku!

There were also a lot of huge and I do mean huge barracudas on the flats that gave us some headache by stealing our hooked bones and not taking anything artificial we tried to get them to eat. Also a lot of smaller sharks were always cruising at the flats with us but that's the name of the game and usually that just means there should also be some bones around.

Always C&R

A cold morning in the creek

At the end of the day we usually did some trolling for anything big that might like our flies and lures. We used our small skiff and trolled just in front of the lodge where at the right time a lot of big horse eye jacks, tarpons, barracudas and groupers swim into the mouth of the creek to feed.

We managed to catch a couple of very nice jacks, smaller barracudas and a really big grouper that almost spooled me right after the take. My friend was just able to turn our skiff around so we could chase the fish before the line ran out. In the end everything went our way and the grouper ended up as dinner. It was the first grouper I have ever caught and I have never ever fought a fish that strong before. Very cool stuff!

Our skiff

I think that's enough of the stories and I'll just let the photos speak for themselves. Enjoy and thanks for reading.

The warmest day and also the best day fishing

First Jack of the trip

One of the coolest flats I have ever seen

The big guy that almost spooled me

My tips for float tube fishing

 

 

I've float tube fishing for pike in Finland for over 6 years now. I have seen the style grow to a popularity. Every year I get to give tips to newbies who are interested in fishing with a float tube. So now I decided to write a blog about the tips I've given in the past years and also the things I have found useful while fishing from a tube.I'm not going to tell you that my way is the only way. It's just the way I enjoy float tubing the most.


1. Buy a good quality float tube like Fishcat which I've been using for the entire time I've fished with a tube or Berkley, Vision keeper or Guideline drifter. The main thing is to buy a tube big enough to carry you on the water without you sitting under the water. So if you are closer to a 100kg I do suggest you get a bigger model from any of the brands.

2. Buy a good pair of open heel scuba flippers in size xl or even xxl if you have a big foot size. This will allow you to use a scuba boot or a wading boot inside the flippers which makes getting in and out of water much simpler. Also I have found this to give you more airspace for your toes which keeps them warmer in cold waters.

3. Use neoprene waders or a drysuit/survival suit in cold waters. Neoprene waders are a bitch on shore but in the water they are much warmer than the normal waders. Also neoprene tends to last longer in tube fishing and they usually are cheaper to get.

4. Get an inflatable life-west for security or even a survival suit like the Ursuit MPS which I use under the top layer of clothes.

 

5. I use a line basket attached to the side of my tube as you can see in the picture. This keeps the line from tangling and also gives me a correct line stripping motion. You can also use the basic line net which comes with most tubes and is set to your lap but I personally find it to be in my say when handling a fish.

6. Get a good and big enough dry sack to stow your stuff in as usually everything gets wet while using a tube.

7. Make sure your tube comes with shoulder straps that you can use to carry the tube around when on dryland. These will make it easy for you to walk longer distances with your tube.

8. Last but not least. Never ever over fill your tube on a sunny day. Your tube will work perfectly even if it is not filled to the max. It should always have room for a little expansion.

 

-          Janne Vuoristo

My point of view about French nymphing in Finland

I love to see new places and learn to fish in different areas. It’s really important to me that I can use as much time as possible for fly fishing.  I want to learn by doing myself, not just reading and watching from the internet. I usually have at least three rods with me on a fly fishing trip. Something for a dry fly action if we get lucky, nymph equipment for the daytime and streamers for the moonlight. I want to have the knowledge about different kind of fly fishing styles because that’s how I can apply and develop my own skills for different conditions. The importance of multi- skills got more notice this year when I spent a lot of time on the rivers in my homeland. The weather was cool and the water level was high on the rivers. Thanks to the conditions even the biggest fish stayed in the river areas over the summer.

Most of fly fishermen agree that fishing with the dry fly is the best way to fly fish and so do I. But nowadays generalized nymph fishing divides people’s opinions often radically in half instead.  I have faced some negative and dismissive points about it but also seen how some fly fisherman get inspired on it after many years of fishing experience. I think it’s really great to see when anglers want to learn something totally new and step away from their comfort zone sometimes. When they are ready to be amateurs on something again after many years as professionals on another. So I don’t see any point for negative words about any style.  I think we should be happy because we have different ways to fly fish and we can always learn something new. It provides us variety and new perspective on things.

I have given a lot of time and thought for French style nymphing during the last couple of the years.  Today, I have much more information about the spots where the fish are, their food habits and the way of their behavior.  Furthermore, my river reading skill has grown a lot because of last season.

At its best, French style nymphing is fascinating journey of learning, which provides lots of information about the things under the surface. Because this style of fishing usually happens near of you, it requires a lot of wading. The more you wading the more skilled you became at it and often nymphing challenges you to move quiet and carefully in the difficult areas like on the rapids with strong current or dense with rocks. At the same time you’ll learn much about the river and its flow.

When you are nymphing you should turn your focus to the flies and how they are swimming in the depths. The take of the fish largely depends on the successful swim of the fly. Be sure that you keep in contact to your nymphs all the time so you don't miss the bite or lose your flies to the bottom. Most important thing is that the line is always tight and you follow your nymphs. Not far behind or pulling the front. Let your nymphs swim free with the flow. All the other tricks you will learn with time and experience.

With nymphing you can find a fish from really challenging and cramped places for example in front, behind or surroundings of stones and their gobs and pockets. People who don’t know much about the style, might think that it’s not possible to nymph on the deep water or from the long distance.  But that’s not truth at all.  Even if you don’t really cast with your nymph rod you can throw the line pretty far with the small movement by your wrist.  Make sure that your nymphs are heavy enough for going through the stronger flow of the surface. Cast them upstream and let them dive to the lover current on the depths where the biggest fish usually are. Hold your rod up and remember to keep in touch with the flies.

Working with a fish with this kind of really light and high module rod with thin lines is a challenge of its own. It is an outdated thought that you can’t handle a big fish with #2 or #3 rods. But we shouldn’t forget that equipment and products are developing all the time and nowadays there already are many new options on the market. Catching a big fish by nymphing with light gear is not impossible or not even the miracle anymore.  You just need to give enough pressure in the right way for the fish and you will notice that it’s surprisingly easy to control it and finally get it in your net. Stay calm, focus and don’t rush. Light rod gives a lot of flexibility to the fish and the impacts on it are soft.  That’s the one reason why fish usually stay on the hook pretty well.

Nymph fishing is effective style and often even the smallest fish can be caught. I still think that it is usually very fish friendly style when you are doing it right. Today, almost all the nymph hooks are made barbless. You use mostly really small and thin hooks which don’t leave large holes on the catch. I tie almost all my nymphs and larvaes in jig hooks with tungsten head. Jig hooks hooked fish very well and they are usually clinging in a hard and gristly upper jaw. You can easily take them off and you or your fly won’t make any damage to the soft and easily torn lower jaw. Sometimes your line might be broken but don’t worry, there is proof that this kind of hooks will usually come away from fish quite soon. Sometimes you can actually find them from the river a little bit later! ;D

Some points at the end: The secret of becoming a good nymph fisher is to meet the right people and fish a lot in different areas. Books and network can help you but they can never teach you everything.  Every cast, every wading, every river and every fish will teach you something new again. Searching for catch of all the sizes and learn to work with them responsibly. Fish the different seasons in both high- and low water level. Invest in the equipment and ask for advice. I’m grateful myself for all those fishermen who have taught me and given me advice about this really complicated style of fly fishing. This is the first time when I feel that I can help someone else to get it started.  If there’s any questions about equipment, techniques, areas or anything else, don’t hesitate to ask. It’s my pleasure to help.