Spark from Kylmäluoma

In my childhood I wasn't encouraged in any means to try flyfishing, because none of my friends or members of our family didn't flyfish.Therefore basically all the fishing was by spinning rods during summertime and icefishing at winters. At first time flyfishing got my attention at summer 1988 in Kylmäluoma. I was 14 years old at that point and I was enchanted by couple of flyfishermen, because they got many rainbow trouts while we just managed to catch one or two for our dinner table. From that moment I started my project to win over my dad to stop by in sports shop in order to by a fly rod for me.

First steps as a flyfisher

Next year we again went to Kylmäluoma, but this time things would be different. Probably my father got tired of me or by some other reason I had my first brand new ABU's flyfishing set with me. I was suprised and maybe a little disapointed since I didn't get fish as easily as those guys last year caught. Nonetheless I managed to catch my first rainbow trout by flyrod. The method I used and how I finally caught that fish remains secret among those who were there...

To rapids

When autumn 1990 got closer I was constatly asking my father "where would we go fishing this year?". I was hoping that we could go to a river. My father picked upper parts of Kitka river to be our destination that year. That suited my needs nicely. In those days Kitka wasn't that crowded and during a week we fished there we only met couple of other fishermen. The scenery is absolutely fabulous in there and also I got very good practice in flyfishing with Kitka's graylings.

Urging more

River Poroeno hosted us during our trip in July 1991. I still remember that trip clearly. For that I believe there is many reasons but to mention few: First of all, it's far a way. River Poroeno flows in northwesternmost part of Finland. The river runs in wilderness, you have to either walk two days to get there or then you can use a helicopter like we did. We had founded our camp to south end of "Kiinanmuuri". During that week I was so into grayling fishing that I had now and then problems to come to dinner on time.

To canoe trek

Summer 1992 we decided take canoe with us and our mission was that helicopter would take us top waters of some river and we would paddle downstream from there. Our targets were rivers Näätämö and Silisjoki, which are located in northeasternmost part of Finland. Start of the trip wasn't so nice, I'd rather say it was sweaty, since water was very low at upper parts of Silisjoki. Therefore we had to drag our canoe in very shallow rocky river. After a while water level began to rise so we could jump into canoes and start paddling downstream while admiring finnish wilderness. Though we didn't get almost any fish within first two or three days it really didn't bother me at all.

Rest of the trip was very successful in our point of view. Addition to that me and my father had chance to follow a lesson how you should not paddle an indian canoe in rapid river when our expedition's another canoe was flipped over. During the route down there was couple of to rough rapids so we had to carry canoe past them. The route was in its entirety following: Start was above little Silislompolo, downstream Silisjoki to lake Opukasjärvi. From Opukasjärvi we paddle downstream river Näätämö down to branch of Kuosnijoki. We went upstream of Kuosnijoki to lake Räkkijärvi and to lake Jänisjärvi, which we paddled accross to northeast shore.

Flyfishing will be forgotten

During summer 1993 I really didn't have any chance to go fishing due my service in army. And for some reason I didn't really have any hunger to go fishing. After army I started my studies in Mikkeli polytechnic and during my studying period other "hobbies" took all the time. Between years 1994 and 2000 times I went to fishing can be easily counted with one hand fingers and not even once did I touch flyrod. Afterwards I regret that especially when I was studying in Oxford I didn't go flyfish in famous English chalk streams.

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