The Miesjoki flows into Lake Oulujärvi at Mieslahti Bay, at its eastern corner. The river passes under the Kajaani-Kuusamo road (main road 5), around two kilometres north of Kontiomäki, and, in its lower reaches, the Kajaani-Oulu road (main road 22), about two kilometres east of Mieslahti village. The river’s headwaters can be reached from main road 5 by first following a logging road to the Puikkokoski rapids and then other roads which branch from it.
The Miesjoki is a small forest river. Its headwaters contain no large lakes, the river gathering its waters from several spring brooks, and flowing without pause along its entire twenty kilometres. Constantly altering course, the river meanders through the fine soil of pine-dominated heath forests and eskers, often seeming to turn back on itself. The rocky stretches also contain rapids, the most spectacular of which is located beside main road 5. In the middle section of the river, at the Puikkokoski rapids, lies a cabin. The rapids closest to it are reserved for the use of the cabin’s occupants. Below Puikkokoski, the river flows in a channel five to ten metres wide. This is the most popular stretch among anglers. Upstream from Puikkokoski there is another stretch of around ten kilometres, brook-like in many places, and shallow where it runs over rapids. In the pine heaths along the upper reaches, where the waters hold a natural fish stock, anglers usually have the river to themselves. The best fishing season on this stream is normally the early summer. The largest fish do not hold as much in the shallow rapids as in the currents under cut banks, found on the many bends in this meandering river.
FISH STOCK AND STOCK MANAGEMENT
The Miesjoki, draining into Mieslahti Bay, is traditionally known as one of the trout streams of the Lake Oulujärvi waterway. The river holds a brown trout population reproducing naturally, added to which, especially when water levels are high, the angler has a good chance of catching lake-dwelling trout. The bulk of the catch, however, is hatchery-raised fish of around one kilo, stocked by the fishing association. Stocking of these catchable-size fish is carried out in the most popular stretch, between the Puikkokoski rapids and Lake Oulujärvi. The river also has a natural grayling stock, and grayling is numerically the most common catch on the river. The Miesjoki is also stocked with trout and grayling fry along its entire length. The angler is obliged to release all hooked juvenile fish to give them the chance to grow. Care should be taken when unhooking juveniles of migratory fish, for example by not lifting them out of the water.
