Midsummer Fishing on the Hiidenkoski Rapid

There are few things more pleasant than celebrating Midsummer by fishing. We decided to leave the Konapinkoski Rapid and head for the Hiidenkoski Rapid instead. Although it was a warm evening, with a fair number of insects in the air, there was no sign of fish feeding at the surface. After casting a variety of pupae imitations for a while, I changed to nymphs. Even then it was some time before I managed to figure out the right colour ─ olive ─ and started catching grayling. Juvenile trout were less selective, becoming almost a nuisance as I constantly had to release them. I didn’t get a glimpse of any large trout. I took one good-sized grayling and checked its stomach content. Its gut was full of olive-coloured mass, including a few pupae. The fish could clearly afford to be in a selective mood.

Samuli Kirkkomäki, Tyrnävä