Close your eyes and imagine your size 2 dry fly drifting downstream in a heavy current. Suddenly a big creature comes from below and inhales the fly with a big jump. You can feel the weight of the brown trout, and this 70cm fish rolls your reel like crazy. Adrenalin flows in your veins. Life is good. Now, open your eyes and let`s see where you can really experience this dream.
In Central Finland there is a place where you can find some of the most exciting brown trout fishing in the world. Rivers in the Konnevesi Region offer a unique combination of different types of pools and, more importantly, big brown trout as big as 80cm. In the heart of this magnificent place is the Kellankoski Lodge.
It is in the middle of seven different fast water sections or rapids. Upstream from the lodge you can find Siikakoski, Taikinainen, Karinkoski and Kellankoski. A few kilometres downstream are Yläinen, Keskisenkoski and Hannulankoski. Koski means “rapids” in Finnish, as you might have guessed already.
Trout fishing season starts in May. Waters are still cold and high. Many times, fishing from a drift boat is the most effective way to reach fish. Big streamers, up to 15-20 cm in length, are usually most productive. Siikakoski and Kellankoski both have a few wooden decks to reduce the need to wade. It makes fishing much easier during the early season’s higher water levels.
In May, roach is an important bait fish to imitate with silvery streamers. They come to spawn in the river system before the end of May. Additionally, smelt enters in Hannulankoski in early May. If you are lucky, you might hit the right moment when they arrive in great numbers. That is the perfect time to hook some of the biggest trout Finland has to offer.
When June arrives, waters get a lot warmer, and the prime season starts. Insects start to hatch in great numbers. Mayflies and caddis are the most common species to imitate. In June, nights are very bright in Finland, and the best time to fish with caddis dries and pupas is in the darkest moment around midnight. Mayflies may hatch all day long, and fly fishermen should stay alert all the time while on the river. Heavy hatches might begin suddenly, and fish activity will usually spike soon after that.
The main season for streamer fishing starts in June, as bleak enter the river system in masses. By then, at the latest, the biggest brown trout have arrived in the rapids. One of the best ways to imitate bleak here is using an adapted dry fly pattern, called Surffilauta (in English “surfboard”). It is a large floating streamer with an average length somewhere between 8-15 cm. It is mostly tied with tinsel materials in different colours, and it has a thick foam back that makes it float. I can tell you it is the most visible and exciting way to fish for brown trout. Adrenalin rush blows through your veins when a monster-sized brown trout jumps after your surfboard fly.
next Surfboard.
Late season in August is the best time to use dry flies, but streamers still work well also. At this time of the year, streamers could be much smaller than early season. Streamers around 4 to 8cm are mostly used.
In addition to those seven rapids mentioned here, there is one more river which is totally different. It is called Kapeenkoski and is located about 30 km from the Kellankoski Lodge. It is wide and deep and best fished from a drift boat. Kapeenkoski is a unique place to fish for pikeperch/zander with a fly. These fish-eating predators are fun to target with trout streamers. In Finland, zander is a common and abundant species, and it tastes so good. Wild trout must be released, and the guides will ensure that rules are followed – fish are released according to the best practices.
The rivers in the Kellankoski Region and the Kellankoski Lodge are run by famous Finnish fisherman Jani Himanko and his wife Titta Himanko. They provide a full-package service for fishermen, which means very good accommodation, boarding and guide services. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are served in the main hall of the lodge every day. Fishermen can naturally enjoy the traditional Finnish Sauna; after all we are in Finland where Sauna is used, well, for everything.
Professional guiding is naturally included in the package; you can fish from a drift boat or wade, depending on your preferences and conditions allowing it. When fishing with streamers, the gear should be heavy. Don’t play around with tippets. Minimum 6-weight rod, but #7 or #8 are preferred. Floating lines are best throughout most of the season. During the early season with high water, and in some deep holes, various sinking lines might be your best option to find the really big trout. So, come to Finland prepared.
and stories while enjoying good food.
the tastiest fish there is, the Smoked Vendace. Fished from nearby lakes.
Contributed By
Pasi Visakivi
I am a 54 years old fly fisherman and a professional photographer from the Southern part of Finland. I have been fishing almost all of my life and started fly fishing in my early teenage years. Photographing has been my interest from the childhood. I have wrote many articles of fly fishing in world wide and several here in Catch Magazine in past twelve years. I am a brand ambassador of Vision Fly Fishing. I have been a member of the editorial board of a Finnish fly fishing magazine called Pohjolan Perhokalastaja (Nordic Fly Fisherman) during 2001-2019 and I have published over 30 articles in that magazine. Additionally, I host a very popular Finnish brown trout river called Vihavuodenkoski the Southern part of Finland.
For more information about Finnish Troutland go here – www.troutland.fi @browntroutland
