Our American house-guest Bob Grayson was still going strong and in spite of a painful back-problem he soon resumed his salmon-chase in this, his week number 10 on the Umba. With more than a glance from the double-hand Swedes, he tackled up his midge-sized salmon rods with his beloved Loop graphite reels. How can he land a decent sized salmon on these sticks – was the unspoken question – and Bob answered the question on several occasions during the week. The whole thing – says Bob – is a question of utilizing the right technique based on a steady sidepressure throughout the whole battle. The end result is not always victory of course and Bob experienced at least one painful defeat this week. In Nick pool he hooked up a biggie and after a couple of heart ripping runs, that almost set fire to his carbon reels, the fish was pacing down and slowly moved towards the waiting net. Alas the fly lost its grip and the final few yards was never completed. Bob settled the incidence with a few rough Yankee expressions and stored the loss along with the rest of these “ It just happens” – things.
Canadian Pierre Picard had left his beloved Canadian salmon rivers and challenged the Umba for the first time. We think he made the sensible choice and with a nice row of salmon including several in the 13 to 18 lb. range he will probably have to shape up on his home rivers to match this score. Not to mention the frames of overwhelming Russian atmosphere.
The Swedish duo Ulf Holmgren and Lars Palmefjord fished the Umba like their own back-yard. No wonder, bearing in mind that they already had experience from 6 previous trips to build on. The Krivetz was the obvious challenge and Lars dropped down hard on the Golden pool where he enjoyed a happy hour with six sexy silverbarrels up to 15 lb. In the meantime Ulf was lurking around the Long pool and after a dramatic battle he could lift up the fish of the week there – a beautiful 22 lb. sprinter. Mr. Holmgrens success was in no way a matter of chance, he fished skillful with a high degree of local knowledge and even utilized supernatural tricks by pouring in whiskey after each fish as a sacrifice to the almighty Salmon God.
Water Temp 15-18 C
Air Temp 10-25 C
Total fish 93 Salmon
No. rods 8
10-14 Lbs 12 Salmon
15-19 Lbs 10 Salmon
20-24 Lbs 1 Salmon
Top fly: Billy butt, Red Butt Size 6 – 8
Top rod: Lars Palmefjord 18 salmon
Biggest Salmon: Ulf Holmgren 22 lb.