THE HARAKA CLUB. 227 



Yuoksa are taken just where the river leaves the 

 Saima Lake, we fished in the same way as before. 

 Three exceedingly large pike (or possibly the same 

 fish) made off with three of our baits in succession, 

 the first time through too rough handling, and on the 

 next two occasions by its having apparently swallowed 

 the entire apparatus and brought its teeth in contact 

 with the gimp. 



The next day it blew a whole gale of wind, to such 

 an extent as to make fishing impossible, raising the 

 most formidable waves, and having, as we heard, 

 broken up some timber rafts and set thousands of logs 

 adrift upon the Lake Paijanne, half the river be- 

 coming discoloured with mud from the washing of the 

 water on the shores. In the evening it moderated 

 and allowed us to add some sixty trout to the stue, 

 mostly got with small Blue Phantom, which is the 

 best bait for Finland, as it most resembles the small 

 fish which are so numerous in the lakes and form the 

 chief food of the trout, pike and other fish, called 

 salakka ; and a large sik, or gwynniad, of 31bs. taken 

 on a large spoonbait. 



These rapids, like those of most navigable rivers in 

 Finland, are bounded on one side by stone walls, to 

 enable the boatmen to drag their boats against the 

 stream, as on a kind of tow-path. Small steamers pass 

 the Kalkis rapids by means of a short canal, and by 

 this we descended the river to Heinola, of which we 

 had heard the most encouraging accounts in the way 

 of sport from one who knew the country as it was 



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