Ville Toivonen’s Fishing School

Ville takes a trip to Teijo National Park in Lohenrengras to fish 4 artificial ponds which hold Trout, Salmon and Whitefish. He has two preferred outfits, a light spinning rod and a bait rod with a float and paste for bait. He starts with the float rod and some brightly coloured paste set around 2ft from the float. After placing his rod in a rod rest he attaches a small bell to the end of the rod so he can hear any bites too. He starts with the spinning rod too and covers the water with a small crank bait hopeful that the Rainbow Trout will be high in the water. Ville's friend Henna shows up and she's keen to learn how to fish for Rainbow Trout with a spinning rod so Ville gives her some useful tips. They see several fish move, but with no fish on the bank, they decide to move locations and at the same time change to some darker coloured lures.  Henna is excited to hook into her first ever Rainbow Trout and even happier when Ville slips the net under it. It isn't long before she makes it two, and  a very successful first ever Trout fishing trip.

In the final episode of this series, Ville is in Teijo and fishing the coastal waters for Pike, Perch and Zander. At his first mark, Ville sees a lot of fish on the sonar with some big ones at 18m but the majority around 12m which is where he starts fishing. He starts trolling using different swim baits to try and find the Zander but its a small Pike that he first lands. With no more action, he switches location, to a channel between 2 islands but despite the area looking good and a couple of missed takes, he moves on again. This time he finds a rocky bottom area and sees lots on the fish finder but again the fish are playing hard to get. A small Pike is landed but the Zander are proving elusive. Another Pike arrives followed by a nice Perch and the day is getting better by the minute. Ville decides to try a Spinnerbait which he knows can be great for finding more Perch but despite an early hit, he doesn't find any other willing fish. Its been a successful day and Ville returns for fillet a Pike for a well earned dinner.

Its mid summer and Ville and Henna are fishing on the Kiskojoki River for Pike and Zander and Ville is hopeful of some sizable fish. The river is wide here but he knows that fish will only be found in a few locations that they will concentrate on. Seeing fish on the sonar, they start fishing jigs, and as Ville vertical jigs, Henna casts her jig out across the river. Henna strikes first with a small but perfectly formed Zander and gets them off to a good start. As night falls, Ville heads down river on his own looking for some deep holes that the Zander hold in as they migrate down river towards the lake. At his first hole, he uses a brightly coloured fluorescent jig and gets a few early hits that don't stick before landing his first Zander of the night. It isn't long before another Zander is boated which is soon followed by another as Ville continues to take advantage of the conditions.

Ville is heading to Sarkisalo, which is well known for its excellent Pike fishing, and he's accompanied by friend and pro guide, Pasi. Its pre spawning time and the Pike will be spread out so they find a nice bay with a depth of about 3m and start to target the reed lined shore. Ville gets a couple of hits which don't stick so rests the Pike a little before having another go. Ville discusses the importance of ringing the changes when it comes to lure colours before they decide to move locations. A tough day ends with little reward but still an enjoyable time to be had with two good friends. Its now early summer and Ville returns to the lake on his own and with water levels higher than before, and a warmer south westerly wind, he's hopeful for a better day. The Pike have now largely finished spawning and he finds a nice bay and starts fishing in shallow water. After a couple of early misses, Ville soon gets a fish, not big but certainly welcome and is quickly followed by a slightly bigger Pike from the same spot. Another fish soon comes and Ville has kicked off the summer Pike fishing season in style.

Its Summer and Ville has returned to Sarkisalo where he fished earlier in the series. The Pike have finished spawning now and should be in good condition and with light winds and an overcast sky, Ville is confident of some action. He heads to an area where several islands lie and heads to the windward side of the coast which has a rocky bottom and nice reeds in the margins. Ville moves along the shore and into a bay he knowsis a good bet for Pike and soon gets into the first fish of the day, which isn't big but is certainly welcome. Red and white seems to be the killer colour combo today and it isn't long before Ville lands another fish. Next, Ville decides to move to another location and try some trolling at depths between 2-4 metres and with 4 rods out, he can try a wide variety of colours and lure types. Ville explains in detail how to troll effectively, looking for features on the sonar and varying the depth and speed his lures swim at. Ville moves towards shore a little into shallower water and is rewarded with a nice Zander which he's delighted with. Soon after, he completes his day with another Zander, this time a little bigger.

Its an overcast day and Ville is heading to Kirkkojarvi Lake in Salo. He's planning to do some vertical jigging for Pike and Zander and if that doesn't work, he'll use dead baits and has some Smelt with him for this. Its a cold Spring day and Ville is going to fish deep with a 35g natural coloured jig. Finding a single fish on his sonar and he is able to drop the lure right in front of it and sees the fish approach on his screen but this time it isn't interested. A change in lure colour doesn't provoke a response either so Ville changes tactics, abandons the vertical jigging and fishes close to the shore in shallower water. Casting and fishing his jig normally gets a hit almost straight away and Ville has a tough battle with a good sized Pike. At the last moment it breaks his line, but it isn't long before Ville is into another and this time lands a stunning Pike. The following day, Ville returns to the lake and with calmer conditions, feels he has a great chance to find some Zander. Spotting another individual fish on the sonar, Ville skillfully drops the jig on to it and this time, he hooks up and lands another good sized Pike from Lake Kirkkojarvi. With more fish around and perfect conditions, can Ville find that Zander he's been looking for?

We join enna and Ville back on the boat and seemingly with a shoal of Perch beneath them responding to their lures. Ville is keen to keep changing the lures to keep the fish interested as he knows there are plenty here. As the sun drops, they move to a rocky outcrop which has cast some shade on the water and where they think could now be holding. The theory proves correct as Ville catches a decent Perch in around 7m of water which is quickly followed by another of similar size. Henna also gets in on the action before call it a day on what has been a very fruitful session. Returning to their camp kitchen, Ville and Henna prepare a few of the Perch and smoke them with wood chips and sprigs of wild Juniper. Once cooked, Ville adds the Perch to some 10% saltwater before draining and serving with baked potatoes and the pair enjoy a thoroughly deserved evening meal.

Picking up from the previous episode, Ville heads out on the lake with friend, Henna in search of some Springtime Perch. The water is a little murky especially around the river mouth so he decides to fish a few kilometres south at Kokkila where he knows the water is clear. Ville explains that in the Spring, prior to spawning, the Perch are less voracious feeders than in Autumn as they prepare for winter, so action is likely to be sporadic. However, there is a very good chance of catching a bigger than usual fish. Ville anchors the boat on a soft muddy bottom around 6m deep and they cast Jigheads towards the shore into around 3m of water and it isn't long before he has a nice Perch on his silver jig. Another fish follows but sport soon dries up and the big ones have eluded them, so Ville marks the spot on his fishfinder and looks for a new mark. The next spot Ville tries lies behind an island and here in around 15m of water is a shipwreck that Ville knows can fish very well. With no immediate success, they both change lure colours and Henna then Ville suddenly catch fish showing just how important it is to keep ringing the changes.

Ville heads to a river near the town of Kisko, in South West Finland and the target species today is Perch with the chance of Zander too. Ville starts with a 5g  2 Tone Jig Head and he prefers Citrus and Red colours for Perch here. He quickly catches a small Perch and knowing that Perch often shoal at this time of year he gets the Jig into the same spot hoping for a bigger one. Unfortunately that's al he finds here so moves downstream to another larger pool. It certainly looks fishy and he gets some instant reactions before landing another smallish Perch. The weather is still very cold for early May and Ville isn't convinced the fish are here in numbers yet so decides to switch location and heads to the lake downstream and into his boat with friend, Henna.

Ville continues his Trout fishing trip in the lakes of Teijo National Park, with friend Henna. With Henna already 2 fish to the good, Ville has found a large rock which is attached to the shoreline by a pontoon. Before heading out onto it, he targets the area from the shore as he thinks a big Rainbow Trout may be lurking around it in the deeper water. After getting a couple of follows, and now knowing the fish are definitely here, he changes lure and confidently tries again. He moves out to the rock and quickly hooks up using his bright orange Crankbait but the fish slips the hook mid fight. Another lost fish follows, so Ville once again changes the lure to try and avoid any more losses and it proves the right decision as he finally lands a bright coloured Rainbow Trout on a spinner bait. With a camp kitchen erected, Ville and Henna are going to cook up their catch using two different methods, with one fish stuffed with herbs and baked in newspaper on the campfire and the other filleted and pan fried. It s the perfect way to end a successful day's fishing in the Teijo National Park.

Ville is in the Teijo National Park, in South West Finland and today, he's fishing for trout in the fast flowing rapids that run through the middle of the park. Fishing is usually prohibited here but Ville has special permission to fish and will start near the bottom of the rapids for Sea Trout as they enter from the sea. There are also native Brown Trout, Perch and Vimba here and Ville is optimistic of success. Casting his lure upstream in the heavy flow, he gets an early hook up but the trout doesn't stick this time. But soon after, he hooks another fish and lands a bright coloured Vimba. Moving upstream next to an old mill, Ville targets some slack water at the top of a fast run where fish may lay up but despite one missed pull, he can't locate more fish. As eveningapproaches, Ville finds some slower water and hits into a big trout but it slips the hook before Ville manages another Vimba. The day ends with no more fish but Ville has tomorrow on the rapids so there's time to make amends. An early start and a change of lures, Ville uses a silver Mepps spinner and gets the day off to a great start with a stunning Sea Trout.

Meet Ville Toivonen, an expert professional angler from Finland and in this opening episode, Ville is spinning for Pike in Teijo National park in South est Finland. Its a warm sunny day in April, conditions look good and the Pike haven't started spawning yet. Ville has 3 or 4 areas of the lake that he wants to concentrate on and firstly takes a moment to talk us through his tackle and the lures he'll be using. Getting the right colour combinations is crucial for success and Ville shows us what he likes with Wobblers and Jigs at this time of year. Ville drives a couple of kilometres from the pontoon and finds a bay where a small river enters the lake, which he knows is shallow and where the Pike like to hold up before spawning time. Starting in the mouth of the bay, he sees several fish on the Sonar, so drops the electric motor and starts fishing. With no luck here, Ville moves to a channel between two islands which he's confident will hold Pike and starts fishing with a Rapala Fire Tiger lure. He gets a hit straight away which drops off unfortunately but his confidence is up and he soon lands his first fish of the day, a small but brightly marked Pike. Moving to another likely area, he starts fishing with a Wobbler in slightly coloured water but soon changes to the Fire Tiger wwith instant results and another nice Pike. As the sun sets, Ville reflects on a decent day on the water where moving locations was the key to success.