About the lake

As the saying goes; Finland is a land of a thousand lakes. The beautiful lake Vanajavesi is known for excellent fishing. It is the 31st largest lake in Finland.
Lake Vanajavesi begins from the south side of the city of Hämeenlinna and ends in the city of Tampere. The surface area of the lake is 120 km2. There are almost a hundred islands on the lake. The deepest point of the lake is at 24 metres. At the widest, the lake is 20 km long and 15 km wide.

The Vanajavesi valley is one of the most beautiful Finnish landscapes. Especially the route from the lake to the city of Hämeenlinna is worth seeing. The size of the waterway provides excellent opportunities for boating and sailing.

It is also possible to take a cruise on the lake Vanajavesi. The nearest harbour is in Hattula (Mierola), about 8 km from the cottages.

A rowing boat and life jackets are included in the cottage's equipment.

Unfortunately, some blue-green algae (cyanobacterium) might sometimes appear in the lake, which will prevent you from swimming.

Fishing

The fishing possibilities on lake Vanajavesi are ecxellent. People have lived on the shores of the Lake Vanajavesi since the Stone Ages. In the Middle Ages, the crayfish and zander caught in Vanajavesi were well known also at the palaces of Saint Petersburg.

The zander is the most important fish caught in Lake Vanajavesi. Other important fish are whitefish, pike, perch, rainbow trout and bream. With some fisherman's luck, you may also catch an eel. The biggest pikes are moving in shallow waters in the spring time (from the beginning of April to mid-June) and in the autumn (from September to November).

Different species

It is easy to catch pikes in the shallow waters near our cottages. A typical lake pike weighs ca. 0,5 to 5 kilos. A bigger pike can weigh 5-10 kg. With very good luck, you might even catch one of the giant pikes in the lakes weighing over 10 kilos. Some of our previous guests have caught a pike weighing almost 10 kg from the lake.

One of the two best seasons is in the spring after spawning before the waters warm up. This season begins in early May and lasts to midsummer. The beginning of June is also a good time to catch big pikes. Many giant pikes have also been caught during the bright nights of early June. This is also a good time to experience the bright summer nights in Finland. In June, the water continues to warm up and big pikes will dive deeper and become more difficult to catch. However, it may still be possible to catch typical lake pikes in the shallow waters nearby Kriipi's island.

The entire autumn is a very potential pike fishing season. In mid August, as the waters start to gradually cool down and the nights get longer, the big pikes will start returning back to shallow waters. The second best pike season of the year starts in late September and it continues all through November.

Pikes can bite all day long, but the best time to catch pikes changes according of the season. In the spring and summer, they bite early in the morning and in the evening. In autumn, the pikes are most active at noon.

Zander

The zander, often called pikeperch, is a highly popular fish in Finland. Most Finns find zander better tasting than salmon. A typical zander is ca. 30 - 60 cm long and weighs 0.2 - 2 kg. The Lake Vanajavesi is well-known as an excellent lake for zander, and it provides great opportunities to catch zander that weigh even 2-5 kg. It is also possible to catch zander that are over 5 kg. The waters in the Vanaja region produce some of biggest zander in the country. The largest zander found in these waters have weighed over 10 kg.

Perch

The Finnish national fish, the perch, eats almost anything, which makes it an ideal fish to catch with almost any kind of bait. The perch is very popular in the Finnish cuisine and considered very healthy. A typical perch weighs 0.2 - 1 kg. The best time to catch big perches is in early autumn, but it is possible to catch perch during every season.

Bream

The bream's home territory is in Northern Europe. The bream is the provincial fish of the Häme region and it is very common in Lake Vanajavesi. These schooling fish live near the bottom and close to the shore. The bream is one of the largest fish that can be caught with just a fishing rod. A typical bream weighs 0.1 - 3 kg. The spawning season is from April to June. If you give fishing a try on the jetty of the cottage, a bream or a perch will most likely be your first catch.

Whitefish

The whitefish is a member of the salmon family. This schooling fish is very common in the lakes of the northern hemisphere. A typical whitefish weighs 0.2 - 2 kg. The whitefish keeps away from warm water, so the best chances to catch them are when the water is cool. The whitefish spawns in the autumn, usually in October. The whitefish is a careful fish but it can be caught with a jig or a lure.

Rainbow trout

The rainbow trout is also a species of the salmon family. It weighs 1 - 4 kg. Rainbow trouts are planted around the lake every year. The trout favours cold water, so their best trolling seasons are in the spring and late autumn.

Eel

With any fisherman's luck, you may catch an eel. It can sometimes be caught with a plain fishing rod. Eels have also been planted around Lake Vanajavesi for years. The snake-like eel is 40-100 cm long and it weighs 0.2 to 1.5 kg.

Signal Crayfish

The signal crayfish is a fairly new species in Finland. It was introduced to these waters from North America in the 1960s. It is possible to catch crayfish in our own water areas. The crayfish season starts on 21 July and lasts until 31 October.