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Lapland Finnish Lake District West Coast South Finland, Archipelago

Lake Kivijärvi - Rock Lake

 

Photo: Ismo Kolari
View of Lake Kivijärvi from Vietsaari observation tower.

Part of the Viitasaari route, Lake Kivijärvi is a widely known treasury of fish in Central Finland, in the sceneries of the Kivijärvi, Kannonkoski and Kinnula municipalities. With its surface area of 154 square kilometres, the lake is the 30th largest in Finland. In length, this fairly narrow, north-south aligned basin measures almost 50 kilometres.

Depth chart (zoom in to view depths).

The name of the lake – ‘Rock Lake’ – is no coincidence, as its sceneries are strongly characterised by rocky shores. There are also plenty of rocks in the water, so you should take special care when boating close to the shores. In contrast, the mid-lake areas offer plenty of room and depth for carefree boating.

Varied bottom contours

Lake Kivijärvi is varied and fascinating in terms of its bottom contours. Anglers won’t run out of pits dropping abruptly from shallows, bumps rising from the midst of deeps or underwater ridges and spits. The deepest pit of the lake in the Lintuselkä mid-lake area dives to a depth of 43 metres, with an average depth of around 10 metres.

At present, Lake Kivijärvi is especially well-known for its strong stock of zander. In local trolling competitions, zander have often been caught even more commonly than pike, not to mention salmonoids. Large specimens are not common, but it’s relatively easy to catch fish weighing a couple of kilos by trolling plugs at the slopes of mid-lake shallows and on top of deep water.

Photo: Ismo Kolari 
Winding bays and pine forest islands are part of landscape in Lake Kivijärvi.
Winding bays and pine forest islands are part of landscape in Lake Kivijärvi.
 

You can find zander in the narrow and darker waters of the lake’s northern part, in particular, where it’s also not uncommon for a pike to bite your plug. In addition to trolling, it’s a good idea to go after zander – and naturally perch too – by jigging and it’s easy to spot bumps and banks worth checking out. You can launch your boat from one of the Kinnula marinas, for example.

The best chances of making a red-fleshed catch are offered by the southern mid-lake areas of Lake Kivijärvi, which you can reach by launching your boat from the ramps located near the Kannonkoski and Kivijärvi municipal centres. The primary target species is brown trout, but the route has also been restocked with landlocked salmon and rainbow trout. Slightly downstream on the same route lie the Hilmonkoski, Huopanankoski and Keihärinkoski Rapids, renowned for their trout.

Photo: Ismo Kolari 
Angler can launch his boat from the ramp that is in the quay at Kivijärvi municipal centre.
Angler can launch his boat from the ramp that is in the quay at Kivijärvi municipal centre.
 
 
 
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Type:Lakes
Area:154 km²
Length:48 km
Shoreline:545 km
Mean depth:8 m
Maximum depth:44 m
  
Game species
Bream
Brown trout
Burbot
Perch
Pike
Roach
Whitefish
Zander

Accommodation

Cottages
Hiekkarannanlomat cottages

Additional information