It was a beautiful day on the river yesterday and we ended with 30 fish for the day, with at least as many lost again. Will G lost a very decent fish at Jannaways that took him 150 yards into his backing before throwing the hook and there were reports of fish leaping out of the air from all over the river.
After fishing I took Henry Giles to Varzuga village where we initially looked around the old church, which is 300 years old, before being invited to climb to the top of the bell tower to watch the daily ringing of the bells.
View of the village from the bell tower
The Varzuga church, entirely made of wood and 300 years old
Oleg ringing the bells, ear defenders might be a good idea
The weather has changed slightly and it is cooler today with quite a stiff breeze but it is not affecting anything as a couple of fish have already been caught before breakfast from the Heli pool.
I spoke to Tom at Kitza and Garth at Middle this morning and they both report their rivers to be looking in great shape. I couldn’t get a straight answer as to how many fish they have caught whilst they are meant to be setting up their camps but from the giggles and stilted pauses that came through on the radio it is clear that there are plenty of fish in the home pools....
At Kitza the water temperature is 7 degrees and it is 9 degrees at Middle which is pretty much perfect for this time of the year.
If you are coming out with us this season please remember to put your camp luggage labels on every bit of your luggage, including your rod tubes, as Murmansk can be quite a busy place and it is very helpful for us and our Russian partners to know which bag is meant to be going where when we are loading the helicopters.
Luggage labels for each camp. Please call the office if you need more
I will try and post a last minute update before I leave tomorrow morning and then the blog will be taken over by Christopher Robinson who will be out here for a fortnight after which I come out again. As ever, it will be a wrench to leave, even if it is only for two weeks.
Charlie White
