I boated up to Middle Varzuga last night to catch up with the team there and the drive up, which takes about 45 minutes, was extraordinary in that it was difficult to look at the water without seeing fish jumping. The drive back was exciting as well as we saw a young bear on the river bank about 2 miles below the camp but unfortunately, as I scrabbled for my camera, it disappeared.
We had a great evening up there as Feoder, the head guide at Lower Varzuga, kindly drove me and he saw lots of clients who know him from old. It was lovely to see the affection in which he is held and the bond that builds up between the guides and the returning clients.
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| Feoder driving last night |
They had had 93 fish for the day and the general feeling was that it was not long before floating lines would be the norm with relatively small flies and ½ inch tubes. Quite a few fish have already been taken on the surface and whilst that method does lead to a lot of lost fish (as they slash at the fly and do not always get a firm hook hold) it is very exciting as some fish will come again and again at the fly.
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| Jenna, our cook at Lower, with a fish caught whilst we were having lunch on the river |
Here at Lower we are now down to only two rods for today as Peter S and Robert H have had to leave early in order to get to Moscow on time for other arrangements they have in place. We hugely enjoyed them being in camp and their approach to the enjoyment of it all as an overall experience was great to see.
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| Robert H, ready for the banya |
The team had 23 fish for the day with Ivan B and David F having at least two double hook ups on Heli pool in the evening and quite a few fish out of Bear Island throughout the day.
Kitza was slow yesterday and they had 10 fish to their 4 rods. We have got very high winds and some drizzle today which has led to our radio communication with the camp being very patchy so I don’t know any more than that but I hope to speak to them later.
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| Arctic tern - such graceful birds |
David F and Ivan B have the length of Lower Varzuga to themselves today so I hope that this wind abates a little in order for them to make the most of it.
Charlie White
