Fishing abounds with theories regarding the best conditions for salmon fishing and some say that if Mother Nature is against you then you are better off leaving the river alone.
However, the fact remains that if you have a river with a great deal of fish in it, you will triumph regardless of the conditions and this was amply demonstrated yesterday. With temperatures well into the 90’s, a glaring sun and as still as it could be, the 4 camps recorded a total of 305 bars of silver – amazing fishing in any event but given what we are working with weather wise, it was a simply phenomenal display of what this river is capable of.
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| John G with a Beach beauty |
Kitza had another great day with 64 salmon landed to the 10 rods. Michael G has been coming for a few years now and had his best day ever by landing 7 fish from Old Dam whilst Mark M was again the top rod with 12 for his day. I spoke to Tom this morning who reported that they had had a very relaxed evening with everyone tired but delighted. I am sure that the Kitza kitchen party tonight will mean that everyone will be tired for different reasons tomorrow.
At Pana the 8 rods finished with 46 in the book. Benjamin B continues to set the pace with 10 for the day whilst Jose FM had a tremendous session on Rockface and landed 9. Carlos MA is making the most of his first ever salmon fishing experience and landed 4 yesterday to follow up the 7 he had the day before.
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| Bruce B about to land another from Bear Island |
At Lower, we had an excellent day with 50 fish to the 9 rods. Peter H and Stephen T had 9 between them for their morning session whilst Joe M went for an exploratory walk down the right hand bank below the camp and found the perfect spot where he took 5 fish in short order. After supper and during a glorious evening, Andrew W-D found a spot above the Wires where he caught a fish and also had an unplanned swim – not a bad combination in this weather, intentional or not.
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| Stephen T with one from the boat at Fyodor's |
Middle Varzuga had one of their best days of the season so far and the 12 rods landed 144 fish – a stunning day in every respect. Paul C finished with 19 for his day whilst Alan S had a fabulous time on Simmons Bar where he had 10 fish for his morning session. As ever, they are working hard and putting in the hours but with the fishing this good, there seems little time to waste.
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| The ever smiling Roma, preparing a picnic in the sun |
The last day of the week has, as ever, dawned too quickly and we will be going to Murmansk tomorrow for the weekly changeover. Much as we are looking forward to seeing the new teams it will be sad to wave this party goodbye as we could not have had a more fun week. More on Sunday when I hope to report that the new rods have already landed some of these superb salmon.
Charlie White
