The First Day

After an evening’s unpacking, settling in and a cast or two for the keenest on Saturday evening we commenced fishing yesterday in earnest. It was not the easiest day weather wise with a brisk, cold upstream wind and here at Lower we made sure that the Banya was fired up to warm up our guests when they got it from the river.

Ken and Geoff at Bear Island

The river had dropped over night and through the day continued to do so. At Lower camp we struggled a bit; dirty water was coming in from the Sobacci stream which was in full spate and with the river still high the wading in the withy bushes was not easy. After lunch Sergey took Geoff and Ken out in the boat and roping down on the anchor by Bear Island (still well under water) they picked up four bright silver spring salmon.

Generator Pool at Middle Camp

Up at Middle, Terry reported that water was much cleaner and the seven rods there landed 35 salmon. Leading the way was Laura H who showed the men how to do it by landing eight fish from Peartiha. Generator fished well too and Tim D landed his first ever salmon there to much celebration.

First salmon for Tim D

So – not a bad start at all although we would have liked to have contacted more fish here at Lower Camp. In the afternoon Michael and Alan fished Moskoi with Feodor and though they only had a few takes that did not convert they saw fish showing as they came in from the sea. Overnight the river has continued to drop and it looks a great deal more manageable today and I’m sure we will see the score here at Lower much improved.

Jonny and Laura H

The weather looks pretty settled for the coming week, it might be a bit chilly but no real rain is forecast so we can expect steadily improving conditions. I look forward to updating you tomorrow.

Christopher Robinson