Roxtons' Varzuga Blog

End of the season review

2011-06-28T12:17:00.010+01:00

As ever the season has simply flown by and it is hard to believe that it was only 6 weeks ago that our first guests got off the helicopter at Lower and Middle Varzuga.

From that first week it was clear that it was going to be a bumper season as those 13 rods landed an average of 61 fish per person. It can be cold at this time of the season but early on is when the big numbers of fish run and this year was no exception.

Guide Losha with an early season fish

As the season progressed it was also clear that unless we had heavy rain it was going to be a relatively low water year. This is something that we generally welcome as it makes the river more defined and easier to read although it can make boating to some of the beats harder than we would hope. In the event we did have rain on the 3rd week of our very short season which helped somewhat but the last two weeks did involve some walking for some of the camps.

Midnight on the Varzuga

The amazing thing about the river is that it does not seem to be affected by sun, rain, wind or extreme temperatures. In conditions that would mean most rivers would not produce fish (we had one day of 30 degrees Celsius with a searing sun) the Varzuga continued to be remarkably productive.

A decent fish from Lower Varzuga

We finished our season with a very healthy average of 37 fish per rod per week. The lower water also meant that we could access areas of the river earlier in the season than usual and this led to some big fish being landed. Several fish of over the magical 20lbs mark were taken with plenty in the high teens.

The Varzuga is not a river where you are likely to land a fish of over 40lbs but it offers an unrivalled opportunity to hook a very good number of salmon and I lost count of the number of people who commented on how much they had learnt about their fishing after a week on the river.

The new lodge at Lower

The new accommodation at Lower Varzuga is quite simply superb and with some finishing touches it will be the best lodge on the Kola by quite some margin. As we continue to invest in the boats, the accommodation and the training of the guides, the programme improves year on year and we look forward to our next 20 years on the river.

For 2012 we are excited to say that we are able to substantially reduce the cost of fishing at Lower Varzuga and Kitza for the prime weeks thanks to an exciting opportunity presented to us by our new Russian partner. Please contact me in the office for further details.

Middle Varzuga in June

It has been a wonderful season with an amazing total of 5,401 fish landed over the 6 weeks – there simply are not many places that can match these statistics in terms of Atlantic salmon fishing and I am constantly reminded as to how lucky we are to be able to fish there every year.

Could this be you next year?

We will not update the blog any further until the start of the 2012 season but my thanks goes to all of you who fished with us this year and I will look forward to seeing you on the river next year.

Charlie White

The last day

2011-06-25T05:16:00.001+01:00

The last day

A brief blog; sadly we close the camp down today and last night hauled all the boats out of the water and secured them well above (we hope) next Springs river ice break.

We ended the season on a happy note here at Middle Camp with another excellent day, although I know the fishing in this low water has been tougher than normal up on Pana.

At Middle Camp we had a strong upstream wind all day, not easy fishing at times and in Yovas Rapids there were strong gusts from all directions. Despite that our six guests landed 42 salmon with Richard D catching 12 to take him to over 50 for the week – not bad for a youngster who had only caught 3 salmon before he came here!

Ian C at Royal Dee in Yovas Rapids

Middle ended the week with 230 fish to six rods, much better than last year and well above the long term average. At Pana I’m afraid the team struggled slightly in very low water conditions, even so they had 119 for their team of eight.

Shortly the helicopter arrives to take our guests back to Murmansk and thence to home. Tiffy and I will go to the village this afternoon, find our car and retrace our steps back to Norway to see our friends on Lakselva.

This is always a sad moment – how the season flies by. A huge thank you to Genadiy Nagirniak and all the Russian teams in Kitza, Pana, Middle and Lower Camps for all their hard work, support and friendship this year. I look forward to being back in May next year.

Andy B with one of his 50 salmon for the week

Charlie will summarise the season on the blog early next week. In the meantime we will all take home wonderful memories of this remarkable river, the stunning scenery and the warm hearted people of Varzuga village.

Christopher Robinson

Warm Water

2011-06-24T07:59:00.003+01:00

Another bright day yesterday with a reasonable breeze that caught you out occasionally if your casting got lazy. Ian C and Andy B were first away, eager to get up Yovas Rapids. Ian, having fished the Varzuga with us for most years since 1991 has stuck to his Bomber pretty much all week, knowing that he might land more on a conventional fly but happy to experiment and have some fun. He came home having banked six salmon.

Peter and James D with Misha returning to camp

Andy B, in his first trip to Varzuga has been determined to make the most of the numbers of fish here and landed 9 yesterday using an intermediate sink tip and his special killer fly. The fly is of his own tying and he brought three with him, one he kindly gave to James D, a pike dealt with the second yesterday so, on his last day he has one left. Not too much of a problem as he is not one to knock off flies on rocks when casting.

The last of Andy B's special flies

The water temperature crept up to 17⁰C yesterday and the level continued to drop, the salmon have started to move out of the slower and medium paced flow into the fast stuff. This was very noticeable yesterday and caught us out a bit in the morning.

Hugh landing Jemima's first salmon

With only two days left here, Hugh took Jemima out in a boat to see if she could land her first salmon – which she duly did, a nice 8lber from Simmons - celebrated with a banya and a swim in the river!

The first salmon smile

We ended the day here at Middle Camp with a creditable 32 salmon plus Jemima’s first. The Pana team struggled with the warm water and bright sun and had 15.

Our last day today – the season has just flown by, it is cloudy and quite windy again. Overall good conditions but tough casting I suspect.

Christopher Robinson

Just around the corner

2011-06-23T06:27:00.002+01:00

The water level continues to drop and as it does the pools are becoming more attractive and defined. We haven’t seen the water as low as this in June for many years and exploring new spots is fascinating and often rewarding.

Yovas Rapids, Royal Deeside pool

Lawrence and Richard D walked up Yovas Rapids yesterday, I explained that there was no need to go all the way to Scotts as the lower and middle section was fishing well and full of fish (the beats here are so long that it is seldom all the pools can be covered in a day). In fact they did walk all the way to the top and came back with 21 salmon between them, most from the area of Scotts. Lawrence explained that as they walked up they’d see a pool and mark it to be fished on the way back, then the fisherman’s inherent curiosity kicked in and they walked to the next corner to have a look – another fabulous pool – so, inevitably, they were drawn further on. They hardly fished the middle and lower sections and the two groups going there today are champing at the bit to get going.

James D and Misha with one of James's four salmon yesterday

We completed a great day with an after dinner Bomber demonstration on Generator by Ian C where he rose, hooked and landed a fish for the gallery. That took us to a tally of 36 – not bad for very bright conditions.

Pana reported 20 yesterday with a really nice fish of 15lbs falling to Alistair M in Lunch Pool.

Madonna's

Andy B broke his rod on Tuesday and borrowed one of our Guideline ACT 4 rods kindly supplied by Guideline Director Espen Myhre. He rated it very highly and had seven salmon on it from Simmons, one of which was a cracking 10lber straight in from the sea.

Andy B in action with the Guideline rod

Only a light wind today thank goodness, quite warm and overcast – looks good.

Christopher Robinson

Mid Summers Day

2011-06-22T07:00:00.001+01:00

Mid Summers Day announced itself with a weather front of howling upstream wind and rain, the team knew casting into it was going to be tricky at best and enthusiasm for the day ahead was somewhat subdued.

Andy B and Ian C took the Royal Deeside area of Yovas Rapids where, despite the conditions, Andy had nine fish by 2 o’clock before his double handed rod broke. He struggled on with his light single handed in the wind and came back in the evening with his mind querying what the score might have been had he been able to cover the water. Ian C had 10 fish from Green Bank and Royal Dee, four on a bomber and the rest on Sunrays; he declared the beat ‘heaving with fish’.

Tired but happy after a long day in the wind

Opposite them Peter D had six salmon before he too broke his rod - it was one of those days. Lawrence and Richard D drew the ever productive Simmons and landed 13 between them and we finished the day with a remarkable 40 salmon to six rods in pretty atrocious conditions.

Midnight at Middle Camp

Up at Pana the team again had 30 fish, yesterday evenly spread amongst the team. The water up there is really clear and low and a certain amount of experimentation with flies is going on, today they will try blue – not a colour we usually use here.

Tim Scott Bolton painting at Green Bank

We had the artist Tim Scott-Bolton out here for a couple of weeks and he has created a wonderful collection of paintings of the river and Varzuga village. His exhibition will be held at the Tryon Gallery from 6-9 December.

A typical 'big sky' on Varzuga

The wind dropped last night, looks much better today although quite bright. More tomorrow…

Christopher Robinson

Another good day

2011-06-21T08:21:00.001+01:00

The forecasters delayed our expected rain for 24 hours and we had a bright, sunny day. Pretty good conditions which were only marred by a strong up-stream wind that kicked in about 2 p.m. By the time we finished fishing at 6 p.m. it was blowing a gale. For the first time in many weeks no one fished after dinner, preferring a banya followed by arm chair fishing by the fire.

Lawrence D in action

At Middle Varzuga our team of six landed 31 salmon. The fish seem evenly spread throughout this long beat and here were no particular hot spots, other than Simmons again from which James D had 5 fish. Lawrence and Richard D put in a long day, walking with Hugh our Camp Manager up from Blue Rock to Scotts and fishing back down. They had six salmon apiece and returned tired but happy.

A beautifully marked salmon for Richard D

The fishing at Pana picked up and they landed 31 for the day with Charlie McV and Paddy D-P top scorers with seven each. With a ferry boat now in the Lagoon, access to the lower fishing is easier.

A happy father and son

We had quite heavy rain last night and the Longest Day of the year has dawned damp and very windy. Hoping for a clearer evening as we are planning a midnight BBQ, and some fishing on Generator of course, to celebrate mid-summer just 6 km short of the Arctic Circle.

Christopher Robinson

Mixed Blessings

2011-06-20T07:22:00.002+01:00

Low water brings mixed blessings here at Middle Camp on the Varzuga. On the plus side the pools become more defined, fishing effort can concentrated on the more obviously productive salmon lies and the river looks stunningly beautiful. On the down-side boating is tricky to say the least. Yesterday we all clipped rocks in a couple of places so today there are two shallows where we shall get out and walk the boats through, it does not take long and is well worth the effort.

Lawrence D below Pic-nic

We had a great start to the week; having landed eight fish in Generator on their first evening our six rods set off with the sort of enthusiasm that deserved reward. Andy B and Ian C walked up from Blue Rock to Scotts – their effort paid a handsome dividend in the form of 21 salmon between them. Ian experimented a bit and had four on a Bomber with numerous others risen. Andy stuck to his Mediator tied specifically to Jim Fisher’s instructions and finished his ‘best days fishing ever’ catching four more out of Simmons on the way home - giving him a total of 17 salmon for the day. The team finished with 44 in the book, the biggest at 13lbs for young Richard D.

Richard D with one of his 10 salmon since Saturday evening

The low water hampered the experienced team at Pana. They just got into double figures, with the float trip again yielding the best results. Today we are adjusting the pre-positioning of the boats which should improve access to the lower beats.

Simmons in low water - nine salmon were caught here yesterday afternoon

Rain is forecast today, no sign of it yet and anyway unless we have a massive amount the desperately dry tundra will just soak it up. Pana would welcome even a shower, here at Middle I suspect the team would prefer to enjoy the river as it is.

Christopher Robinson

Low Water

2011-06-19T07:27:00.000+01:00

Last week we dusted off the seldom used file marked ‘Low Water Drills’. The river continued to drop steadily and by the end of the week access by jet boat to some areas was denied to us. All camps were having to adjust their beats; Pana struggled to get down-stream to Ponzoi, but despite not fishing Ponzoi for three days they finished with a solid 376 fish to the eight rods.

Laurence L in action at Simmons

At Kitza the pools above First Island had to be walked to. I saw team leader Richard G at the airport, he reported good runs of fresh fish coming in but with low, warm water the fish were not stopping much in the lower pools by camp. His team had made good work of the conditions with 120 for the week.

Dreamy water - Scotts, at the top of Yovas Rapids

At Middle we finally stopped boating the Yovas Rapids on Thursday evening. Friday saw two teams fish up the rapids by foot – an enjoyable ‘expedition’ with a pic-nic lunch and BBQ’d salmon by Green Bank. We finished the week at Middle Camp with 307 salmon for the 11 rods. Just about level with the long term average.

Frans Van S and Hans K pic-nic on Green Bank

The new teams were all in camp by 4:30 yesterday. By 5:30 here at Middle Richard D (our youngest guest of the season), guided by his father Lawrence, had landed his first Varzuga salmon and went on quickly to a total of four by the time dinner was called! Seldom seen a smile like that one!

Frans van S with one of four fish from Scotts

Very bright today, but a good start with Ian C having two before breakfast from Generator. More tomorrow...
Christopher Robinson

The Switch

2011-06-17T07:34:00.002+01:00

I came into breakfast this morning to overhear a conversation about the switch. I assumed someone’s cabin hot water heater had fused. It became clear that the discussion was about Nature's river switch that sometimes confounds us salmon fishers.

Green Bank in Yovas Rapids

After four days of really good fishing weather our fifth day was extraordinary bright with a strongish up-stream wind. It never really felt fishy, the water temperature climbed back to 15⁰C, everyone had to work hard for reward. In other words, it was not a day our guests went down to the boats with a skip in their step. Simon G again managed to work it out and had 6 salmon from the fast water at Korevi Pots on the single handed rod. Sadly his success was not reflected across the board and we finished the day on 31. By no means a bad score but given the number of fish here it was decided that Nature had thrown the switch on us.

Ian R and Artiyom at Scotts

I have not heard Kitza’s final score from yesterday, rumour has it that it was around 20, taking them over 100 for the week so far. Like us, Pana had a patchy day landing 40 salmon of which 12 came off the ever popular float trip. Dan B had another excellent day with 12 good fish landed.

Conditions improved last night as the cloud cover returned, Laurence L had four from Generator and another two this morning before breakfast, all on his 13 foot split cane rod.

Waxwing, photographed by Hugh yesterday

A softer morning today, with some cloud cover – looks much better (I hope I have not spoken too soon!).

Christopher Robinson

A 25lber at Pana

2011-06-16T06:58:00.001+01:00

A warm day yesterday but not too bright giving us pretty good fishing conditions over the whole river. Our regular team of eight guests at Pana did not land quite as many as previous days with 49 salmon banked. Although numbers were slightly down they had two super fish, one of 25lbs to Ashton C and an 18lber to David L.

Alexander T and Artyium in Generator

The Kitza party had over 20 fish, I do not have the full score yet, but I heard that Brian P was leading the way with 7 salmon by early afternoon. In the evening they all went down to the mouth of the river on the White Sea for a BBQ. This expedition is always enjoyed, the White Sea light is extraordinary in the evenings and the coast is teeming with wild life and birds. Often we see whales in the estuary.

Midnight on the White Sea coast

The fishing at Middle camp is proving remarkably consistent with 58 salmon landed, all fairly evenly spread amongst the rods other than Laurence L who made the most of the faster water at Pashas Rest and banked 15. We saw more pods of fresh grilse splashing through yesterday – they fight like mad, jumping spectacularly.

The Choice

The water temperature is a perfect 12⁰C and at Middle Camp the level continues to drop about 2.5 cm per day. Very much floating line conditions and small flies in the range 8 – 12.

First Island on Kitza

Christopher Robinson

A new fly

2011-06-15T07:51:00.002+01:00

Experimentation continues. Yesterday evening Paddy F produced a good looking fly tied by a Spey ghillie and it was decided to copy it. However, missing from our fly tying kit was any suitable white hair. The only possible source was soon narrowed down to Mouchar (ch like lough), our large camp dog whose role is to keep bears off this island camp. Mouchar means fly in Russian so it all seemed to be coming together nicely.

Mouchar

Mouchar lives outside most of the year and his thick, back hair proved to be poor fly tying material. After some debate we recalled from where, on a rams anatomy, the body dubbing for the famous trout fly The Tups Indispensible comes from.

Now - those of you who know where on a ram the dubbing for a Tups originally came from will grasp immediately the delicate and possibly dangerous nature of the task ahead.

Franz van S, Hugh and Hans K designing the fly

Fortuitously we were able to pour sufficient vodka into Hugh, our camp manager, that he risked life and limb to acquire the necessary hair. So a new fly was born and taken on its first outing by Frans van S who landed one and lost three on it. It has yet to be officially named although several suggestions have been made, the only one I dare mention on this blog is the Mutts Nuts.

Keith J fishing Party Pool yesterday

I digress - on the fishing front, the Kitza party have landed 64 salmon so far this week with the better fishing on the higher beats. Low water is now beginning to limit their fishing to the more accessible pools. Pana continues to be excellent, yesterday Charlie T had 17 fish out of a total of 74. Here at Middle Varzuga we had 56 for the day with Simon G again getting a 14lber on a single handed rod and tiny skated fly. Party Pool was full of fresh fish yesterday - very encouraging.

Christopher Robinson

Experimentation

2011-06-14T07:51:00.000+01:00

A cold morning yesterday, but by lunch time the weather improved and we had another glorious afternoon of mixed sun and cloud.

A light lunch on the river bank

At Middle Camp Jemima produced a ‘little light luncheon’ on the river bank; the combination of roast chicken and warm sunshine led to the inevitable siesta before battle was re-commenced later in the afternoon.

A post lunch nap

Frans van S landed his first Atlantic salmon from Bear and then proved this was not just luck by quickly landing another and losing two in Generator. It is always a relief to have everyone on the score board, and with plenty of fish here experimentation has started in earnest. Laurence L had a couple of fish on his 13 ½ foot Hardy split cane rod and a 1922 Perfect reel. The reel makes a wonderfully iconic sound as the fish take line; “The church bells are ringing” a guide in Norway once said to me. After catching a fish of 13lbs in Simmons yesterday Simon G has borrowed my 10 foot Sage and a box of small skating flies to see what he can tempt to the surface.

Frans Van S playing his first salmon

Jamie the camp manager at Pana reported 71 fish yesterday, the lower beats providing the best fishing and the boats are still able to get through to Ponzoi . At Middle we landed 50 fish for the day, with more caught after dinner and not yet in the book. The water temperature has dropped back to 12⁰C, just perfect for the Varzuga.

Sandy S and Anton in East Generator

More tomorrow..

Christopher Robinson

Captain Nemo's report

2011-06-13T08:19:00.002+01:00

We had perfect Varzuga fishing conditions yesterday morning, mixed sunshine and showers and a soft down-stream breeze to flatter the casting skills (not that this team at Middle Camp need much help – most having ‘fished a bit’!). The afternoon was more tricky, quite cold, the wind picked up and the salmon put their heads down.

Sandy S, Rafael M and Anton heading off to Green Bank

Pana continues to fish wonderfully and the eight rods landed 105 salmon; Dan B was top rod with a fabulous day of 29 fish.

Straight in from the White Sea

Kitza reported a biggish run of grilse coming through the lower beats and they had 29 fish for the team of seven. Here at Middle Camp our 11 guests landed 70 salmon. Birthday and Party Pools are just beginning to slow down and now we are sending two boats right up to the top beats at the head of Yovas rapids – possibly the most beautiful place on the river.

Midnight sun last night

After a busy Saturday I had a chance yesterday to catch up on some administration, and to reflect on last week’s fishing. Despite the very hot, bright weather Kitza and Pana had excellent weeks, both hovering around the consistent long term average of 30 salmon per rod/week. Middle Camp was slightly ahead with just under 40 salmon per rod. Very creditable results given the conditions. All of us involved in the river feel the run of fish this year is stronger than 2010 and there seems no shortage of fresh, silver fish still running in from the White Sea.

Emillio R-G with a really good salmon from Snake Pit

I’m going out guiding today – needing practice after being soundly beaten by young Jesse last week. A public apology to Paul Young and Colin S for our boating adventure on the rocks on Thursday. The guides here at Middle Camp are amused at my new title of ‘Captain Nemo’!

Christopher Robinson

P.S. Cooler this morning. 4⁰C at breakfast so it might be a slightly tougher day.

Cooler weather

2011-06-12T07:44:00.000+01:00

Saturdays up here bring a degree of urgency and, dare I say it, controlled chaos at Murmansk airport; it is always a relief to get everyone on to the helicopters and on the way to the camps. We were all settled in by late afternoon and within minutes rods were being put up in eager anticipation of a week on the Varzuga.

Tom C-B last week

We are now concentrating our fishing efforts from the Pana, Kitza and Middle Camps and I have based myself at the later. All camps had landed fish before dinner last night, here at Middle the team landed 20, Simon G leading the way with 7 salmon from Generator.

Arctic Terns watching for smoults

We had some rain in the evening and thankfully the baking hot sun of last week has been replaced with much cooler, cloudy weather giving us excellent fishing conditions. The water temperature had reached 16⁰C on Thursday, hopefully it will now drop back towards an optimum 12⁰C. Floating lines remain the most popular, flies are the usual eclectic range the top choice probably being a size 8 Cascade.

Another salmon from the famous Generator Pool

This morning has started well with Laurence L putting 4 bright silver salmon into the record book before having breakfast (wearing a very happy smile!).

More tomorrow….

Christopher Robinson

It ain’t half hot

2011-06-10T06:24:00.000+01:00

Yesterday was more of the same weather wise and it got up to 30 degrees by lunchtime. The water temperature was 17 degrees and the height had dropped by about 3 inches which is a lot for a river of this size.

Here at Lower Varzuga we fished in the morning where Paul Y had 2 nice fish and then we had a long lunch, a siesta and hit the river again at around 7pm. With the guides working from 9am to 6pm it was left to Jesse, the camp manager and Christopher Robinson to take the 3 clients out in separate boats. Rather inevitably things got competitive as both tried to prove that they knew the river better than the other in an attempt to put their rods on fish. Christopher has been up here for 20 years and Jesse 2 – bets were placed and bold statements were made. Kola discretion prevents me from disclosing full details but let’s just say that Jesse is walking a foot taller this morning and that Michael G was happy he chose to be guided by the newbie!

Paul Y with one from the morning

At Middle Varzuga the team also had an early supper in order to make the most of the cooler evening. They had 58 between the 12 rods and they worked hard for their fish as it really was seriously hot yesterday afternoon.

At Kitza, Roger B had a bonanza session in the afternoon with 7 fish out of Sasha’s pool. Having had a couple in the morning he finished on 9 for the day and whilst he valiantly tried in the evening for his 10th fish it would not oblige. 24 bright fish, straight off the tide, were landed to their 7 rods.

Picture taken by Christopher - not of his rods playing fish...

Up river at Pana they are having a great week as they continue to have kinder weather (in fishing terms) to contend with. The 8 rods landed 59 fish and Jean H had a stunning fish of 18lbs from Ponsoi pool.

I am going home with the clients tomorrow so Christopher Robinson will be your blogger over the next fortnight and he will be based at Middle Varzuga. I hope he has as superb a time as I have had over the past three weeks.

Charlie White

Heat wave on the Kola

2011-06-09T06:08:00.001+01:00

The good news is that we now have power as the mains supply has been reconnected and everything is working as we would hope. The bad news is that we are experiencing a major heat wave. This has affected the fishing but, as ever with this river, we can still find fish even if we should really be sunbathing. We reached a temperature of 28 degrees yesterday and the water is at 14 degrees Celsius this morning -long leaders and small flies will be the advice today.

The team at Middle Varzuga had 75 fish yesterday to their 12 rods. Hugo M was the star turn with 15 fish for the day whilst James MacP had 6 from Bear in just under an hour between 6-7pm. If this weather continues they are going to have an early supper today and fish into the night as the temperature drops.

Paul Young about to land a fish from Green Bank

Here at Lower such ideas are firmly frowned upon and fishing after dinner is strictly for staff only. We had 9 fish to the 3 rods yesterday and Colin S took a lovely fish of around 12lbs from the bottom of Heli pool. With Paul Young keeping us all amused with his stories of filming Hooked on Fishing it has been great fun but it would be nice to see a bit of cloud cover to help us.

At Kitza all of the seven rods caught fish and they totalled 25 for the day – as ever Kitza can cope with these sort of conditions rather better than most.

Colin S after landing his 12lber

On the other hand Pana had a shower of rain yesterday which just demonstrates why I don’t particularly trust the weather reports in this part of the world. Pana is only 80 miles north of us but experiences its own weather patterns. They finished with 49 for the day whilst their final score for the day before was 54 fish. Jack M is demonstrating his knowledge of the river and had 15 fish to his own rod yesterday. Many thanks to our Spanish friends who have emailed me some pictures of their stay at Pana last week.

A nice one from Pana last week

It is another “El Scorchio” today and I was rudely awakened this morning by a blistering sun filtering through my bedroom window. It does mean that the river, the trees and the flowers look quite beautiful but as of today I would probably trade the view for some cloud cover.

Charlie White

A power cut in the village

2011-06-08T05:49:00.002+01:00

One of the major changes that we have seen in the last 5 years at Lower Varzuga has been the switch from generator power to mains electricity as the pylons slowly marched their way across the tundra to the village. At first it felt like an imposition into our wilderness world but naturally it soon becomes the norm and makes life considerably easier. Until there is a power cut!

From Varzuga to Umba (a considerable distance) the power is down and yesterday was spent dusting off old generators and hoping that they would still work. After some spluttering and coughing we now have electricity to the kitchen, the dining room and the client cabins.

Dan B and Sergei yesterday morning

The first job was to make sure we could charge the computer and satellite phone (as power to the mast for mobile reception is also down) which led to all of us jostling for space over the few plugs in the kitchen that were working off the generator. Supper might be late but the blog cannot be!

We had the mid week changeover last night and we took the seven rods over to Kitza and brought three rods plus Tim Scott Bolton back to Lower Varzuga. Tim is out here for two weeks as our resident artist and he will be exhibiting his work of the Varzuga in the Autumn – more on that to follow.

Kitza from the air last night

The team of 7 rods finished their time at Lower with 50 fish. Not as many as perhaps I had hoped but we have had three days of bright sunshine which has not been ideal for the fishing. The 3 rods at Kitza had 42 fish which is rather more as I would expect. Kitza is a narrower valley and is less susceptible to bright sunshine as there is more shade throughout it.

At Middle the team had 67 for the day with Emilio G taking a cracking fish of 22lbs from Birthday pool.

The two teams from Lower and Kitza at the mid week drinks party

With the power off our radio is now working on batteries and so conversations have been quite short. I could not hear Pana this morning but as of last night they were on around 40 fish for the day with a few rods still to report their scores.

Whilst this temporary loss of power is boring for us it is having a much greater effect on the village (they have a saw mill, a school, a dairy and numerous workshops to power) and so there is a huge desire from everyone to re-establish communications which I hope they will have done by tonight. Back to basics is great but only for so long!

Charlie White

Smashed leaders and lost fish

2011-06-07T06:30:00.000+01:00

Yesterday was clearly a day when the fish won. We landed a lot of fish across all of the camps but there were plenty of tales about fish lost, snapped leaders and backing being torn out of reels before the inevitable.

I spent a great afternoon with Dan B at Wires and Sabacci Rapids where we had two fish to the bank and one fish that took roughly 200 yards of running line and backing before disappearing back to the White Sea. After 10 years of coming up here it still never fails to amaze me quite how strong some of these fish can be.

Tom C-B with a fish from Middle Varzuga

We finished with 18 for the day whilst at Kitza the three rods had 11 fish. Christopher Robinson and I took a trip to Middle Varzuga last night to see the rods up there and so I missed the chance to talk to Tom, the manager at Kitza, about the action they had throughout the day but I will find out more tonight.

Christopher Robinson at the helm on the way to Middle

At Middle everyone was doing well but Hugo M, on a single handed rod, was the leader of the field and he had 22 fish in the book. He knows the river intimately which makes such a difference and he also is prepared to wade deep and far which in these warmer conditions can be a huge advantage as the fish run further out in the main current. They totalled 89 for the day with as many lost again.

Our picnic yesterday at Lower Varzuga

At Pana they finished with 41 to the 8 guests with some superb fish netted. This morning is bright, warm and with barely a breath of wind so I hope for more of the same as we had yesterday

Charlie White

Varzuga exercise

2011-06-06T07:26:00.000+01:00

We had another excellent day yesterday and the radio calls in the evening were a cacophony of noise as each camp manager tried to tell their own stories as to what had happened in their camps.

Hugh, the manager at Middle, managed to establish air time and related a story regarding Hugo M fighting a big fish that gave him a serious work out. Whilst fishing Snake Pit he hooked a fish that stripped him of all of his line and took him 300 yards into the backing with the drag on his reel as tight as it would go. When it was clear that he was going to run out of line he started running down the river. 100 yards later he realised he could not keep up and summoned the boat. With some deft work his guide got him into the boat and started to follow the fish downstream. Sadly the fish continued to scream away to the White Sea and the inevitable “ping” that followed could only be acknowledged by a shrug of the shoulders and the fact that some of the big ones will get away.

Dan B with his first Russian salmon

The 12 rods at Middle had 83 fish for the day with Jim R taking 12 fish to his rod.

At Kitza we have a small team of 3 rods being looked after by TV star Paul Young. As was perhaps inevitable with his experience, Paul had 12 fish to end up as the top rod whilst the final total was 22 fish for the day.

Further up river (by about 80 miles) we welcomed 8 friends back into Pana and their experience of the river showed. Jean H was the top rod with 13 fish and they had 40 in total with Barrie W landing a nice fish of around 12lbs from Northumberland Avenue.

Julian P and a thick set fish taken from Green Bank

Here at Lower Varzuga our 7 rods had a slightly tougher day as they worked out the beat, the wading and the vagaries of fishing in Russia, of which 6 of them are new to. 18 fish were landed with Julian P, the only rod who has been here before, taking 6 for the day. Whilst it might not have been quite the flier I was hoping for in terms of numbers, it is clear that our team here is determined to enjoy every minute of it and we had an excellent dinner last night that lasted well into the evening.

"Sit down please"- our rods and guides this morning

It is a quite beautiful day today with much less of a breeze than we faced yesterday and lunch will be a picnic on the river. The water dropped by about an inch last night and most rods have now moved fully on to floating lines whilst a skated fly was tried yesterday evening. If this warm weather continues, this visually exciting way of fishing will become the norm and we can start to really experiment with summer fishing tactics.

Charlie White

A new week

2011-06-05T07:26:00.000+01:00

The expected delays in Murmansk airport were strangely absent yesterday and our returning rods had hardly gone through check in for the charter home before the incoming clients were through immigration. We got into camp by about 4:30pm and had plenty of time for a few fish in the evening.

Last week was one where quite simply everything went right. The weather was kind apart from the odd session, the river is looking stunning as the trees and flowers move into their summer colours and there were a lot of fish caught in all camps.

Rob W in the bright sunshine

At Pana the eight rods had a total of 233 fish for their week with plenty of fish weighing in the high teens and at least 2 fish that were certainly over the 20lbs mark. Sadly, they had gone through check in by the time I arrived at Murmansk (they and Middle flew on an earlier helicopter) and so I was not able to download any of their pictures.

Here at Lower Varzuga the team of 8 rods, led by top Rutland guide Rob Waddington had 274 fish for their 6 days. Their scores from Kitza for the 3 days were 134 and then they had 140 here – very even fishing. The 9 rods that started at Lower Varzuga took a total of 252 for their week with 3 of them landing their first ever Atlantic salmon.

How big was it Jeremy?!

It was interesting to speak to the more experienced rods who commented that there are not too many rivers where advanced fishers can really push themselves whilst at the same time the more novice rods will also be rewarded for their efforts.

At Middle, the 12 rods had a phenomenal week. Exactly 800 salmon were put in the book to give an average of just over 66 fish per rod for the week. There is no doubt that they put in a lot of hours to achieve these numbers but it does demonstrate what is possible on the river if you are prepared to work for it.

If the mobile network goes down we post the blog by satellite

This week appears to have started in the same vein with Roger B having 3 this morning before breakfast. The day has started in bright sunshine and everyone was mad keen to get going this morning - they should have a good day.

Charlie White

Quick update before departure

2011-06-04T16:25:00.000+01:00

The last day of the week proved to be a very successful one with a lot of fish caught in all camps. We are going to fly to Murmansk shortly and so I will be brief but it has been the most wonderful week across all four beats with the radios crackling into life every few minutes with tales of fish being caught and lost.

Pana had their best day of the week with 53 fish. Jose F-M proved that his earlier catches were no fluke as he had 20 fish for his rod. Benjamin B had a tough morning but more than made up for it with 7 fish in the afternoon including one that was somewhere between 22-24lbs. I am hoping to get some pictures from the group today and I will post some of them next week.

Jesse with a lovely fish last night

At Kitza, Hywell E had a lovely fish of around 14lbs from Sasha’s pool whilst the team had about 30 fish for the day. There are one or two rods fishing this morning trying to get that extra fish just before the helicopter arrives.

Middle Varzuga is still fishing incredibly well. As is usually the case in this camp, a lot of the rods fish after hours and I will not know the final scores until tomorrow but they had around 130 fish for the day which puts them very near 800 salmon for the week to their 12 rods. David C was one of the top scorers yesterday with 20 fish.

A rare picture of my father minus a cigarette!

Here at Lower Varzuga we had 49 fish for the day and Jesse went out in the evening to find that extra one to take it to a round 50 for the day. He did so in style with a fish that was probably just over the 15lbs mark. Peter H and Ian E were the top rods for the day with 8 and 9 fish respectively.

Gerry H witha nice one from the Larder

It has been a great week to be up here with kind weather, plenty of fish to catch and camps full of people with smiling faces. I was down at the very bottom of our Lower Varzuga beat yesterday and saw masses of fresh fish coming in off the tide so I am very hopeful that next week will prove to be just as successful.

Charlie White

Rain and a rising river

2011-06-03T06:35:00.000+01:00

Yesterday was a pretty dour day weather wise with rain in the morning and an overcast sky but helpfully there was no wind at all which made things easier.

The river rose around 2 inches which can sometimes put the fish off but it didn’t yesterday. Having looked at our records of water height over the past 20 years, it is clear that despite the early break in the ice, we are around normal levels for the height of the river at this time of year and we can access all beats very easily.

Bob M with one the 12 fish he landed yesterday

At Lower Varzuga Bob M, on his first trip to Russia, had a bumper day and landed 12 fish to his rod.

He and Peter H were fishing Heli Pool in the morning and on the opposite bank they could see Mike T and Rob W fishing the Larder pool. At one point all 4 rods were bent into fish at the same time which to my knowledge is the first quadruple hook up we have had. 3 of those fish were landed along with 48 others as we finished with 52 fish for the day.

In the afternoon we were treated to the sight of supplies being brought to the camp in a less than usual way.

No road? Nyet problem!

Middle Varzuga again decided to have a very early supper and to fish in evening. They had around 110 for the day to their 12 rods but some fished very late into the night and others have got up very early this morning which has meant that Hugh has not got around to everyone to collect their final scores.

At Kitza, Jeremy C and Mark M were the top rods with 10 fish each for the day. Overall they had 42 fish yesterday but it was clear that the big run, that Tom and the guides saw the day before, have yet to disperse over all of the pools as some rods caught a lot of fish whilst others had a tougher day.

Rob W at Bear Corner on Wednesday

Up river at Pana they had a better day with 34 fish between the 8 rods. Jaime S was leading the way with 9 fish. It is Kate’s (cook at Pana) birthday today and it seems as if the clients are planning to cook their own tapas this evening as a present. I suspect that the event may be marked by the odd vodka as well..!

Team C at Middle

As is often the case on the last day of the week, everyone was up early this morning and ready with all of their kit on the dot of 9am – they are all keen to make the most of the fishing before they go home and with the run of fish that we have at the moment it is easy to understand why.

Charlie White

A visit from the choir

2011-06-02T07:52:00.000+01:00

After another “Costa Del Varzuga” day on the river, the weather men were finally proved correct and the weather changed dramatically. At around 7pm the skies darkened and we were treated to the most extraordinary thunderstorm. Very picturesque but not exactly safe for after supper fishing with the amount of lightening that we had!

The Varzuga village choir

At Lower Varzuga, fishing after supper was not on the agenda anyway as we were treated to a visit from the Varzuga village choir. The 9 strong team sang beautifully, with a range of songs about men going to war, boys meeting girls and finally a charming song offering prayers to the river itself. We were very grateful that they came down as they had braved lashing rain on their boat journey from the village.

Marina, on the left, in charge of the village stores and the choir

The fishing yesterday was quite tough everywhere apart from Middle Varzuga where they had a bumper day. The 12 rods had 136 fish with Stewart L taking 15 salmon from Pasha’s Rest in just over 3 hours – a wonderful spell of fishing. Jeremy H lost a fish that twice took him to the end of his backing and had him running down river to try to keep up with it but eventually the fish won.

Alan M with a nice one from the boat

In the rest of the camps the morning session was the most productive whilst the afternoon was made more difficult by burning sunshine and a very strong upstream wind.

It tested even the most competent of casters but here at Lower, Alan M and Alistair W fought valiantly through it to end the day on 7 and 6 fish respectively. Mike T had a cracking double digit fish from 39 Steps which he thoroughly deserved as he was casting into a gale down there. A very respectable total of 39 fish was the tally for the day.

Alistair W into one of his 6 fish for the day

At Kitza the team had 31 mint fresh fish with several rods deciding to call it a day slightly early in order to save their backs and shoulders. Tom, the camp manager at Kitza, said that he and the guides had seen a big run of new fish coming into the lower part of the system yesterday afternoon and we can only hope that they catch up with them today.

At Pana it was slightly slower and again, the weather played its part. I know that they had 22 fish but unfortunately, slightly I suspect due to the change in atmospherics, our radio call this morning was not very clear and I could not hear any more detail than that. I will try to find out more for tomorrow.

Ian E with one from the Wires

It is still raining this morning and whilst the river has dropped slightly overnight I would expect it to have risen by this evening as this rain runs off from the tundra. Bob M woke early today and has had 4 fish from Heli before breakfast whilst the wind has almost completely died down so I am hoping for an excellent day.

Charlie White

Mid week changeover on a scorching day

2011-06-01T07:32:00.002+01:00

Yesterday was the hottest day of the season so far and whilst the downstream wind made casting slightly harder, it did keep us cool.

After fishing here at Lower Varzuga we all got into the helicopter to go across to Kitza camp. It was good to see those clients we had dropped off on Saturday and it was obvious from the large smiles we saw as we came into land, that the 8 rods there had had an excellent three days.

Upstream from Kitza camp on a stunning evening

They finished their time at Kitza with 136 fish whilst the 10 rods that were fishing at Lower Varzuga tallied 156 – remarkably even fishing across the two camps. Kitza is a beautiful camp and is hard to beat and so it was nice to see the reaction of those rods, arriving here last night, to the new lodge. One of our clients, who has fished pretty much everywhere, confirms that it is certainly the most comfortable accommodation he has seen on any of the Kola rivers.

The new lodge at Lower - it is amazing how fast the grass has grown

At Middle Varzuga the camp manager, Hugh, decided to take action to negate the effects of the strong downstream wind. The wind tends to die down in the evening and they decided to have a very early dinner and take advantage of the softer conditions later. The plan paid off with a beautiful evening of fishing in great conditions and the 12 rods took 97 fish for the day with over 20 of those coming after dinner.

Karai enjoying the late evening sunshine

At Pana our Spanish friends continue to catch fish and to catch big fish. They had 39 for the day with Jose F-M again the top rod with 9 fish as well as a stunning 18lber.

Those bigger fish run through Lower and Middle Varzuga just after the break in the ice but they are strong enough to be able to run the middle of the river and so are too far out for us to reach them. When the river narrows, as it does at Pana, we are able to cover them which is why this camp is known for its bigger fish.

The view from my office - Hywell E into one yesterday

It is another very hot day today but I have just seen Alistair W take a fish out of Larder pool and so it does not seem to be affecting the fishing. The weather men said it would rain very hard this morning – it is good to see that they are as accurate here as they are at home..!

Charlie White

Rising water

2011-05-31T07:42:00.000+01:00

When we arrived on Saturday night it was raining lightly and Sunday morning was damp and dull but it is clear that there must have been a lot more rain in the catchment area overall. From Saturday evening to this morning the river has risen by around 4-5 inches which is a huge amount for a river of this size.
Yesterday morning was relatively difficult for all of the camps but the river levelled off by around 3pm and suddenly everyone started catching fish in the numbers that they had been on the first day.

Ueli Z with one of the 10 fish he had yesterday

Here at Lower Varzuga we had 60 fish to the 10 rods and Ueli Z, who has been coming out here for many years, had his first ever double digit day and landed a round total of 10 fish to his own rod. The other notable feat is that we have had 3 clients land their first ever salmon - Bill D, Gwyn D and Rhodri D are all on the score sheet and continuing to land more.

Rhodri D with his first salmon

Kitza had another great day with 50 fish landed to the 8 rods. Ian E and Peter H were top scorers with 14 and 13 fish respectively. It is strange, that with such an early break in the ice, the fish should be appearing in their numbers as late in the season as this but it is good to see that the run is as strong as ever. We will fly over there tonight to do the mid week changeover and their team will be here for the next 3 days.

Pana had another very good day and 35 fish were put in the book by the 8 rods with Jose F-M at the top of the charts with 9 fish. More big fish were a feature of the day and it sounded as if as many fish were lost as they were landed.

Bill D with his first fish - not a great picture but a great feeling

I took my father up to Middle Varzuga last night (it takes about an hour by boat) and we had an excellent dinner with the 12 rods there. Paul C and Jeremy H were the top rods on the day and they had had 15 fish each. A total of 115 fish for the day was excellent but they all felt that the strong upstream wind had probably had a detrimental effect on the overall score.

It's official, the blog is bribeable - one for Janet!

Sink tips remain popular but we have a very bright and warm day today, albeit with a very strong downstream wind, and it won’t be long before the sink tips prove less effective than a full floater.

Charlie White