A beautiful day but tougher fishing

Yesterday was a magical day to be on the river and when having a picnic at Snake Pit, sun shining and a light breeze, it was hard to think of somewhere better to be.

Gregoire De S playing a fish on Green Bank

However, it didn’t help the fishing much and it was a tougher day across all of the camps. Here at Middle we took 21 for the day with Hans K having a great morning on Fortress landing 4 fish.

At Kitza they had 22 fish and the star performer was Peter D with 8 fish, 6 of them from Old Dam where he had his big fish earlier in the week.

We have been seeing ospreys all week

Up river at Pana they had 37 with Charlie T and Ashton C combining to land the majority of the day’s total.

A quick tally shows me that we have so far caught around 3,500 salmon this season which is pretty amazing but perhaps the most amazing thing is that it will not go down as a vintage year for numbers on the river. We have had years with more fish but we have certainly had bigger salmon this season than in the past and I can’t remember another year when so many people have landed their first salmon. It is also hard to remember a year that has been more fun.

Kitza Camp in the sun

As ever, the last day seems to have crept up on us and tomorrow I will fly home for the final time this season and Christopher will be running things for the last week. Endless thank yous go to all of the camp staff and our Russian friends and partners; we are very lucky to be able to come here each year.

Charlie White

Did you hear it?

After 3 days of effort, enthusiasm, Gallic curses, lost fish and a lot of laughs, Joseph C beached his first fish yesterday morning and then proved it wasn’t a fluke by landing another one in the afternoon. The celebrations were long and loud and his valedictory speech was Oscar worthy.

Not the biggest but much deserved

That is 6 rods this week at Middle who have landed their first salmon as well as at least one I know of at Kitza – where else in the world of Atlantic salmon fishing is that possible?

Our conquering hero waves to his press

We ended the day with 27 on the bank with Tim P as top rod with 4 fish. It was a pretty awful day weather wise but everyone was wreathed in smiles when they came back in and all of the rods headed to the banya to ease aching muscles and warm up.

Jean Christophe fighting a fish on East Generator

The day at the top of Kitza was a great success with all rods enjoying the stunning scenery that is up there. They had 31 for the day whilst at Pana the 8 rods had 53 for their day.

Today is a much nicer day on the weather front but it is very bright. The fish might have their heads down so we are going to try some bigger flies through the deep pots in the rapids and will leave the skaters until this evening.

Charlie White

Skated flies prove their worth

Yesterday was a slightly tougher day, possibly as a result of bright sunshine throughout. Those who experimented did better as it was not really a day for tried and tested tactics.

Doug U and Ron S decided that Sunrays and skated mini Pot Bellied Pigs would be a fun way to spend the day and they were rewarded with 3 fish apiece. One on Upper Birthday came clean out of the water to take Doug’s fly which it duly did on the way down. On Clarks in the morning, Ron had a fish attack the Sunray 4 times before deciding enough was enough – a very exciting way to fish and a great way of finding fish.

Doug U with one from Birthday

We finished the day 22 fish with twice as many lost. Bill P was the top scorer on 5 but the Belgian Olympic swimming trials were the main talking point as I think we are averaging around 8 swims a day – there are not many spare canisters left!

Gregoire De S trialling for London 2012

Kitza took 16 for their day and they are leaving camp early this morning to get as far up river as possible in order to try some different water and to also fish in what is amazing surroundings. With the picnic packed and Tom carrying the wine, it should be a great day.

Vova enjoyed his lunch

Pana had 43 with fish being caught on the float trip, which is up river and also down as far as Northumberland Avenue so all beats are producing good fishing.

Today is more overcast and the river dropped an inch last night so it looks like a better day for fishing, let’s hope someone told the fish...

Charlie White

Close to 100 fish for the day

We had a good day yesterday and landed very nearly 100 fish for the day across the camps.

Arctic tern

Kitza had 30 to their rods and the highlight was undoubtedly Peter Dickson’s 18lbs fish from the Old Dam. A real cracker and straight in off the tide. Randall H has now landed 8 fish in his two days fishing which given that he has never fished for salmon before is some effort.

Pana had 41 again with Lord T utilising his unrivalled knowledge of the river to take 10 fish to his own rod.

Plenty of stoneflies for the wagtails

Here at Middle we had 23 and the prize for the top rod for the day goes to Gregoire De S who had 8 fish from East Generator and Fortress. Jean Christophe landed his first salmon and took some wonderful photos of the birdlife on the river, on which he is an expert.

Waxwing

Joseph C continues to impress us all with his determination to master the art of casting and suffered the agony of losing 3 fish yesterday – not long now and there is every chance that you will hear the celebration wherever you happen to be.

Jean Christophe with his first salmon

Jean Christophe with FFG - first fish grin

We caught fish yesterday on floating lines, sink tips, big flies, small flies and a skater so it is difficult to give definite advice but the one sure thing with this place is that if you are on the river you have a chance.

Charlie White

More firsts

Well I am not building an igloo but I won’t be sunbathing for a bit either. It is cold but dry today and the wind has a bite to it – not quite what we would expect in mid June. The rain of yesterday morning pushed the river up a couple of inches but it appears to have stopped rising now and hopefully we are fishing a falling river once more.

Yesterday Eric C and Frederick M landed their first ever salmon and Joseph C cast his first fly. He did not connect but with his epic enthusiasm it would be verging on mean of the fish if they don’t reward him soon.

Frederick making sure he got to know his first fish

Frederick M had the good sense to leave his fish until the last minute so that everyone was going past him in their boats as he played the fish – big grins all round.

A rather more formal introducion

Kitza had 28 for their first day to the 7 rods and Pana had 41 to their 8. We have been using a combination of sink tips and straight floaters; neither one seems to particularly outfish the other but Doug U did have a fish on a skated fly yesterday so we will try a few more of those today.

Despite being overcast, the river looks beautiful at the moment with wild flowers lining the banks and the areas around camp. The Arctic Terns are here in force and there are Waxwings everywhere, flying around and chasing the insects on the river as we fish. Yesterday Doug U and Ron S saw a White Tailed Eagle so all we need now is to see a bear – I will go down to the woods and see what I can find....

Charlie White

The new week brings new weather

As in most remote places, if you don’t like the weather as it is then just wait 5 minutes and it will probably change. That has been the case this morning as we woke to heavy rain and strong winds.

James W with 1 of his 17 fish from last week - not bad for someone who has never been salmon fishing before

The breakfast table was full of dark thoughts as to how cold everyone would be but by the time all the rods got to the boats to go to their beats, it was much warmer and had stopped raining entirely. It is now quite mild but the wind remains.

Last night saw Arnaud L land his first salmon and I would like to show you a picture but in the excitement of landing it he took a bit of a swim and his camera is now on the radiator...

Nick M with one of the 307 fish landed at Middle last week

Bill P took 2 fish out of Generator this morning and the team have set off with high hopes. I know from the radio that fish were caught at Kitza last night and this morning at Pana so the week is off to a good start.

Garth with his biggest fish of the season so far....

I have now got access to Garth’s camera and I thought a few pictures of the fishing here last week would be fun to see. More tomorrow when I will be either sunbathing or building an igloo.

Charlie White

A quick update

After a moderately sensible leaving party at Lower, I flew with our Kitza and Lower clients to Murmansk today where we were met by our second helicopter which brought in our guests from Middle and Pana.

Murmansk on Saturday is always amusing with everyone keen to know how everyone else got on and swapping stories whilst meandering through the never less than interesting systems that they have in the airport.

James S with another fresh one from Wires

It is normally pretty busy up there but I did manage to speak to Sir Gordon L who yesterday landed a 25lbs fish from Pana which finished his week off in fine style.

We all got to camp by about 5pm to be greeted by warm sunshine but with quite a stiff upstream breeze. A few rods have raced to the river and I know that one of our Belgian guests has already landed his first Atlantic salmon so I hope it is a positive portent of things to come this week.

Jessie on his last run back to Camp - hope to see him again next year

Middle camp is looking stunning at the moment and I am looking forward to spending a week up here, and reporting some good fish being landed.

Last day at Lower

The final day of our fishing here at Lower Camp is upon us which seems almost impossible to believe. Kitza, Pana and Middle Camp will fish on, but sadly we will hang up our rods here this evening. We have had a great season at Lower with lots of fish, fond memories, laughs and the odd hangover – exactly what a season on the Varzuga should be.

Rob W with one of his four fish from yesterday

Just reward for his success

Tonight we will get the boats out of the water and store them and their engines in our containers in order to protect them from the Arctic winter, before raising a glass or two to celebrate friendships made and memories shared.

Pasha and Feoder, top guides and top lads

Yesterday was a better day across all the camps with Rob W and Mike T leading the way with 4 apiece from Lower, at Pana they had 23 fish with Jack M taking two fish out of the camp pool on a skater after dinner. Kitza had 13 and lost quite a few, Middle reported consitent fishing with another 50 fish to the 12 rods.

Mike T with one from Green Bank

The weather is all over the place at the moment but this morning it is bright sunshine and it is really quite warm – a good day for fishing right on the surface, the guides all took monofilament leader with them this morning (rather than fluorocarbon leader - mono fishes skated flies much more effectively as fluorocarbon tends to sink).

Tomorrow we head back to Murmansk for changeover day, next week I will be based at Middle camp where I look forward to meeting up with the great team of clients and old friends that I know are coming out.

Charlie White

A tricky day

Sometimes we have to accept that the salmon will win on the odd occasion. Yesterday was one of those days and for whatever reason it was a tough day to catch fish. As you can imagine, we are not short on theories!

Konrad S with his first fish from the Varzuga, having already done well at Kitza

Here at Lower, Ian E was the top rod with 4 fish and at Middle the same number was landed by Egide de B, much to his delight, in amongst the 42 that the team had between them. At Pana they had 23 between them whereas over at Kitza, 13 were landed with our American friends showing everyone how it should be done. They went out for an hour in the morning, both caught a fish and then decided to call it a day – ultra cool was the word on the radio.

Sabacci rapids now look ideal for a skated fly

After yet another feast from Jenna, our team here decided against fishing but Jessie, the manager, went out for an hour or so and landed one as well as losing one. He got a couple of fish to come to the skated fly but with our water temperature at about 8 degrees last night they were not totally committed.

It is warmer now with a gentle breeze so hopefully the odds are now back in our favour and today will be a day where the rods come out on top.

Charlie White

A change in the weather

After 3 cold days we have got our summer back and today is warm, windless and feels much more like June.

Peter L with one of his fish from Coconut

Yesterday provided a great day at Middle with the 12 rods beaching 71 fish; Hugo M had a very productive afternoon and took 10 fish to his own rod. At Pana they had 25 fish, all below camp but two rods are going to take the float trip today to see how many fish have got to the upper reaches which will be an interesting experiment.

Nils M with one from the boat

Last night we flew to Kitza to do the mid week changeover and we bought back 8 very happy rods who had taken 94 fish in their 3 days over there with fish caught around camp and at the top of the beat. The very relaxed team who we took to Kitza had 41 fish for their time at Lower.

Looking upstream from Kitza camp last night

And then downstream - it looks perfect

Yesterday afternoon the team here went to look around the village and then spent time in camp so the home pools are well rested for the rods that we have here now and Ian E went out for an hour or so after supper last night and landed two fish as well as losing two others.

The water has now stopped rising and has pretty much levelled off without starting to drop yet and with the water temperature rising to 9 degrees this morning it is all set for a much nicer day to be fishing.

Charlie White

Going back in time

The bright sunshine that I feared was coming our way has not materialised and yesterday was another cold and wet day. The water level is now back to where we were on the 26th May and it feels more like early spring than summer.

Tony A with one of his fish from Heli

Our rods at Lower took 20 for the day with the highlight being Jerry W’s first fish which led to a celebration that was heard from here to Pana!

Jerry W's first salmon

I went to Middle last night where Donna cooked us a superb supper before a great fun evening developed with me learning Scottish as it was meant to be spoken. .. Nick M was very busy teaching our Belgian friends the finer points of deep frying Mars bars which led to a few bemused looks!

They had a better day yesterday with 53 fish landed whilst Kitza had 32 with Ian E and his son Peter leading the way with some excellent fish in the book.

Pana had 21 but the major feature there was the size of the fish; Matthew P and Jack M each landed fish that were weighed at 17lbs and were as fresh as paint.

A couple of fish from Pana last week

The water temperature has dropped to 8 degrees this morning but thankfully the river appears to have stopped rising and it feels a more settled day today. This evening we will take the helicopter over to Kitza for the mid week changeover and I will try and take a few pictures of the river for those of you coming next week.

Charlie White

A rising river and a day of firsts

The rain of yesterday has continued and its effects are being felt across the system. Here at Lower the river has risen 5 inches in the past 24 hours and my guess is that it has not stopped rising yet.

The rising river has certainly had an effect on the fishing and a pretty tough day was had across all the camps. It is typical that we should wish for rain and then curse it – perhaps we should be farmers not fishermen?

Omer B with a nice fish from the Beach

I will give the full figures tomorrow when everyone has come back in but a quick check on the radio revealed that Pana had around 20 to the 8 rods, Kitza 25-30 to 7 and Middle were around 40-45 fish to the 12 rods. At Lower we had a similar day but we had a day of many firsts. Peter L and Christian S landed their first Russian salmon and Tom W landed the first salmon he has seen in his life.

Peter L with his second Russian salmon, landed in the Wires pool

All the way from Mississippi, Jerry W and his son Tom have been grinning ever since they got here, not allowing the fact that they had never cast a fly before daunt them. It was justice for their determination to enjoy everything set before them that Tom should land his first fish this morning and his second this afternoon, we are confident that Jerry will not be far behind.

Tom W with his first fish on a fly

Sink tips, intermediates and 1 inch plastic tubes are still the best bets and whilst spring may have come early this year, it is not letting go easily and it was cold today with a biting downstream wind. Tomorrow is bound to bring bright sunshine and then no doubt we will curse that too!

Charlie White

Saturday evening update

Blimey, where did those two weeks go? Well, if you were here, it involved just under 2,000 fish landed to 58 rods so I have a slight feeling that I may have been in the wrong place ...

It is great to be back and thanks to Christopher for running things so smoothly. After a relatively pain free journey through Murmansk (did I actually see a customs officer smile at me ..? Surely not) we got to camp by about 5:30 pm to find the river lower than when I left it but not as low as we have known it in the past on the 5th June.

A happy team at Lower this evening

It has been raining quite hard and the river rose today by a couple of inches which should freshen things up a bit and give new impetus to the runs of fish.

I hear on the radio that Barrie W has been out for about 20 minutes and landed his first fish outside of Pana camp and is now retiring to champagne cocktails - not a bad way to start the week.

Here at Lower we had an excellent early dinner and all the rods are now going to give it a try before retiring.

More tomorrow when it will be interesting to see what effect all of this rain has had in the upper reaches as it will take some time to filter its way down here.

Charlie White

One of those days

Heavy rain last night, and a damp misty morning. At morning radio call Kitza confirmed that they had 40 to their seven rods yesterday. A good result.

Foggy morning - fish on

I flew up to the village to see the huge truck that arrived last night after a two day drive up from St Petersburg, laden with this years village supplies. On it I hoped were many important items amongst which were a washing machine for Leanna here at Lower Camp, and two outboard engines.

I guess I had made a bit of a fuss about getting this kit into Camp as quickly as possible - typically Michaelovitch pulled my leg and landed the helicopter not on the heli pad but right outside the modest office that over-looks the river. The good news is that the saw-dust left behind by the builders on the grass by the lodge has gone, the bad news is that most of it ended up in the office.

This was compounded by a massive stone fly hatch; they seem to love my printer and when I print a document there are a handful of stone flies ironed onto the page.

Jeff G had a tough day too, lost a good fish that darted through his guides legs at the last moment, broke his rod, and then had his zinger snap. The later a small thing I know, but really trying when a day is not going well.

On the fishing front - wish I could report more news - Tom at Kitza had set dinner back to 9 p.m. as rods were still out, I know that Oliver P had a 20lber from Beaver. It sounded like a good day over there. Pana picked up with 37, again with some big'ish fish, 7 over 12lbs and two around 15lbs. Here at Lower we had 24 to our five rods by this afternoon, several went out this evening and I hear that Didier F-M has just had his 60th salmon for the week.

No real rise in river level after the rain, it remains steady at the moment - and still a consistent 10 degrees. It looks well set for next week.

I'm off tomorrow to UK, Charlie is taking over for a couple of weeks. Leaving here is a real wrench; I'll be back on 19 June, but may not see the Russian team at Lower, some us go back a decade or more, a few of us nearly two decades .....

....Большое спасибо Лене и Мише, Федору, Паше, Леше и Сергею за поддержку обеспечения рыболовной программы. Надеюсь, что вам удалось порыбачить немного больше в этом году. Также, огромное спасибо, Владимиру, Минере и Марине. Я ценю вашу помощь. Вернусь 19-26 июня на Пундостров. Скорей всего я вас уже не увижу, поэтому мои лучшие пожелания и огромное спасибо. Жду с нетерпением следующего года – увидимся в начале мая 2011 года. Кристофер.

Christopher Robinson

Rain on the way

We seem to have settled down to pretty consistent catches – the river is remarkably steady at the moment despite three days of sun. The water level has hardly moved, nor has the temperature which remains in the 9°C – 11°C range. Kitza remains steady also, the water temperature there at 8°C for the past week or so.

We had another really bright day, a bit more wind unfortunately which troubled some fishers. Late afternoon it clouded over and this evening we have rain. The guides reckon we should get a few days of damp weather, the forecast looks this way too. None of us want too much rain, just enough to hold us up at this level for a few more weeks – asking too much I suspect!

Jessie with Jeff - trying to winkle one out of the run into Heli Pool this morning

Like yesterday the fishing was a bit patchy, good results but not always evenly spread. Pana had 21, down on yesterday which was a surprise. They fished more upstream today, and it seems the fish are still mainly below Camp. Kitza too had the same experience, Sasha’s Pool, below camp, produced really well today, and the upper beats did less well. They had between 30 – 35 for their seven rods – most still out when I spoke to them.

Brian C with one on at Moscoi

Middle camp confirmed that they had 66 yesterday (12 rods). Garth reckoned that they would be around the same today. Here on Lower we still have a couple of keen fishers out in the rain and I guess the five rods will account for around 25 – 30 for the day – very similar to yesterday. We are still seeing some excellent fish being banked. Pana again had three over 12lbs. Below is a photo of a really fit 15lber caught in Coconut Corner here at lower Camp this afternoon.

A very fit 15lber from Lower this afternoon

A consistent couple of days fishing despite the sun and wind. The rain is on its way, possibly bringing better fishing conditions, but we will miss the stunning blues of the river and the back light on the translucent green birch leaves that the sun illuminated so magnificently.

Christopher Robinson

A bright day

A bright day but with no wind thank goodness, by this afternoon the sky was a piercing blue and the fishing conditions not at their best. I have not had any meaningful scores in yet as our guests are making the most of another warm’ish end to the day to enjoy the river in the evening light.

Tom at Kitza said that Julian P had 12 salmon, others had done less well but were still out. The same with Middle, I know of two fishers who have 25 salmon between them today, but I gather the fishing was a bit patchy and many found the afternoon lean. At Pana Aaron mentioned that they had to work hard today, they had just over 30 by 6 p.m.

Dave leading Jeff G into the Heli Pool hot spot

Here at Lower the team who came over from Kitza got off to a good start, after dinner last night Arnaud FM landed five to give us a great show of how it should be done, including two from Paris Pool right outside the lodge. The afternoon was tougher here too, with a very bright sun right into the salmons eyes, despite that I think we will be around 5 salmon per rod.

Jeff G this afternoon

The river has hardly dropped in the last 24 hours and remains at a perfect fishing height, the rain storms a few days ago seem to have kept it topped up. Despite the sun the water temperature remains a constant 10°C.

If you are coming out this Saturday – Intermediate tips on floating lines are favoured by most fishers at the moment, the full floater with a slightly heavier fly also works well. The best flies are still around 1” or more. The mosquitoes are early this year, not a nuisance at this stage but it is best to bring repellent just in case.

But it could all change so come prepared - we are a long way North, it snowed at Pana on 8 June last year!

Christopher Robinson

Case Dismissed

The wind picked up again today, a really nasty blow from mid-morning until we came in at six; it was from the North so at least it was downstream which was a partial blessing. Very bright. Not the easiest of days, although this evening was again sublime, clear and great fishing after dinner for those with the stamina to give it a go.

Will T T 'hooked up' today at Lower Camp

I took Dave out this afternoon to guide him through the tail of Green Bank at the Lower Camp. The rule I like when I go off on adventures is floating line and skaters only (I had to break it last night with Julian P and it still haunts me!). We fished hard – nothing happened for two hours other than Dave lost a really serious fish that made a great explosion on the take. He blamed me (the guide) for the total failure; I blamed the weather. Back in camp I printed the barometric graph which showed that the pressure had been rising fast all afternoon. Case proven I thought and no blame could be attached to the guide. Jessie then appeared and he had caught five fishing down behind us using an intermediate tip and a Jessie Special cone head. Case dismissed, this guide in trouble.

Kitza Camp as we came in this evening

There was a degree of nervousness (i.e. another theory) expressed with apparent authority a week ago that the warm, high water this spring might have ‘sucked’ all the spring salmon through early. Last week’s 48 hour blip in catches merely compounded the evidence. I hope, after 19 years, that I have a fairly good eye for the river; the locals of course are much closer to it than I. The warmer weather certainly allowed the autumn fish that over-winter under the ice to move on earlier but the main run is on time with fish splashing through here continuously at the moment. Case dismissed and the run is now in full swing.

A good day on Middle I hear with over 70 or more, as usual most were still out this evening. Kitza did well, they went way up river above Goldmine to Rock Pool and Heli Island and landed 37 to their five rods.

Kitza Camp Pool at 7.30 p.m. today

Pana had 42, with three in the ‘teens’ and on Lower the party of 7 rods had 35 before moving over to Kitza this evening for their three days over there. Water levels are steady after rain storms last night, temperatures too are steady at 10°C on Varzuga and 8°C on Kitza.

Off to read my ‘How to be a Better Guide’ book.

Christopher Robinson