Rain and a rising river

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

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

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

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

A perfect start to the week

Yesterday morning started with thick fog and yet, as can often be the case up here, by lunchtime it was the most beautiful day. All of the carefully assembled layers of clothing were thrown to one side and everyone was trying to find their sun cream.

You might expect such changeable conditions to have a detrimental effect on the fishing - it was clear from the radio calls with all of the camps that this was not the case.

A happy scene on Generator pool at Middle

At Kitza the 8 rods had 42 fish for the day which was a superb start and very encouraging. The water temperature has risen to 8 degrees and it would appear as if this is what the fish were waiting for. Rob W had 8 fish from Rock pool and I understand that Deluxe and Sascha’s were also very productive, demonstrating that the fish were in all parts of the river.

They are still fishing with sink tips and weighted tubes but on the rest of the river we are now on floating lines with the odd person trying an intermediate tip. Fish are now coming to the skated fly but the most productive method has been straightforward doubles in size 6-8 and shrimp patterns appear the most effective.

Bob C with one from Moskoi yesterday

At Pana, our group of 8 had 43 fish for their opening day including a superb fish of 20-22lbs for Antonio B . Domingo P was the top rod with 8 fish and the overall opinion was that they were catching bigger fish as a rule. Most fish were over 10lbs and there were 3 or 4 up to the 16lbs mark.

Middle Varzuga had 144 fish to their 12 guests with Stephen C leading the charge taking 20 fish to his rod. Alan S had a day to remember with an extraordinary tale of a 14lbs pike. He hooked a grayling which he was busy hand lining in when the pike came from nowhere and swallowed it. He then proceeded to play the pike and the grayling and got them both in the net whereupon the pike promptly spat the unfortunate fish out – effectively making it one of the first fish we know of to have been landed without ever having a fly in its mouth!

Dinner last night - picture taken at 10pm

Here at Lower Varzuga our 10 rods had 55 fish for their day with Jeremy C and Mark M showing the others the way. My father is out here this week and we spent a very happy afternoon catching fish, catching up and generally enjoying this very special place. Dinner last night was great fun with a room full of beaming faces and it was hard to see how the day could have been improved for anyone.

Charlie White

All in camp and with their luggage!

Many thanks to Christopher for updating the blog yesterday as it was a slightly hectic day.

Fortunately we have an excellent partner in Helsinki, Marjalissa, who managed to persuade the authorities that, wild cat strike or not, the plane going to Murmansk had to be treated as a priority. Thanks to her, the problems that we had envisaged and made provisions for, did not come to pass. It was great to see everyone at Murmansk and it was even better to see them with all of their bags!

Keith B with one from the boat last week

Last week was a great week across the camps. Middle Varzuga finished with 795 fish to their 12 rods which will take some beating. It is only fair that I point out that one of our clients had 222 fish whilst Peter W had 112 – amazing numbers of salmon in a week and demonstrates the potential of the river and the perserverance of the rods.

Sasha - the two rods he was guiding had over 300 fish for the week

Lower Varzuga fished beautifully all week. With varying degrees of effort we had 170 fish to the 4 rods. Fresh fish are still coming in and Jeremy C had 6 out of the Wires after supper last night so hopes are high for this week.

Kitza was relatively slow and they finished with 65 to the 4 rods – not at all bad obviously but I had perhaps hoped for a few more. The encouraging news is that they had 7 fresh fish in just a couple of hours last night and it would appear as if the main run of fish is just starting.

Casting a long line at Beach

Our first guests are now at Pana and they also had 7 fish last night from just outside of the camp. The eight rods are all Spanish and with Barcelona’s success, I don’t think that breakfast was too early this morning!

Our new rods meeting the guides

It is very foggy today but the mood in camp is bright and optimistic for the week ahead.

Charlie White

Changeover day

Saturday’s bring their challenges on the Varzuga. It is changeover day and some of our guests will be a tad slow after a farewell party the night before, others have to be prised off the river and almost forced into the departing helicopter!

Ivan B with one of 13 for the day

There are also unforeseen events that challenge the normally smooth changeover. Today it was not weather, baggage handlers at Helsinki airport went on a ‘wild-cat’ strike yesterday leaving many of those coming up today without their bags at Helsinki. Charlie had a sleepless night trying to see what could be done and by dawn the situation had improved somewhat and it looks like he can get almost all the 40 guests into the camps with their kit today. Our store of spare fishing kit, waders, boots and jackets has been prepared just in case.

Pasha with a good fresh run fish

The fishing continues to be excellent, Charlie will give us the full update tomorrow. I gather the fish are still pouring in through the Lower river, Ivan B had 13, many from Bear Island which continues to be one of the hot spots. The score from Middle is hard to judge as they were fishing until the last moment, what is certain is that they have had a bonanza week. Over at Kitza they reported more fish showing and catches should pick up there this week as the main run of salmon kicks in.

David F at top of Green Bank

This coming week should herald in the floating line, the water is a perfect height for it, the grass is greening up fast and the birch buds breaking – summer is on the way, and the main run of fish will enter over the next couple of weeks.

Summer is on it's way

More from Charlie tomorrow.

Christopher Robinson

Catching up with old friends

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

Big fish, grouse and a trip to Pana

After 3 days of helping here at Lower Varzuga, it was time to take James and Kate to Pana to open up that lovely camp. It was a wet day but that did not dampen anyone’s spirits as we were all keen to see how the guides and kitchen staff had fared over the winter.

Tolly and Kate

Tolly, a man who has been at Pana for over 14 years, was there to greet us; as were a brace of heather grouse, still in their winter plumage, which flew into camp just as we arrived and promptly flew out again. The river up there is relatively low for the time of year but is in fact slightly higher than it was on this date last season. Regular rods to the camp know Hippo Rock, slightly downstream of the camp, as a reliable marker and I wandered downstream to take a quick picture of it.

Hippo Rock on a wet day

On the way to Pana, we flew directly over the Middle Varzuga beat and it is surprising that, even in that short window of being able to view them, I did not see them land a fish as they had 130 for the day. The best fish of the day was taken by Brian F - a cracking 19lbs cock fish, measured at 36 inches.

Ivan B, caught in the act of salmon smuggling

Here at Lower Varzuga there were differing approaches to the fishing. David F and Ivan B were determined to make the most of the river and were rewarded with 9 and 6 fish respectively whilst Robert H and Peter S took a rather more sybaritic approach to life. After a great morning in which Robert caught a further 3 fish, the pleasures of camp life proved to be too strong a draw and the rods were put away for the day.

Robert H with one caught in the morning

Kitza had 13 fish to their 4 guests with Joan G and Sue C scoring well in Sasha’s pool in the morning but the afternoon went very quiet and not many fish were added after lunch. The water is still cold over there – 4-5 degrees C - and it would appear as if the bulk of the fish are waiting for the warmer water to tempt them into the river system.

David F on Heli pool

I am going to dinner at Middle Varzuga tonight so I hope to be able to grab some of Hugh’s pictures to show more of that beat and some of the fish that they have been catching.

Charlie White

Changeover day

Yesterday we flew from here at Lower Varzuga to go over to Kitza camp. We took Michael E and his team to swap over with the guys who have been at Kitza for the first half of the week.

The "bumblebee" landing at Lower

We flew at 7pm after a full days fishing and it was a very good day at Lower camp with 42 fish landed to the four rods. Phil W was at the top of the tree with 17 fish to his rod plus another 8 fish lost after playing them for a long time – the Posh Tosh proving deadly. Joan G had her best day yet when landing 8 and whilst Michael E has caught a lot of fish; his stand out moment was when a capercaillie flew straight over his head.

Team Kitza had a better day with 12 fish to the four rods. Peter S had a cracking 15lbs fish from Deluxe pool and Robert H went from landing his first fish on Monday to landing 3 more in the morning.

Upstream from Kitza camp last night

Middle Varzuga had 87 to their 12 guests with Peter W taking 18 to his rod. It was warm yesterday and the water temperature got up to around 12 degrees C by 4pm - John R took advantage of this to have the first fish of the season on a skated bomber.

Back here at Lower, Ivan B went out for an hour or so last night and took 2 fish out of Heli pool and David F has done exactly the same thing this morning before breakfast so I hope they will have a good day.

Joan G and Feoder with one of her 8 fish yesterday

I am flying to Pana camp today with James and Kate, the manager and cook and I will post some pictures tomorrow of the camp and the river to give an idea of how it is looking up there.

Charlie White

Windy and bright

Last night I went up to Middle Varzuga for dinner which was a good call as a) dinner was delicious and b) it was the most glorious evening to be on the river. The morning cloud had burnt off by lunchtime to be replaced with bright sunshine but a strong upstream wind made things slightly tougher than we would have hoped for.

Midnight on the way back from Middle Varzuga

At Middle they had finished with 124 for the day but perhaps the most extraordinary thing is that all of the rods reported losing as many fish again if not more. With the water temperature climbing all day it appeared to make the fish incredibly aggressive and slashing takes and grabs led to many of them dropping off halfway through the fight.

Mike B showed me his fly of choice from Sunday, which had caught 12 fish from Clarkes in about two hours and it is fair to say that it amply demonstrated that heavily dressed flies are not a necessity out here as it was chewed to pieces and yet was still catching fish.

Joan G with a nice fish from the Wires

Here at Lower, our four rods had 27 for the day and again lost fish were a feature. Andrew M, our finance director who is out here to see the programme, had 9 additional fish after going out for a couple of hours in the morning. If there was ever a time to get a sympathetic hearing regarding a pay rise it was surely just as he came in for lunch with the world’s largest grin!

Sue C with one from Bear Corner

At Kitza there was great celebration after Robert H landed his first ever salmon. In fact it was his first fish full stop as he has not picked up a rod before, so it was appropriate that it should be celebrated in style. After their 15 fish on the first day, things were tougher yesterday and they landed 4 fish with the wind making casting very difficult.

This morning is a much calmer and warmer day so it should make life easier for everyone.  I have already seen Michael E land two fish after 30 minutes of fishing so I hope it is a sign of the day to come.

Charlie White

Superb start to the week

Generally a week up here starts with everyone tentatively remembering what they did last year and to take a day or two to get the casting up to the standards they would hope – not this week it would seem.

After heavy rain in the morning and lunch back at camp, the afternoon was glorious with bright sunshine and a soft downstream breeze. With the water temperature going up to 9 degrees there was a temptation to go to full floaters but the general consensus was that, whilst that might work, sink tips would probably be more productive – and so it proved.

Michael E into a fish from the bottom of Heli pool

Phil W led the way here with 13 fish for the day and Michael E was close behind on 11 with all beats producing fish although Moskoi Rapids was strangely quiet in the afternoon. We finished with 33 for the day to our four rods as well as 6 fish that were caught on Saturday evening just after we arrived.

Phil W with one of his fish from the Wires

Jesse took Anna, our invaluable helper here in camp, onto the river for the first time last night and within an hour she returned triumphant – a pretty good fish with which to start your fishing career!

Anna with her first salmon

At Kitza 15 fish were landed to the four rods and with all of them new to the beat I expect the numbers to climb as they learn the river throughout their stay.

The day at Middle was quite simply outstanding. 11 rods are fishing with Brian Fratel acting as a floating guide and general mine of information. They had 179 fish between them along with 39 caught on the first evening. It is difficult to pick on individual numbers but I understand that every rod caught more than 10 fish and that all of the beats were remarkably productive. I am going up there this evening and will learn more but we can only hope for more of the same.

Losha, a guide at Lower, ready for action this morning

This morning is quite cold and overcast but all of the rods have gone out with quite a spring in their step - long may it continue

Charlie White

Great to be back

It is great to be back to see old friends, meet some new ones and, this year, to see the extraordinary amount of work that has gone into the new accommodation here at Lower.

Our journey up here could not have been easier and we got to Middle Varzuga by 3:30pm which I think is some kind of record. Having dropped the clients off there we flew to Lower Varzuga and then on to Kitza which gave me a great chance to see the whole river system and how it is looking.

Loading the helicopter at Murmansk

Kitza, as always, looks beautiful and the river appears to be dropping into the perfect height. It is still cold over there with a water temperature of 4 degrees but that is not a bad thing and the head guide, Ura, reports that not many fish have got above the 3rd Island yet which should help concentrate the fish in the pools nearer the camp.

Upstream from Kitza camp last night

It is pouring with rain this morning which has put off any rods here attempting a fish before breakfast but Phil W had 3 last night and Sue C had a fish just after supper to kick her week off in style. I understand from Hugh at Middle that one of our regular rods put his waders on directly after we had dropped them off and had hardly stopped fishing since – he has so far had 34 fish to his rod in little over 18 hours, extraordinary fishing and extraordinary stamina!

Downstream from Kitza camp

Last week was almost as good as it gets – great weather and superb fishing. The nine rods at Middle had 563 for their week and here at Lower, Craig P stopped fishing after his 100th fish which helped the camp score along to 233 to just four rods.

Craig P on his way to 100 salmon for the week

Whilst the river is relatively low for this time of year, this rain will help in the long run but it might put the dampners on numbers today as I imagine that we will have lunch back in camp as opposed to being on the river.

Charlie White