Follow the fish

It was a sensible plan in the minds of all, but in hindsight more a case of all the eggs in one basket. Concentrating the rods in the top half of the river produced a reasonable day in terms of numbers (25), though below par for the week.
 Doug U had six fish at the scene of yesterday’s battle and Ian S had a couple. However, Ian did not lose any so hopefully his case of the yips has been cured?!
Tim P had five and continues to draw on his 12 years of experience on this lovely river.
Sebastien R has been soldiering on this week with a very positive attitude and hooked four fish – that’s all that Victorian gentry were bothered about, so he’s rolling with that for the time being.

Tim knows it - so may you

For those rods that went wandering further down the river there were a few bars of silver to be found – encouraging to see fresh fish still joining the party and perhaps resting those waters may benefit today?

Vova gets his tash on

There was another banya and strong emphasis on joy de vive for in camp this evening. Donna rustled up more gravadlax and a further four fine courses for supper. This was followed by a vodka session and a sing off between Ian and Doug versus Stefano and Gaetan – think 8 Mile meets A River Runs Through It.

Crepe suzette from Donnas' office

Glorious sunshine and a stiff breeze today should make for an enjoyable day to be out and about.

Stefanos' sunny disposition brings him fish this big.

Following on from yesterday’s chat with Toby and we can concede that the stats aren’t always reliable. Seven fish for the river with a 15lb lump for Algernon P. Nonetheless, a betting man would still go with this week.

Kitza plugged away with thirteen for their day with Josh C and Alan McT accounting for three each.

Looking forward to escaping camp and heading up river today as in the absence of serviceable boats due to low water it turns out I’m “just really into blogging” at the moment.

Tolerable view

For incoming guests info – we’re still fishing intermediate tips in places, so still pack suitably. Also bring midge nets and anti-histamine pills. They’re not on the list, but make life far more comfortable should the need arise.

Oli Shuldham

A new dawn

What a difference a day makes – after the previous days’ entertainment, this one has started with an early down pour and a good breeze. All and sundry headed out with great hope.

As mentioned previously this is possibly not a year to be described as vintage. However, when a team of 12 rods (half of whom would be described as occasional fishermen) is consistently returning to the lodge with in the region of thirty fish netted each day, life’s a whole lot better than you may have heard!

Experienced rods picked fish from pots

Middle camp has produced 31 and 29 fish for the last two days and yesterday particular mention must go to Ian S who landed eleven fish and lost a further five and is far less disillusioned with his sticking power. As a direct reversal of roles from the previous day, Doug U landed four fish…… and lost ten. I can’t wait to see how this battle has panned out today.
On the opposite bank (between Boundary and The Slabs) new boys Stefano M and Joseph C landed four fish each. They’ve both fished here a couple of times before, but the amount of fishing they’ve done elsewhere suggests this is the only place one should fish! Joseph freely admits he’s hounded Bill Drury into sharpening up every one of his casts…. It’s clearly coming to fruition. Well done.

Elsewhere on the river it was fairly slim pickings and even the experienced rods were only finding the odd fish willing to play ball. A change of beat demarcations and a concentration of rods on the upper pools will hopefully produce more evenly spread sport.

It's a complete service here at 'zuga - Nurse Nataski tending to a pre-trip injury.

Smoke pours from the chimney of the banya and Old Vova gathers birch as I type, so aching bodies can sweat it out this evening.

Happy with their gravadlax

A chat with Toby at Pana this morning revealed that yesterday produced sixteen fish for their team and Charlie T who’s unusually not here this week has sent statistics that tell us todays’ average catch at Pana since 1992 is 74.5 fish….. I’m expecting big news tomorrow lad!

Retired for the day

Kitza produced nine fish yesterday. Tough going, but that's fish all round.


Oli Shuldham - responsible for yesterdays' entry as well...

Double Guns

Via an airborne assault yesterday, with both black fly and mosquitos hunting in biblical volumes. After 14 years on this peninsular, Bill Drury had never seen the likes of it. I headed up the river mid-afternoon and it wasn’t long before boats were in flight downstream.

Flee the flies

Guests’ faces at the end of the day clearly showed the exposed areas between Buffs, caps and sunglasses and breakfast this morning consisted of antihistamine cocktails all round.
Tim P’s son had better beware…. You’ve not returned his mozzie net to the fishing bag!

The "Generation Man" old Vova spent the day firing up the banya after many much in camp political wrangling the day before and it was very well received (along with many cold beers) after a brutal day on the river.

Banya bound

Nonetheless, fish were caught in reasonable numbers at Middle upstream of Fortress Rock and as is to be expected the more experienced rods produced the goods. Despite the aggressive insect life Tim P had seven fish, five of which came from one spot at Royal Dee that he pulled out of, but was certain there were another couple to take from there. Thoughtful fishing again from this Francophile, with several fly changes, swinging them fast and as they say “the proof is in the pudding”.
Doug U also had a great day having caught seven fish and lost a couple more. His partner hooked into a similar number, but shook most of them off – I feel it’s time for The Ferret to swim.
Olivier D is on the same thought lines and snagged 3 ALL on Le Chutney F. Come now, tie one on today, they get that taste they’ll not let go!

A fresh start

Away from the river and wandering through the woodland you’ll come across incredible ant hills with these industrious insects gathering vast piles of pine needles. They (the needles) can’t taste so good, so I’d imagine they’re feeding something else – fungi perhaps?

Industry

Life down on Kitza continues to be rosy for first timer Mark L who found three fish yesterday, and Ian B caught four – pretty respectable result wherever you fish for Salmo salar.
There was a certain symmetry to yesterdays reports with 16 fish topped by a 16lb’er (to David M) from Pana and 13 on the 13th at Kitza.

MSW wake up

After a particularly tough time last week, yesterday seemed to bring a slight change in fortune for both Kitza and Pana.

Having loaded a couple of very excited Kitza virgins back onto the helicopter, post pit stop at Middle camp, Mark L and Graham Y found five and three fish respectively for their opening day and are understandably quite pleased with life! Of particularly unusual note for this pretty little river, Richard G brought an 18lb fish to the net – perhaps a lost one of the fish that Yokanga guides refer to as “small fish”?!

The big bird's retired in this water

On Pana David M lead the way with four fish to his rod and a further eleven were shared pretty evenly throughout the other rods. Certainly not gang-busters compared to normal standards, but damn fine fishing nonetheless.

Stefano says "you grip I'll grin"

Due to low water making boat life difficult for those of us without intimate knowledge of the middle river Bill Drury decided to go for a stroll yesterday and marched through clouds of black fly to iron out casting issues up at Pashas and then made his way South again to meet Stefano M and Joseph C at Eagle Rock and Simmons. I greeted two knackered but happy faces back at camp with six fish between them. Bill on the other hand was covered in black smears having spent the day pasting insects across his face.

Joseph thinks Ivan's the man

Blue Rock to Lower Fortress seems to be where the money is at the moment and Peter W, Graham B and Tim P each returning with three apiece. Tim P seemed to have spent the day thinking hard about his fishing and endlessly changing his fly and pace of swing. As a result he’d managed to shake off another handful as well. I believe they count “hook-ups” in the US and as that’s the challenging part I can understand why.

Get it square out there

Clouds of large green duns have been pouring off the river of the last few days and sedges have been running like mad for the banks. A slight lift in the air temperature, good insect hatches and cloud cover screams Bomber Time to me… if you can tear yourself away from the grayling. Pack suitably Selbs.

As I sit in the dining room window at Middle I’ve watched a fish repeatedly moving by the rocks just upstream. I think it requires tending to this evening.

Toit loins,

Oli Shuldham

A fresh fish...

…runs into the blog.

Thankfully the same can be said for Middle as Doug U dug an 8lb bar of silver out of Generator shortly after the heli landed on Saturday and another before breakfast this morning. Olivier D and Sebastien R were rewarded for a trip down Bear Rapids and through to Rock with three between them. As is often the case in fishing it is the less likely looking and under-fished spots (of late) that provide for the curious fisherman.

Sebastien R shows faith in a proven mode of transport

I found Ian S sorting his gear out before heading to bed and he produced a box of beautifully tied flies (by his own hand) with names as colourful as their ingredients. He promises to take his latest creation “The Chutney Ferret” for a swing through Bomber Alley today. I’ll save you the detailed tying instructions but wow, just wow; this man has a fertile imagination. I fear more to come on this theme.

No Ferrets in here.

Pana kept up with Middle on the opening eve of this week – despite the river dropping off a little, could this be the turn of the tide? I’d suspect James P may think so with 3 to his rod before supper. It was a casual family affair with Algernon providing another. Here’s to this evening’s report from up there bringing fine news

Heli leaving from Pana with a heavy load.

Having just finished my first week on Varzuga I’m in awe at how beautiful the river is with seemingly endless “perfect” fly water - a far cry from the featureless expanse I’d expected! Photography doesn’t do this river justice and our entire party agreed there was little point in trying to capture the evening light and perfect mirror image on Bear last night.
After much pre-trip talk of low water we're a far cry from the need to fish 25' leaders and size 18 flies I'd expected as fish are still as aggressive as could be hoped for. However, the boats are feeling it a little.

Waders and boots - the latter very necessary for these boats.

On the note of parties, it would seem there was something in the air on Friday night as Murmansk departure “lounge” was a lively affair yesterday and I certainly found one fisherman outside the guides rooms in the early hours “just taking in some Russian culture”! Everyone is in this game together and the feeling of camaraderie between very broken English/Russian is hugely evident.
1st blog written and photos selected.

Duct tape diaries

Now to continue with my ongoing battle with internet connection. I take my hat off to Christopher Robinson for operating apparently seamlessly in this black hole of connectivity for so many years!


Oli Shuldham

Last day at Lower

3 of our teams had a great day yesterday but trying to work what is going on at Pana has us scratching our heads more than ever before.

Ditch W with one of 4 he had yesterday

At 8:45 all of our clients here at Lower Varzuga were boarded onto the helicopter and flew a short distance to a beat above Middle Varzuga.  Lower has been very quiet all week in terms of numbers landed and a couple of fly outs seemed to be the right thing to do.

Glynn D with Sergei ready to pounce

The team landed 29 fish between them with Glynn D the top rod on 7 for his day.  It was great to get people into real action and for them to see the fishing as we know it can be.  Everyone had a really enjoyable day and the celebratory party carried on way, way into the night.  I am not sure how many people will fish today as our vodka supplies were dramatically diminished.

One of 7 for Glynn yesterday

Middle Varzuga continues to be the model of consistency with 54 put in the books.  It was a very even performance across the team but Andy B just shaded it by landing 7 to his rod.  Young Colton C is having a great week and yesterday recorded his 10th Atlantic salmon – not bad given that he is 5 days into his fishing career.

Igor at the ready

Kitza had a much better day and totaled 21 to the 7 rods.  Malcolm K and George R made the most of their knowledge of the beat and finished with 5 apiece.  They are now walking to their beats but we have had much cooler weather recently (water temperature is now 9 degrees) and it has made any form of walk much easier.

"Get the net!"

Whilst Middle did well and our rods also caught fish above them, the mystery of Pana’s season continues.  They landed 5 fish yesterday which is beyond extraordinary.  Somewhere there must be a whole heap of fish in between Middle and Pana and at some point someone is going to have a bonanza up there but why that hasn’t happened already is something we can’t answer.

Richard S with another one

Today marks the end of the season at Lower whilst Kitza and Pana will fish for 2 more weeks and Middle for 3.  It has not been a record breaking season and we have had tough conditions but we have also had some fantastic teams fishing with us who all “get” fishing and know that sometimes nature conspires against us.

Phil T and Peter

It has been, as ever, superb fun and all of us working here know how lucky we are to be able to call this our office for a month.  We couldn’t do it without tremendous support from our Russian friends but don’t underestimate the impact of having someone as efficient and caring as Lynsey Mair back in our Hungerford office to ensure it all runs smoothly.  It truly is a team effort and one I am very proud to be part of.

See you next year

I will fly home tomorrow and Ollie Shuldham will take over blog duties.  I will be back up here in September for a week at Lower Varzuga and then onto Umba for our first season there – exciting times ahead.

Charlie White

Very quick update

We are flying out in a minute so short of time.

The situation remained the same yesterday with a tough day on Pana (8 fish),  Kitza (9 fish) and Lower (10 fish but 5 of those caught after 6pm by Victor B)  Middle had a great day with 60 something fish.

Very odd, particularly the Pana result given the numbers at Middle.

Full update on weather, river and overall conditions tomorrow.

Charlie White

Salmon theories

As previously mentioned, this is our 25th year on the river and given that we are talking about salmon and all of their mystical qualities, it seems only right that this year should have us scratching our heads more than ever before.

Richard S with one of 3 he had yesterday

We have 4 camps on the river and we open and close them according to our well documented history as to when the fish are most likely to be there in good numbers.  Pana, for example, is 80 miles north of where I am typing now and as a result, we open that camp 2 weeks after the start of our season here.

Nearly there...

This year we had a relatively early ice break (although not hugely so) and then had 4 weeks of intensely hot weather.  Lower has not really fished that brilliantly and the obvious answer is that most of the fish have slipped past us here and that Pana should have a bonanza – simples?

Straight back

Only it is not.  Pana yesterday had 9 fish to their 8 rods.  Really very odd and whilst Toby reported seeing fish, especially at their lower beat of Ponzoi, for whatever reason they would not play ball.

Another one

The other well known “fact” is that Kitza has a very deep and very cold lake at its head which means that we open this river a week later than we do here at Lower and that the run of fish will steadily build as we go through the season.  Again, that was not backed up yesterday as the 7 rods over there landed 12 between them.  Just a really strange day with the normally cooperative salmon on parts of this system deciding that flies were not for them after all.

Glynn D executing another perfect Snap-T

Bucking the trend in a major way was Middle.  They landed 53 fish to their 12 rods with Ian H and Caleb S the top rods on 9 fish each.  It is slightly galling that they are landing paint fresh fish as our rods here, fishing hard, know that all of those fish have swum straight past us for the past couple of days without so much as a hello.

Ura from Kitza, boating down to the White Sea

As Lower has been proving tricky we flew our rods to a beat just above Middle Varzuga.  It was a huge success and we landed 29 fish.  Jonathan K and Victor B were the ones to make the most of it and they had 6 fish apiece.  Flying to a different part of the river, landing fish and seeing what the Varzuga is really capable of meant that everyone came back in great spirits.  There are one or two missing in action this morning as we did not let the success go uncelebrated.

More tomorrow when no doubt we will have discovered that salmon like to climb trees.

Charlie White

Fly out

Yesterday was not so much a tale of two halves but rather a tale of one quarter.

We struggled somewhat at Kitza, Pana and here at Lower.  I am not really sure why as it was a fishy day, we saw plenty enough fish to give us encouragement and everyone was fishing hard but it just didn’t come together.

Victor B on Wires

At Kitza they landed 12 fish with James H and George R accounting for half of those with 3 fish each.  I would like to blame the previous night’s party but I think that would be slightly unfair.  A family crisis has meant that one of the team has had to fly home and we wish him our very best.

Pana had an OK day but it was really nothing more than that.  19 fish were put in the book with everyone contributing fairly evenly.  They can still access the whole beat but we now have a truck that can drive down to Ponzoi even if we cannot get the boats down there and that will make a big difference to our later weeks.

Barbara and Feoder 

Middle was the quarter I refer to.  They had a great day and landed 66 fish.  Andy B had a fantastic morning on Dunkery and landed 7 from that beat which contributed to a 12 fish day for him.  Hugo M was using his single handed rod to deadly effect and he finished with 10.

The team at Lower raring to go this morning

The greatest celebration however was quite rightly held for 15 year old Colton C who landed his first salmon.  It was a good fish of around 9lbs and by all accounts he played it like a pro.  It was particularly nice to talk to him on the phone last night and to hear again that inimitable excitement of someone who has landed a fish that you know he will remember forever.

And they're off

Here at Lower we had a tough day.  6 fish were landed and a few more lost but it was difficult throughout.  After a council of war with our Russian partners, we have arranged for the team here to fly out to a remoter part of the river today where we hope we can find them a few more fish. Anticipation levels were off the charts this morning and they were all at the helicopter pad on the dot of 8:45 so we hope that they will have a great day.

Charlie White

Snow

After weeks of high temperatures and searing sun, we now have fishing weather.  We woke this morning to snow and hail showers and we have all layered up in anticipation of a cold day on the river.

Yesterday was similarly cold and it took a few of us by surprise.  Not least our friend Chris Yrazabal from Los Roques, Venezuela who is over here to find out all about salmon as opposed to guiding us to bonefish which he does so well.

Glynn and Sergei

Whilst the weather may have changed, the relative fortunes of the camps have not so much.  Middle Varzuga was the most productive camp yesterday with 55 fish recorded to their 12 rods.  Hugo M was one of the top rods for the day with 8 fish.  Not a massive surprise really as he has been here many times before and knows the beat well.  However, Michael D was equally prolific which in some sense was a more impressive effort as he has never seen the river before.

Richard S on Bear Corner

At Kitza we have a team that do not need too much excuse for a celebration but yesterday there was a genuine reason to ensure there were hangovers all round this morning.  Mark M has never held a fly rod before and we were keen to get him into a fish as soon as possible to alleviate any pressure.  Ollie took him out and it was not long before he landed his first fish of any description and then went on to land 3 more – a fantastic effort.  They finished with 25 in the book with the top beats of the river being the most productive.

 Pana had a slightly disappointing day with the 8 rods landing 18 fish.  Andrew D landed a cracking fish of around 14lbs from Grannies whilst John G had the misfortune of losing 5 before getting on the score sheet.

Sergei settled in for lunch

Here at Lower we had a tough day.  10 fish were put in the book with Philip T doing well to land 4 of those.  Eoin, Bill and Ollie Shuldham (who will take on running the camps when I come home at the end of the week) were on hand to instruct and help and whilst it was not the most productive of days, everyone came in having learnt something new and we had a raucous dinner last night with the whole team in very good spirits.

Ditch out of the blocks

With the water temperature falling back to 9 degrees we have broken out the bigger flies and the odd intermediate tip this morning and there is something comforting about needing fleece layers and jackets – it feels far more fishy than applying sun cream.

Charlie White

Tuition week

Yesterday was a long one.  Strong headwinds meant that it took us much longer to get to Murmansk than we would normally expect but in anticipation of that, we had set off early and the charter flying to Helsinki was not too late in leaving.

Brendan G on Bear Island 

Unfortunately our late arrival into Murmansk meant that we then got stuck behind 3 domestic flights and we had to wait our turn for the only luggage truck in the airport to take our bags to the helicopter. Relaxing and chatting in a bar, with free drinks, sounds good until it goes on for slightly too long!

However, as soon as everyone is in camp and has their first look at the river, the waiting is swiftly forgotten and the anticipation kicks in.

Champagne cocktails at the White Sea

Last week was perfectly respectable but was in no danger of breaking any catch records.  We finished with 783 fish landed across the 4 camps to 39 rods which is just over 20 fish per rod for the week.  It sounds a lot but expectations of the river are high and it felt like quite a tough week at times.

William P-S with a hard earned fish from Heli

There is no doubt that we had weather that would have had the clerk of the course at Epsom heavily watering the ground and a glaring sun that often felt relentless.  That didn’t help but everyone was determined to make the most of it and we had a really fun week.

Bruce B on Kitza

Saturdays seems to be weather changing days and that was the case yesterday.  We took off in glorious sunshine and were somewhat surprised to see snow out of the helicopter windows an hour into our flight.  It was seriously cold when we got to Murmansk and it was when we got back here in the evening.  Some rain, a cutting wind and grey skies are what we have now – thankfully!

Ditch W and Eoin Fairgrieve ready for action this morning

This week is our tuition week at Lower Varzuga.  Bill Drury and Eoin Fairgrieve are here to pass on their expert knowledge and it is always great to see people improve their casting, wading and fishing skills. Learning how to really catch fish rather than just cast for them is a unique experience and it has proved very popular.  It seems, however, as if Phillip T doesn’t need any help at all as has landed 3 before breakfast to give everyone a boost and it was a purposeful team that strode out this morning.

Charlie White