Kitza wakes up

Yesterday we saw what Kitza is about. With the river still dropping and pools really starting to show their features the river produced fish all through the beats. We landed 20 fish for the day although we ended the fishing day on 19, Angel  HR bounced us over the line in Heli before supper.

Paul R's largest fish

Unfortunately the fish were not completely divided equally across the rods with 2 people still yet to catch. Consequently 8 of the fish were caught by Paul R. It’s not been very easy to put all fish pictures on the blog this season so far but today I actually can. He had a coupe of really cracking fish and all shiny bright. The only drawback with Paul catching so many is trying to remember what they are all called. He names each fish.

Another fresh one

Pana also shared a similar fate with 34 fish for the day. It’s nice to know there are fish arriving up there now and with properly fishable water they can be caught. Matt as camp manager has had a tough few weeks but at least now he should have a sense of what Pana is all about.

Deep shoulders

After a strong start to the morning for Craig C at middle things did not really materialise as expected. They landed 34 fish including a lovely post supper fish for Findlay F at bears.

Ready to return safely

Today it has begun to rain and Kitza has come up a little this morning. Hopefully all the snow melt has washed any rubbish and earth in already so we wont see the river colour too much. Middle were still dropping but I think it takes a lot of rain to make a difference there. Non the less our team were out to their beats quick smart this morning and are raring to go.

Jack Selby

A lovely start

Last week had ups and downs. Whilst Kitza and more over Pana increased catches steadily throughout the week Middle had a consistent run of it until the last day when only 8 were caught. Middle finished their week on a respectable 155 fish whilst Pana caught 83 and Kitza 54. Nothing spectacular but everyone had fish and certainly everyone had a good time. I think maybe Pana had rather too good a time, they all looked pretty green on the Helicopter on Saturday morning.

Last weeks Kitza team enjoying the sun

Last night started well for us with Paul R teasing a lovely fresh fish out of Heli pool pretty soon into the evening. It was like the start of a wader clad race as everyone took to the water extraordinarily quickly after we landed. It was a lovely evening but no more fish came to the bank.

Paul R's fish from Heli

Over at middle they had a strong start and there were 18 fish ion the book before breakfast this morning. Last night Geoff and Finlay F had fish as well as Craig C who is already on 10 with 4 added first thing this morning.

Paul R into his fish

Pana started well also with 6 fish up to breakfast and the water dropping into fine condition. The team were certainly jolly excited on the way in and I am glad they are taking advantage of the conditions.

Angel HR putting in the hours

Today is warm and but a little overcast. Both Paul R and Gordon B out early but the fish did not want to play the game sadly. It was a little cold last night and the water temperature had dropped to 7 degrees again this morning. However to look back about a week we would have given an arm for 7 degrees. Hopefully we will see another push of fresh fish like we had on Friday. Yesterday was Viktor’s Birthday and was not exactly quiet in camp. I think everyone is a little jaded today but luckily the clients are bright eyed and bushy tailed so should bring back some fish.

Jack Selby

Up river

Yesterday was an encouraging change. We had a slow morning with only 3 fish landed and little other action. This was a surprise as various pools are beginning to really form. The afternoon picked up however and we had 7 fish with 3 to Richard G fishing up river.

Fresh one to the net

Finding fish up river has meant we have had a beat switch and the guys who have never seen the upper river will get a taste of it today. Let’s hope more fish have moved in to make it a really special end to the week.  The water temperature is back at 6 and the depth on the gauge is -6”. Consequently those fishing heavier tips are still most often rewarded.

Jack M taking advantage of beautiful post supper fishing

Middle had a mixed day yesterday. Top rod Yury D had a tough day whilst others did better. They ended the day on 25 fish including 2 fish caught at Peartiha during a post supper fishing party with beers and music. I think the island is still spinning a bit this morning for a few.

Ian W's casual approach to the trip to the white sea

At Pana they landed 24 fish for the day and the majority were caught in the now defining pools. The river is dropping away steadily but a lot of the fish seem to be piling through. The sooner the river gets to it’s normal level the sooner these pools will hold the fish up. Much the same can be said for Kitza. However this morning Charlie T went out and started his account with 2 fish before breakfast.

Vodka Cocktails at the white sea beach club

Today is warm and sunny again. Our team took a tour to the white sea before supper last night and had a little drinks party at Kuzamon. However they were out in double quick time this morning with the knowledge that fish are showing up river. I have asked them for 30 for the day…

Jack Selby

A rubber revelation

Yesterday at Kitza we saw a snapshot of the spectacular fishing that we are all yearning for. Up on beat one Jack M and Ian B hit upon a pod of fresh fish and whilst Jack M lost 3 good fish out in the fast water. Ian B landed one spanking fresh fish at Gold Mine as well as his 2 in the morning. It just shows you that having your fly in the water is what really counts. Jack M also landed a less fresh fish from 3^rd Island.

 

Jack M with his fish at 3rd Island just before the action started

Over at Middle they netted 35 fish including a 14lbs fish for Nicolas G.  Added to this they also saw a mother bear and her three cubs playing on the bank. All in all a pretty special day. Toby reports that all the fish, almost without exception, were larger than average and mainly in the 8-9 lbs class. A little further up river Pana had 12 fish for the day and report the river is still dropping and seems to be finally finding some definition.

A quick dash with the net

Yesterday was my first chance to really test out the rubber boat. It has sat sadly lonely for more than 2 weeks now as it was slightly unstable for one person in high rapids. I loaded a roller bag with rocks to replicate a human up front and set off up river to scope out places that might now be fishable. I found little that was not still a raging torrent but I did find that the rubber boat really holds it’s own and will I have no doubt be excellent in low water conditions.

Team talk

Whilst we had a tough day with only 6 fish we are heartened by the sudden pod of fresh fish moving in yesterday afternoon and also by a very pleasing Perch caught by Michael G earlier in the day.

Ian B once again leads the way

This morning the weather is bright and warm with a very light breeze.

Jack Selby

Water is still dropping

Yesterday at Kitza the river continued to drop and we are now below the point at which the marker stick went in. I hope to have to move it soon as the water will drop below the bottom of the scale.

Whilst the dropping river is great news the water temperature remains between 5 and 6 degrees so we are still fishing pretty heavy tips and tubes. Black and Yellow and Willie Gunns on copper tubes seem to be most popular along with Ian B’s Special Red Tube.

Michael G does it again in Heli Pool

The dropping river however did not equate to more fish and we landed 6 fish including another nice fish for Michael G in Heli. Theories abound but it’s very hard to speculate on what causes mother nature to offer what she does. We must play the hand we have been dealt and work hard.

Over at Pana they had 14 fish for the day which is a great improvement indeed. Beany caught one in Home Pool too. Certainly sounds like they have more fish arriving now which is a huge relief.

Charlie T and his family have been coming to Pana from the beginning with teams of clients and yesterday they popped open the champagne to celebrate the 10,000 fish caught in their week since the beginning. Impressive statistics.

Fishing down the true left of 3rd Island

Middle had a good morning with 16 fish landed and Paul d S landing a spanking fresh fish. They ended the day on 29 fish with some serious time put in on the river after hours.

Helo arriving at Pana

It was a mixed bag really and I’m not sure quite why. The conditions were perfectly good despite a bit of wind but still nothing was spectacular. Maybe today will see this changed.

Jack M fishes the sweet spot on Kitza's Heli Pool

This morning it is overcast with a little light rain. We are down to -2.5” on the gauge and still dropping. Pools are beginning to define and structure show through. Things are looking up and Ian B has promised me today is the day.

Jack Selby

A little pick me up

This morning the weather has switched from sunny to over cast again. Yesterday with an overcast start we saw a good morning of fishing compared to Sunday and the team landed 8 by lunch. Special mention to Michael G with a cracking fish of about 9lbs and another of around 5lbs. We are still not seeing anything in the 3-4lbs class that I have been expecting so let’s hope these are still to run due to the high and comparatively cold water.  

Michael G's fish

Middle had a good morning with plenty of fishing and once again Kevin and Karen C had a lovely time landing 11 fish from Birthday. The afternoon was slow in comparison to the morning and the camp ended the day on 30. It seems there was quite a party the night before so to have a good morning is a strong effort.

Things are really starting to green up

Pana landed 7 fish yesterday which although not spectacular by Pana standards is steps in the right direction. The river continues to drop and seems to be dropping around 6 inches each night so very encouraging.

A quick team talk on the Pana balcony

Finally with the snow now totally gone and the bogs beginning to diminish on the paths Lucy joined me for the walk down to Spey Bank and beyond. She has been working extremely hard to look after all our clients but has essentially been confined to about 100 square meters of camp for some weeks and really enjoyed seeing the beautiful river bank path heading down river.

Late afternoon at Reel Pool on Kitza

She was a little nervous about bears walking back on her own but she was back in the kitchen cooking supper on my return. I’m sure the bears would be more scared of her…

Bill P's beautiful fish from last week

Today I am confident that we will see a good few fish to the net.

Jack Selby

Strangely slow fishing

I was really expecting a great day yesterday with new teams putting in the hard graft at all three camps. Here at Kitza everyone fished hard for only 3 fish and quite a number lost. I spent the afternoon with Ian W who is salmon fishing again for the first time after 20 years. After a short brush up session on his left handed single spey he landed a nice fish on Third Island and then lost a second bigger fish at the net on Second Island.

Ian W's first day back to Salmon fishing after 20 years

Pana caught 2 fresh fish of about 7lbs just above camp today but the river below camp was remarkably quiet. The team at Pana are in many cases very experienced on the river so they will work hard to find the fish as they start to reach this delightful tributary.

Into a fish at Pana

Middle caught 22 fish with Yury D the top rod and some convincing efforts from first time visitors Karen C and Kevin C in Clarks and Generator. Toby gave some casting lessons today so hopefully this will pay dividends in the coming days.

12th June and still the river is in the withies

Walking down to Spey Bank yesterday morning it was really starting to green up with the birch leaves beginning to unfurl and a number of new shoots seem to have blossomed. We still have a water temperature of 6 degrees but the water height is somewhere between 5 and 6 inches meaning a number of different spots are starting to open back up to wading and with luck we will find them holding fish over the next few days.

Dropping at last on the Kitza gauge

Just as things start to feel right we seem to be thrown a curve ball but certainly conditions are improving minute by minute and if we had converted a few more of the lost fish we’d have had a good result. This morning is overcast but not too cold so hopefully this will be a more encouraging day.

Jack Selby

A new dawn

With Lower now closed it falls to me to continue the blog from Kitza camp. Last week was a very interesting one with some pretty good days fishing considering the river was rising fast. This morning we have eager fishermen (and women) in our remaining three camps. 

Lovely fish from Middle

I’m quite confident for this week’s fishing here at  Kitza and hopeful that the Pana will really start to receive the fish they deserve. It’s tough for clients, guides and staff when fishing is slow and I think we all now need a reward.

Kitza and Pana teams inbound

Yesterday was change over day which went smoothly and pretty swiftly. We stopped into Pana first to drop off the regular team and supplies.

All out on Kitza Heli pool last night

It was good to see Matt and Beanie again and all the Russian staff.  We collected Jack M and headed to Kitza where we found the river had dropped out by 2 inches in less than 12 hours.  Heli pool produced one fish for Michael G before supper. Over at Middle they had 10 fish last night and there was rumour of two before breakfast also.

Pana Silver in the air

Today I’m heading out on the river to give Ian W some pointers on the art of spey casting and a trial with the Bill Drury Salmon outfit. It’s a great kit and the addition of a heavy tip has been invaluable this season with such big water.

I’m looking forward to typing this tomorrow with some really improved catches from all the camps.

Jack Selby

The last day of the season at Lower Varzuga

The season at Lower Varzuga is normally just 4 weeks long.  Most clients, when they see the lodge and set up that we have here for the first time, cannot believe that we would have such infrastructure for just 4 weeks.  This year the season has been just 2 weeks - simply crazy and only emphasises the extraordinary spring that we have had.

The river, whilst dropping, is still very high and I would reckon has about 4 weeks of decent fishing left in it but time waits for no man and leave we must.

Bill Drury with one from Upper Sviats

We landed 33 fish yesterday with Jonny C having a fantastic session on Beach with 7 fish and whilst I was in the office all I could hear were the radios going with the guides comparing scores.  Our morning was actually much more productive than our afternoon but I am not quite sure why that was.

Best pic of the season. Mum with one of four she landed from Bearlets in the morning

Middle Varzuga had a much more even day with fish across all of the beats and throughout the sessions. They finished with 79 landed, the top rods being father and son team of Michael and Colton with 9 each. Bigger fish were again very much noted and Doug U had a cracking 15lber from Picnic.

We have barely seen a summer grilse yet and it bodes well for the next few weeks.

David K-W and Eoin Fairgrieve with one from the boat

Kitza and Pana are two different stories at the moment.  They are both much narrower than the main Varzuga and essentially they remain too high for decent fishing.  All of our snow has now melted and assuming we don’t get too much rain (we very rarely do once summer comes) the two rivers will drop away quickly and reveal themselves.

William G with a fish from Lower Sviats

The run of fish we have had through Lower and Middle indicates that there probably are quite a few fish in the other two but getting to them is currently proving tricky.

Our season ends. The river is still up in the bushes but at least we have blue skies

I fly home tomorrow and Jack Selby, manager of the Kitza camp, will be taking over blog duties on Sunday.  My thanks as ever to all of our UK and Russian team who make everything work so well.  It has been a very tough start to the season, in the office and on the river, but everyone has pulled together brilliantly and I hope that the next few weeks see them get their just rewards.

Charlie White

This is more like it!

Well it seems that finally winter has relented and Spring is really here – more to the point so are the fish.

After a comparatively tough start to the week (all things being relative with this river) yesterday felt much more like a normal day on the Varzuga.

Colton C with what was almost a "normal" fish from Middle yesterday

I spent a large part of the day at Pana where the river is still really big.  For those of you who know the beat, Hippo Rock is still submerged by at least a foot and places to wade are tricky to find. However, they started to see more yesterday and had 6 on the bank – small steps but it is going the right way and it was in a way encouraging (although disappointing for them) to hear that James H-B and Jack M both lost very good fish after a decent fight.

Bertrand K with another from Middle

Very good fish was the subject of the day at Middle when I went up there to see them for dinner. After a slowish start to the week, they had a fantastic day and 113 were put in the book with some fabulous salmon in amongst them.

Ian C, who has been coming to Varzuga from the very start of our time out here, said it was by far the biggest average size of fish he had ever seen and he landed a cracking 17lbs fish from the pool named after him which was more than fitting. Doug U and Ian S landed 19 fish between them on the morning session at Peartiha and everyone had tales of 15lbs fish as well as excellent numbers to go with it.

Jonny C and Igor

At Lower Varzuga we started to see much better numbers as well.  35 fish to our 9 rods (my mother was riding shotgun on the helicopter so we cannot count her!) was a great result and just what we wanted to see.  Julian G was top rod with 10 fish and David B and David K-W landed 5 apiece from Beach and Bear Corner.

Kitza is equally going the right way.  The river, much like Pana, is still too high for this time of the year and most of the fishing is from the boat but Joe M and Bill P landed 6 each whilst Jan H, heroically fishing with a seriously painful shoulder, landed 2 from 2nd Island and their final score was 19 for the day.

Blue skies and leaping salmon - much more like it

Stewart  H and Jonny C have both been out before breakfast and landed 2 apiece whilst also losing another couple and our day looks set fair.  Closing Lower tomorrow seems almost a crime but after the coldest winter for over 100 years, the following weeks look as though they could be superb.

There are still rods available for the final week at Middle Varzuga and I would urge anyone who can fit in a last minute trip to contact the office as soon as they can as these should be epic weeks at very much shoulder season prices.

Charlie White

Back online!

My apologies for the lack of blog yesterday.   A combination of a trip to Umba to deliver new boats and slow internet speeds meant that I ran out of time.

Back here the news is that finally, finally, we have seen the sun.  I had almost forgotten what it looked like and the whole river feels like a different place with a bit of warmth on it.

A lively fish on Bear Corner

The fish are responding in kind although it does feel as if they are making up for lost time and are running very hard.

I have just spoken to Toby at Middle who said that yesterday was the first day that they have seen lots of fish moving, jumping and generally getting on with how we would expect them to behave.

And landed...

They have landed 62 fish for the past couple of days and again they have had some really good ones.
Phillip T landed a cracking 15lbs fish from Fortress whilst Ian H landed 6 from Peartiha and lost a further 6.  Keen blog watchers will note that it is the high water pools that are still the most productive.

Here at Lower we have seen great strides in the casting of everyone and whilst 24 fish for the past couple of days is not quite as many as we would have liked, we have had great fun in getting them.
With the water now, eventually, steadily dropping, there are more and more places where we can ambush the running fish and news of fish showing at Middle is spurring everyone on to intercept more of them before they get there!

The Arctic Terns have only just started to arrive

The fish may be showing at Middle but they are not yet at Pana.  We do need to water temperatures to warm up a touch to help them make the distance faster but I am sure that any minute now they will be there.

Kitza has slightly gone in fits and starts with John E having a great session on Sasha’s with 4 fish but some of the beats being rather more stubborn. They have banked 25 fish to the 8 rods over the past two days and again, dropping water will make the whole beat more fishable.

Our first picnic lunch of the season 

It is a warm morning today and it really does make putting on the waders a much more appealing prospect than it was when looking out onto snow showers.  More tomorrow when I hope we have dropping water, increasing temperatures and rising numbers of fish.

Charlie White

A tough day

Yesterday was a funny one in that we didn’t catch nearly as many fish as we were hoping but at the same time there were signs that things are beginning to happen as we would expect.

At Lower we only landed 4 fish for the day.  We lost a few others and there were various encounters but the truth is that it was a slow and yet another cold day.  Eoin Fairgrieve and Bill Drury were on the river working their magic and we saw an improvement in everyone’s casting.

Jonny C on Bear Island

It is difficult, with the high water, to get away with just overhead casting and spey casting is a new thing to many here which is as we would expect with this being the tuition week.

Pana saw the first fish of the season landed by the guests.  Just 2 but welcome signs that fish are there, particularly as the 2nd fish was landed at Rockface which is halfway up the beat.

Igor reaching for Stewart H's fish

Kitza landed 5 fish with Joe M landing 2 from Sasha’s in the morning.  Jack, the camp manager, reports that finally the river is dropping away from being bank high and there are more and more places that are easily accessible to wade.

Middle does what it always does, which is to blow everyone’s theories out of the water.  They landed 61 between the 12 rods with Hugo M and Rob McK landing 6 apiece from their session in Peartiha. Colton C managed to outfish his father by 6 to 1 which, as he is only 16, was a very good effort.

Is Spring finally coming? Birch buds just showing this morning

It is at last a bit warmer this morning although the water temperature is still only 3 degrees but Stewart H went out at 6.30 this morning and landed 1 from Heli whilst also losing 2 more which has given everyone encouragement and we hope for more of the same as the day goes on.

Charlie White

A new week but the same weather

Yesterday was a busy day at Murmansk.  Changeover day is always hectic but it is also great fun as it gives the chance to catch up with the many people who come year after year.

We were actually through the airport in record time and everyone was in camp by at least 4pm. Murmansk airport is now a pretty comfortable experience but the sheer tension and excitement levels mean that any wait feels forever.

Brendan - giving it his all as ever

Once in camp it was time to set everyone up, find out which bits of kit were required and discuss the past week’s events.

Those events were perhaps inevitably dominated by talk of Middle Varzuga where the 12 rods finished their week on 408 fish for the week.  A superb weeks fishing with some specimen fish landed.

Stewart H with his first Russian salmon last night

Lower Varzuga started to really pick up in the last few days and the team of 8 who came from Kitza landed 89 for their 3 days here which was a good effort.

At Kitza it is taking longer to get going but some fish are there and the same can be said at Pana.  It is hard work and very cold but the old adage of “you cannot catch a fish if your fly is not in the water” was never truer.

My mother meeting Feorder - I am not sure what she said but it has me worried

The new week always brings fresh enthusiasm and the team at Middle had 13 before the cold got to them last night.  At Lower, Stewart H went out almost as soon as the helicopter landed and on his second cast caught his first ever Russian salmon.  He had another one before we beckoned him into supper and we have got the week off to a good start although it is still really cold and it has snowed all night.  Surely it will warm up soon…?

Charlie White