“Maybe tomorrow”

It seems that winter won’t let go just yet.  A really cold wind and some very heavy snow showers made fishing pretty tough and it was no surprise that a few called it off before the allotted guided time was over.

The mantra for the past three weeks has been “maybe tomorrow” as everyone here prayed for the ice to break, the river to clear, for guests to be in camp and now it seems for the main run of fish to arrive.

What we have all been waiting for

We did catch fish and at Lower Varzuga, Phil B and Will D landed 5 springers between them but it was hard going for everyone else.

At Kitza it was much the same with the metronomic Brendan G landing 3 of the 6 they had for the day.

Brothers in arms - Will and Rhod with a good fish from Jannaways

The team at Pana fished hard for the morning but with no luck chose to have an extended lunch with red wine to the fore.  The fish will reach them but we could do with the water temperatures to warm up a bit to get the whole system moving.

Care still needed when wading

At Middle Varzuga the very experienced team of 12 rods landed 37 fish for the day with one regular rod landing 14 of those.  Paul C landed a specimen springer of somewhere between 18-20lbs which put up the kind of fight you would expect from a solid bar of silver. 

Feorder and Michael G ready to go

A bear was seen on the island which is the first sighting of the season but whilst that is fun, what we all want is to see a few more fish and that the mantra can become “today”.

It is much warmer this morning and there is noticeably less ice coming down the river so things look promising.

Charlie White

The season has started

It is a fantastic feeling to be back on the Varzuga.  After the coldest spring in living memory, the river is now fully open and we have all of our four beats up and running.

Whilst I have seen the river higher for an “opening” week there is no doubt that a lot of the snow has already melted into the system and my guess is that it will consistently drop away from these levels.

The frozen Kola river yesterday

One of the unexpected benefits of the other rivers on the Kola having to cancel their opening weeks was that Murmansk airport felt like a ghost town yesterday.  38 clients went through in record time and we were all in camp by 3pm.

It is fair to say that it was pretty obvious that all of our team were keen to see new faces after weeks of confinement and our arrival had a celebratory feel to it.

Snow in camp this morning

However, winter has not let go entirely; it is still very cold and in three of our camps the first thing everyone did was to head for the fire and a cup of tea/glass of wine/whisky – pretty much in that order.

At Middle Varzuga no such indulgence was tolerated and pretty much everyone went out.  A score of 12 by supper was a good effort but I suspect the fact that the river has stopped rising this morning will have a very beneficial effect on their numbers by this evening.

A high but dropping river

It is snowing hard this morning and it was not hard to take the decision to have lunch back in camp. This normally leads to a certain amount of dissent as there is no doubt that coming back, as opposed to having lunch on the river bank, cuts into the guided fishing time but no one murmured and as everyone put on indecent amount of layers this morning I think it will be a cold bunch that we welcome back in a few hours time.

Sunset at Kitza 

Fifteen feet of T-14/17 with short leaders, heavy flies and thermals are the order of the day and although it is chilly, all of us are delighted to have the season under way.

Charlie White

Quick update

There is precious little to add this morning as all of the managers, cooks, guides and helpers are busy clearing out the camps, setting up boats and ensuring that everything looks spotless for our first guests arrival on Saturday.

Boats at Lower waiting to be launched

At Middle and Lower, nether Toby nor Bill have fished yet as there is still substantial ice coming down and fishing on your own in those conditions is not a good idea.

Picking a moment to launch a boat between the ice

Frustratingly, Toby cannot send me pictures of the river at Middle as he has a problem with his connection but I understand that the ice has left behind substantial ice walls on Generator pool which we have seen before.  When the water rises, as the snow around the tundra melts, this will all go but it sounds as if we will need to exercise caution for the time being.

Luba at Kitza preparing lunch for the guides

Jack, over at Kitza, has been getting to grips with the new rubber boats that we have purchased for this season which will be a real boon in low water.  Ironically, this is one season where we almost certainly won’t see low water before we leave but such is life on the Kola and it is always good to make progress.

One of the new rubber boats at Kitza

I am heading up to Helsinki tomorrow and am hugely looking forward to typing the next blog beside the river.  It has been an extraordinary couple of weeks and it will be great to see some fish on the bank and the operation up and running.

Charlie White

Blog by proxy

As Jack mentioned yesterday, all of the camps are now fully staffed and are beginning to get up and running after the endless winter.

Lower Varzuga this morning

I understand from Bill that it was a whirlwind of activity with the helicopter going non-stop all day as it was loaded, unloaded, refuelled and re-positioned time after time.

Upstream at Kitza yesterday

Yesterday also bought us the news we had been hoping for as there was a serious amount of ice floating past Lower all day.

Home pool at Pana last night

In a cold spring it can take time for the main ice sheets to get moving and after the initial thrill of seeing the ice break up, it can dispiriting to be at Lower and not see much happening.  It just takes time and yesterday bought us much more of what we are looking for.

Ice sheets going past Lower at lunchtime yesterday

The river beside all of the camps is now clear of ice and things can start in earnest.  More tomorrow when I hope to have photos of Middle which for some reason keep getting lost in the ether this morning.

Charlie White

The Last Supper

It's finally upon us. The day we start to split off for each camp. Initially our set up week(s) consisted of buying provisions in Murmansk and then moved into dividing them among Pana, Kitza, Middle and Lower Varzuga.

A little higher this morning

Now finally it is time to load all the laden bags into Helicopters and set off for our camps. With all the time in the world to get things ready it would stand to reason there was nothing left to do but somehow yesterday seemed to be a whirlwind of printing and packing.

A quick cast

We all sat down to our last supper together for a while. Despite extreme cabin fever I have become rather fond of the people around me and am actually slightly sad to be leaving. We have hatched a plan to meet up for supper together post season.

Sushi last supper

This will be my last post for a while as Lucy and I head out to Kitza to unpack our provisions and get things ready for our first guests. It has not been the easiest thing to write the blog at times but mother nature is a far more powerful entity than I and we have made the best of what she has been giving us.

Set up and ready to go

Thank you for putting up with my ramblings and I look forward to seeing many of you on the river shortly.

Jack Selby

Arrived and ready

Twas the night before "monday" and all through the house, nothing was stirring not even the mouse... Then Matt and Beanie arrived... on a hover boat.

All pretty jealous of this entrance

It actually turns out that they are a great asset already but it was quite a shock to the community system. My BBQ was burned out about 3 hours too early but we had the most delicious pork dish that Lucy cooked and a few beers to welcome the new recruits.

Matt and Beanie

The sun arrived yesterday afternoon and is still here this morning. We did have some light snow in the morning but not enough to settle. The river has dropped a little and it was cold last night again.

This morning the river has dropped a bit

The good news is they are no longer crossing the river on the ice at the village. However just above it is still somewhat solid as far as we can see. It's no longer possible to walk into the village along the river's edge so things are moving but it all seems jolly slow.

Sunset over the camp last night

More tomorrow morning when we will have had a chat with the Russian team about what is happening up above.

Jack Selby

Bigger and better

This morning the river is up and looks like a proper river. There are still chunks of ice gently trundling down past us. It's cold and there is light snow.

Bigger and Better this morning

Yesterday evening a huge chunk of Ice came down past us. It was almost in one piece and picked up a massive boulder in front of us and rolled it along the river bed like it was a pebble. As it went through the rapids it broke up.

Toby watches as a big sheet goes through

The area below camp has largely cleared meaning we dont get the build up anymore. From where we look out it just looks like a bigger and better river at last.

Another big chunk late last night

Having said that there is an awful lot still to come to clear the full river and the snow and ice that is left on the banks needs to make it's way into the system also. However from a fairly depressing outlook last week we are much more hopeful of things to come.

Massively satisfying watching it drift into the rapids

Matt and Beanie join us tonight from MMK and we are going to cook them a BBQ. It's going to be both pleasant and odd to have new blood in camp. We've become slightly institutionalised by the last two weeks.

I hope to have even more ice flows to report tomorrow.

Jack Selby

A new scene

Yesterday was not the sunny day we expected. After the fog and mist it never really got above 5 degrees but the section that had cracked above camp came down to join us which was jolly exciting.

Our vista yesterday whilst the big flow happened

 The river rose by 3 feet very quickly but what had broken above just rafted up in front of our lodge.

Sushi

In the kitchen Lucy, Iona and Donna created a mushroom feast as well as delicious sushi. Being catered for by 3 chefs is a real treat and they have really looked after us during some tough times this week.

Lower rooms are ready

This morning the river appears to be flowing and whilst we are confined to what we can see in front of us it appears the river is making it's move. Lets hope the same can be said all the way up river.

Appears to be flowing well

More detail tomorrow.

Jack Selby

Hive of activity

This morning was very foggy early. It's now cleared and there is a gap to the far bank snow line. Nothing big but it has certainly made a visual difference.

This morning with 4" rise

Yesterday was sunny and at times warm which can only help. There was much activity from the Russian team, helicopters and fan boat yesterday. Each time the fan boat came through more ice was dislodged.

Heli activity was high yesterday

Our Russian partners varnished all the windows and doors which was a good job done whilst the sun was available to dry it.

Fan Boat visit

Below camp the ice looks to be thinning and a long thin flow of water has formed where ice, pushed under the main mass, has escaped.

Beginning to get thin below the camp

Bill and I think that the river has risen about 4 inches over night which will help push the chunks on down the river. More tomorrow.

Jack Selby

A bit of rain

Today is warmer. Yesterday was over cast and it rained. Not heavily but for a few hours which has certainly had an effect on the thinner snow and ice.

A little wider each day

The river in front of us is again a little wider and there are areas along the sides that are getting thinner fast.

Kashkarantsy Lighthouse

Painted up for the summer

 We managed to get out to the sea yesterday which was certainly more interesting than being here. We drove to Kashkarantsy and walked out to the light house. The only being we saw was a small puppy which seemed very pleased to see us.

Iona made a fury friend

Fingers crossed a bigger change tomorrow.

Jack Selby

Little by little

Yesterday was again sunny and it's making a noticeable difference to the landscape here. Many of the little streams are flowing again and the far bank is less and less white.

Snow is melting slowly

Some chunks of Ice have gathered at the bottom of the open stretch in front of the lodge. Today is cold and overcast but forecast is better in the next couple of days.

Deeper and softer behind the camp

Plans to get out of camp were thwarted by having no one who could actually drive us. We went instead for a walk to see the area behind the camp.

Beautifully sunny day

On our walk above camp we did see quite a substantial crack across the snow covered ice which is good news. We just have to assume there are many more of these all up through the river system.

Still and clear evening at the lodge

I'll keep an eye on the river and report any changes tomorrow.

Jack Selby

Sad news

It is with extremely heavy heart that we have to cancel week 2 on the Varzuga system. Whilst the water in front of the lodge appears to grow each day it's not getting it's job done fast enough and putting clients in this situation would be the wrong thing to do. The river up above the village is still solid and whilst it will likely break this week it needs a good 5-6 days to clear itself of ice and drop back to a fishing level.

As with last week, the majority of clients have elected to roll over their fishing to next year (in which case we take care of all of their costs in 2018) or exercise their right to a full refund including fishing, charter, hotel, visa and flights. Everyone here is disappointed and deflated by the news but nature is a powerful adversary and no where more so than in the arctic circle.

Getting there but not quickly enough

This is the first time in 26 years that we have had to cancel the second week of the season and our Russian friends continue to shake their heads as to the spring we have had - truly remarkable and we all hope it is a one off.

We are now regretting having rushed all our jobs earlier in the week. Whilst there are always things to do it's pretty much up together. We are therefore going to try to get someone to drive us out to the coast at Kuzomen for a picnic and a change of scene.

Lucy inspects the church spire production line

Yesterday we headed to the village with "tomatoes" on the shopping list but in truth the shopping list is created to get everyone out and about and doing exercise. In the village we met up with Ivan, one of the young guides from Middle. He was loading up a hovercraft to take equipment up to camp. He greeted us warmly and seemed pretty jolly considering the conditions.

Ivan chats to Donna about middle

Toby managed a bit of sledging on the steep slope from the school which conveniently has a good set of stairs to get you back to the top quickly.

Despite appearance he was really shifting

We finally had a snow ball fight which seemed to centre round the park benches only just now above the snow.

Iona and Lucy look on as Donna fights back

We had a delicious pork dish served up by Iona and then had another laughter filled night. It might just be cabin fever turning us hysterical but I am not able to distinguish this anymore. That said we were all in bed by 10 past 11 so hardly a big party.

A little fly tying last night

More tomorrow when a fly might have had a swim in the river.

Jack Selby