Lynsey Mair, take a bow

I am not quite sure what to make of yesterday.  We landed 79 salmon across the camps to 29 rods – sounds good I know but there is a nagging feeling that it should have been more.

Jack, Ollie and Bill all reported that fish were running hard through their respective beats and it was more a question of being in the right place at the right time rather than fish being in all beats.

Lynsey on Green Bank - still high water as you can see

Here at Lower we had 25 of those but perhaps the 2 most important fish were landed by Lynsey Mair.  Whilst Lynsey has landed fish before, these were the first “unassisted” fish she has caught and for someone who has barely fished before it was a great achievement.   Anders H landed 6, whilst Jamie H and Bill McS had 5 and 4 respectively.

One from the boat 

Kitza landed 13 fish to their rods with Marc W and Graham J at the top of score sheet once more.  Ollie reported seeing many more fish in their lower reaches but for whatever reason, they were difficult to connect with.

Jamie H on Bear Corner

Middle had 41 and it was very much a case of everyone chipping in.  They are seeing pods of fish and having action for a bit and then it goes slow again.  It is strange in that we are now picking up masses of kelts which we would have expected to have been gone by now – maybe it is just a later season than we would expect given the conditions.

Mark J 

After a curious case of the home pools not really producing so far at Middle, they have landed 8 fish this morning before breakfast and Jack reported that everyone was in their waders in record time as the rods are keen to make the most of what we hope may be a better day.

Good to see Big Misha guiding again, looking healthy and well

It is the same here with Jamie H landing one from the Heli pool before coming in for his cooked breakfast and despite a fairly heavy night; the team are raring to go.

Charlie White

Pana set up and Kitza changeover

As anticipated, yesterday was a busy day.  It was also extremely hot and blindingly bright which was fine for those of us flying but not ideal for those fishing.

The Pana renunion

After seeing the clients off at 9am this morning we started to load the helicopter with the first tranche of the Pana provisions and then flew to the village to pick up the Russian team.  As ever, there were huge hugs, smiles and perhaps a small shot of vodka to mark the reunion and it was lovely to see them all again with Dima still the head guide which is great news.

Hippo Rock well out of the water

After a stifling flight we landed to find the river looking practically perfect.  For those of you who know the beat (there are not many who come into that bracket as only 32 people fish it every year) Hippo Rock is well out of the water.  It looks stunning up there and I think our Spanish friends should have an excellent first week.

"How did you get on"? Lower and Kitza clients swapping stories

It was then back to Lower in order to get things ready for the 7pm changeover with the Kitza clients.  It was a frustrating day that the rods had here at Lower in that we landed 17 but lost 42 more!  Nice to see all of that action but it was very puzzling as to why so many fish dropped off and the book could have told a very different story.

Middle also had a bit of an odd day.  They landed 35 fish which is obviously a great days fishing but this team would expect more than that. 

Graham J on Lower Sviats

I just wonder if we are being conned a bit by the weather and the fact that we started with such a high river.  It feels to us as if the river has dropped by miles and that we are in the middle of June because of the high temperatures (it was 27 degrees yesterday with the water temperature at 11 degrees) but the reality is that we are still faced with a big river and it is only just late May. As ever, time will tell.

Mark J with one of 5 he landed yesterday

Kitza landed 10 yesterday before we went to pick them up and swap over the clients.  The team had really enjoyed their 3 days over there and were full of praise for Ollie and Lucy. 

As soon as the helicopter landed at Lower, Anders H looked at the river and decided it simply had to be fished.  3 fish in just over an hour was more like it and despite another cloudless morning with very strong winds, hopes are high for a more “normal” day.

Charlie White

Off to Pana

We had a really fun day yesterday here at Lower with Alex A landing his first ever salmon in the morning followed by two more at Beach in the afternoon. 

Bill Drury having guided Alex A into hooking his first salmon

Peter V also landed his first Russian salmon and as a result there were many celebrations on the river as well as a very good party last night.  A total of 24 fish were landed but perhaps a better example of the action we were having was that Marc W landed 4 in the afternoon as well as losing 8 more.  It was the first time that we have really seen Beach come alive and it felt very much as if the grilse run had arrived.

Jim A with a lovely fish from Beach

At Kitza they landed 22 and it is encouraging to see their scores heading in an upward direction.  Ollie said that the river is dropping nicely but then said they have still hardly been able to properly wade so I guess it must still be very high.  We are flying over there at 7pm tonight for the weekly changeover and so I should be able to get a better handle on things.

Matt and Beanie - manager and cook at Pana

Many of you who have been out here or have spoken to the office about coming out here will have, at some point, dealt with the legend who is Lynsey Mair.  She handles all of the administration of everyone’s trips and is entirely unflappable.

Lynsey getting ready for a boat trip to Middle

She has come out here this week to refresh her memory of why this place is so special and last night we both went up to Middle for dinner.  A beautiful, warm and sunny evening was the perfect time to do it and we had a stunning boat trip up there. 

John R with a "half a fish"

We found a very happy team of clients but they had had a rather difficult day of fishing compared to the norm up there.  29 fish were put in the book and a combination of a building run of fish, very high winds and simply “fishing” were to blame for their slightly disappointing numbers.

Today we are off to Pana to set up that camp for the forthcoming guests whilst also swapping the Kitza clients with Lower this evening so it looks like a busy day in the helicopter – I hope when I get back it has been a busy day on the river.

Charlie White

An odd day

Yesterday was a bit strange.  Bright sunshine in the morning meant we all packed suncream and were looking forward to a picnic lunch.  By the time lunch came, it was pouring with rain accompanied by a cold upstream wind.  Almost as soon as everyone had eaten their rather soggy quiche, it brightened up again to lead to a lovely afternoon.

Joan G with one of 3 she landed yesterday

I am not sure if that is why catches felt a bit flat all day but I doubt it helped.  At Middle they landed 53 fish for the day with catches fairly evenly spread although Julian T was perhaps the standout rod with 8 from Upper Fortress and Beach. 

Regular blog readers will know that we have a very hard working rod at Middle and he had 18 for the day which is perhaps the best indication of the run of fish that we have this year.

Graham J on the Mall - despite dropping water it is still a high river

At Kitza I know that they landed 14 for their first full day of the season.  Whilst communications are improving daily here on the tundra, I still could barely make out what Ollie was saying and so I don’t know the breakdown of that or how far upstream they were fishing – details for this evenings catch up I hope.

Jim A who may just have enjoyed his day...

At Lower we totaled 24 for the day with Graham J the top rod with 6.  I know that sounds pretty good fishing to 8 rods but in truth, I thought we would catch more than that.  Water temperatures are now at 10 degrees and my suspicion is that a lot of fish are running the middle of the river which we can’t quite reach yet. 

Marc W on Heli

This is a week which is normally hosted by Michael Evans and he always reckoned that there were always a few days when the river hadn’t quite dropped enough for the fishermen but had for the fish – it would seem that yesterday was one of those days.

However, as I am typing I have just seen Sue C land a fish from Larder and as she said over the radio, “normal service is resumed”

Charlie White

A round up

Last week was a classic opening week.  High water with catches improving every day and bigger fish being landed. 

So bright it dazzled him...

Lower fished well on Friday and we finished with 91 for the week.  Not epic by Varzuga standards but still a great week.  Middle had another very good day but fell just short of the 400 mark.  392 really good fish to 11 rods was a fantastic result and it was clear in Murmansk that they had all really enjoyed it.

One from Peartiha

It was very smooth through the airport yesterday and everyone was in their respective camps by around 2pm.  After a very early morning start in Helsinki, many were quite tired but most had a crack at the river.

Jonatha B on Moscoi

At Kitza, the first 5 fish of the season were landed whilst at Middle they had 11 for their short afternoon.  At Lower we had 5 on the bank as well as a rod broken whilst playing another fish.

Fish have been landed this morning across all of the camps although a very cold morning probably didn’t help productivity and it was ones and twos rather than more than that.

Rob T with another lovely fish from Clarks

It was very bright first thing but it is now rather overcast and so we hope that the first day of the week is set up nicely.

Charlie White

Last day of the week

It shouldn’t come as a surprise by now but time really does fly up here.  It seems minutes ago that we landed with our first clients of the season and were faced with a very high river. 

The ice break date was about perfect but warmer temperatures than we would expect in early May led to all of the snow in the tundra melting into the river over just a few days rather than just a few weeks.

Ken L with a cracker from Upper Sviats

It is difficult to tell as there are so many ways to measure the river but when I look out of the office here, I would reckon that the river beside the camp has fallen by about 15 feet over this week – things really do happen quickly in the Russian summer.

Robin M on Beach

All of which has led to an improving situation day by day and I had hoped that yesterday would be the first day that Lower would really get in amongst the fish.  It didn’t happen quite like that although I am not sure why.  We saw plenty of fish and an awful lot were hooked but in the end only 20 were put in the record book.  Jonathan B had 6 of those whilst Tim T had 5 for his morning session and then called it quits on the basis that 5 was enough for a day.

Jonathan B on the beginnings of Bear Island

I went up to Middle Varzuga for dinner and found a team reveling in the conditions.  They had landed 71 for their day taking them comfortably over the 300 mark for the week – 400 is the target for today.   Brian M had a stunning day landing 15 fish with 8 from Peartiha and 7 from Birthday. 

A happy team at Middle

Oddly, not many fish are being caught from the home pool so practically all of the fish that have been recorded have been in “office hours”.  I suspect it is still a bit high and lower water should bring Generator and Bear into order.

Andrew T with yet another for his week

It is a very warm and very bright day today but everyone is determined to make the most of the last day and breakfast was a pretty short affair.  No blog tomorrow as we fly to Murmansk very early but I will round up all of the scores on Sunday.

Charlie White

Kitza set up

Yesterday was very warm and very bright – perfect flying conditions if not quite so conducive to fishing.

We flew over to Kitza to start setting up the camp over there.  Loading up the helicopter looked as if we were trying to resupply Ikea and a huge supermarket.  Table cloths and cushions jostled for space with mustard and tomato ketchup alongside satellite phones, boat engine parts, vodka and bananas! 

Kitza camp

Somehow we got it all in and flew the short distance to see our old friends at Kitza.  We were treated to stunning views of the White Sea and when we landed, it was no surprise to see a very high river.  It will drop as quickly as it has here and Ura, the head guide, was unusually upbeat about our chances for the coming week.

Looking upstream from the camp

On returning back to Lower Varzuga it was encouraging to hear that they had been catching fish and a final score of 24 was very much the right direction we want to be heading in.  Richard M landed his first ever salmon on Tuesday and went on to land 6 more yesterday, a great effort.

Sergei and Ken L on Beach

Most of the fish were caught at the very bottom of our beat but Bill Drury wanted to see if some of the smaller “pots” where now producing and 3 fish in 20 minutes (not counted in the official scores) proved that there were fish all the way up to Bearlets. 

Andrew T on Generator

We are just beginning to see the “road” where the boats are tied up - this would usually be our high water mark to give those of you who know the beat some idea of how high it has been.

At Middle there was a very productive morning followed by a slightly slower afternoon, attributed to the very warm, still and bright conditions.  However, none of it can have been too slow as they put 66 fish in the book to their 11 rods. 

Rob T with one from Clarks

It was the usual suspects of Donald and Andrew who lead the charts but Hugh L and Brian M landed 7 and 6 respectively to keep them on their toes.  As Hugh had lost 10 yesterday, each one practically at the net, this was a welcome turnaround.

It is much more overcast today and things look good.

Charlie White

As we hoped

Yesterday was confirmation that this year is, as the Russians say about everything, “normal”.

A dropping river, fresh fish, conditions improving rapidly at Lower and a great day at Middle.

Rob T

The 11 rods at Middle Varzuga landed 95 fish for their day.  Seriously good fishing by any measure and when you learn that they all thought that they had lost more than they had landed, you know how much action they had throughout the day.

Simon R with a bar of silver

Gareth C was responsible for 14 of those, Andrew T had 13 and Simon R landed 11 from Fortress and Clark’s.

The river is falling pretty rapidly - probably about 2 feet at Lower yesterday – and it is warming up, currently it is 6 degrees but we have a really bright day today and I would expect it to be a touch higher by this evening.

Ken L on Beach at Lower

Tactics are being altered appropriately with tips of T-14/17 being replaced with T-6/10 and intermediates are coming into play.  A lot of fish were caught on shrimp type colours but dressed on 1-2 inch tubes.

Gareth C - you can really tell how well the fish have done at sea

At Lower we landed 10 fish.  Not a bonanza I know but such an improvement and it really feels as if we have a chance here now.  That was further backed up by Ken L going out before breakfast this morning and landing 1 before breakfast.  It still needs to drop off to open up more of the river to us but things are going the right way.

Jonathan B on Moscoi

A short blog today as we are jumping on the helicopter to fly to Kitza to take Ollie and Lucy over there to set up for the first clients of the season for that camp who will arrive on Saturday.

Charlie White

Encouraging signs

Yesterday was a beautiful day to be on the river – quite cold in the morning but with bright skies and a relatively benign wind, it felt more like June than mid May.

It is hard to comprehend but the river here at Lower has now fallen 8-10 feet since we first landed on Saturday afternoon.  What is even harder to comprehend is that we probably still need it to fall a further 3-4 feet before we really see the river as we would expect in the opening week.

Tony C at Clarks

The water is not only falling but it is clearing rapidly and most importantly, we are beginning to see stretches of water that we can get in and fish rather than finding the odd spot in amongst the trees.

Whilst we only landed 2 fish at Lower we started to see a lot more and rather counter-intuitively, it was encouraging to see a seal at Beach - the bottom of our beat – knowing that it wouldn’t have bothered to come up river without something to chase.

Gareth C with a lovely fresh fish

Perhaps the most important information from yesterday was the fishing at Middle.  I went up there for dinner in stunning sunshine and saw the first Arctic Terns of the year – a sure sign that spring is here.

The rods there were clearly having a great time which is not surprising given that they had landed 57 for the day.  They all had similar tales of quiet periods followed by intense bursts of activity which is just as we would hope as it means that the fresh fish are running in pods and the run is just building.

Lucy from Kitza getting ready for a boat trip

Clarks, Peartiha and Birthday were the most productive pools and now that the ice has gone from Bear, quite a few fish were caught from there as well.

Simon R on Bear

This morning is again bright and I know that at least 5 fish have been landed on the home pools of Middle before breakfast.  It feels like our turn to catch the fish that are clearly running past us and with this dropping river, our chances are improving hourly.

Charlie White

Getting there

Yesterday was a tale of two halves with Middle starting well but Lower was a struggle.

It really reminded me of 2014 when we had a huge river for the first week of the season as a result of high temperatures.  Pretty much all of the snow and ice has now gone and the tundra water is starting to be released into the river with all of the feeder streams really pumping water in.

Andrew T

Middle Varzuga is above a lot of those streams - particularly a smaller tributary called Sergo which can be very dirty when it starts to run - and as a result, in these conditions, they have much cleaner water to fish.

They landed 35 for the day which is more than a solid start.  Gareth C landed 5 from Clarks (a classic high water pool) whilst Neville A landed 4 on his first day on a Russian river.  Andrew T was the star of the day though landing 9 from Generator and Party - he was also clearly the only man to take a camera with him!

In the withies

At Lower, Jonathan B saved our blank by landing 1 whilst we also lost a couple of others.  I would tell you where he caught it but frankly there is not a definable beat at the moment and it is just a question of trying to find places to get in where we can wade for a bit.  Fishing from boats is the obvious answer but the current is too strong to risk a decent anchor hold so we can’t quite do that at the moment either.

One from Generator

The good news is that it is dropping very quickly.  It dropped around 8 inches last night which is a vast amount of water off it given how wide it currently is.  As it drops it will clear and the beat will open up which will give us a decent chance of covering the fish that are obviously running through here.

Heading out this morning - still very high

2014 was our record season in 26 years of operating up here and so we hope that the replication of the first couple of days will continue through the next 6 weeks.

Charlie White

And we’re off

As ever, it is great to be back on the Varzuga and to catch up with old friends.  Friday night in Helsinki is one of the best of the year with anticipation levels off the charts and a bubbling cauldron of excitement.

Getting on to our new heli

After a very early morning start, it was onto the charter and a smooth passage to Murmansk.  With only Lower and Middle Varzuga up and running, there were just 20 of us and so it was a very quick in and out of the airport meaning we were in the chopper by 11:45 - a record I do not expect to be broken any time soon.

Lakes still frozen but most of the snow has gone

As we flew over the tundra it was noticeable that there is very little snow left but that most of the big lakes are still covered in ice.

It was very encouraging to fly over Middle Varzuga and see that most of the banks are fairly free of ice and Generator looked fishable in more than a few places.  There is still a huge ice wall at the top of Bear which will make that difficult to access for a day or two.

Generator pool at Middle

At Lower the river is pretty much bank high and we decided to save our powder for today as wading was not a good idea with the trees and branches that you would have to walk through to get to the water.

Andrew T with the first fish of the 2018 season

However, the team at Middle went out and landed 4 fish with Andrew T being the first to kick off our season.  There are limited places at present to really access the water but with nearly all of the snow gone and temperatures around the 12 degree mark, it will drop rapidly. 

The water temperature is 4 degrees and now that most of the ice has been dragged off the banks, the river is clearing nicely. 

Donald S on Generator

We are probably within 36 hours of the “perfect” ice break and opening week river conditions and as all of the boats set off this morning there was a palpable sense of anticipation.  After months of looking forward to it, we are off.

Charlie White