Up a foot

Once again Kitza held it’s own yesterday mainly due to the lake that feeds the bulk of the river protecting them from a sharp rise. We had sparse moments of glory but the river rose all day meaning for many fishing was tough. The nice gravel bars we had been fishing are now too deep in most cases but the likes of Birthday and Peartiha are now back in play and for Brendon G this was a winner banking 2 fish over 10lbs in weight. Will G got a fish in the morning from the upper river and Peter W christened his new line with a brace from Dunkery Corner.

 

Brendon G with a cracking fish from Generator

There were certainly a few fish running yesterday with reported sightings right through our beats but they were not hanging around to chase flies. We are all hopeful that the rise in water will bring a few more of the pods of fish into our beats to replace those running up.

 

12" rise in the last 48hrs

Ralph C with a lovely fish from up river

If the fish are running hard I hope they are heading for Pana as they had another tough day yesterday with 3 fish for the team. Conditions were very tough with cold air temperature and a rising river all day. Patrick H and James P were up river on the float section and landed one each and James J had a fish before a picnic lunch.

 

Brendon G with Peartiha fish 1

Brendon G with Peartiha fish 2

The weather yesterday was pretty cold but lunch at Peartiha seemed to be in the only warm spell of the day. We had a lovely sunset last night so Will G, Charlie C, Jason S and myself took the big boat down to Party to skate a sunray. We did have a fish boil at the fly but it missed by a mile and eventually we decided a beer by the fire was the smarter choice.

 

Azar once again joined us for a picnic at Peartiha

This morning it is milder and the sun is out. The water is currently 9 degrees and with the rise in the river we are fishing slightly heavier with larger flies. Whilst it’s great for boating and certain pools I’m just crossing everything that it brings a bunch of new fish into the system and more over all the beats.

Jack Selby

Up she rises

As predicted the river has come up 7 inches since yesterday morning. The rise will make boating easier but wading trickier. The recently introduced water has also forced the temperature down to 9 degrees. Whilst the rising river did not stop us catching it certainly slowed things up added to a very strong wind. For those who know the river well Clarks corner can be very tricky in strong wind with it seemingly coming at you from every direction.

 

Will G with a lovely fish from Party Rocks

Kevin C and Karen C toughed it out up there in the morning until the cold took it’s toll and they returned for a well earned rest by the fire. In the afternoon it was also extremely cold and windy but they fished the full session and Kevin was rewarded with 2 lovely fish.

 

Kevin C and Sasha with a lovely fish from Fortress

Jason S took top rod for the day with insider information from Will G for two fish at Party rocks and a fish from Snake Pit. I waded out to the middle of the river to see Peter W who seemed to be struggling with the wind. It turned out someone had “Custom Tuned” his shooting head and one cast showed me it was not well weighted to the rod. I waded back and brought him my Rio Scandi head which he declares is an utter pleasure to cast. Think that line will be heading home with Peter.

Ralph C all set to go

Another cracking selfie from Brendon G

We ended on 13 yesterday but somehow it had felt like more. There was certainly a pod or two of fish about and there were quite a few fish lost for those landed. I imagine the rising river triggered a few fish to run. Now we just have to hope enough of these new fish stick around for the next two weeks.

 

Camp pets are nesting on cabin 3

Steven H showing off his Snap T

Kitza had a slower day but still managed to land 18 fish. They reported heavy rain in the morning followed by heavy wind. Ian B had 6 fish with 3 from Clay View, Bryan P had 4 also with 2 from Clay View giving them a boat total of 10 fish. Josh C caught 2 with a 15lbs fish from Rackmans. Charles W had 3 from Beaver Pit and Sergei’s. Pana reported 6 fish landed due to the rising river.

 

Jason S with a cracker from Party rocks

This morning it was sunny with a clear sky but still 7 degrees. There is a down stream wind and it’s slowly clouding over. We are however having a picnic lunch at Peartiha again unless the heavens open.

Jack Selby

Wet, wet and wet.

I awoke very early this morning to the sound of very heavy rain on the cabin roof. It proceeded to rain hard through the night and is this morning drifting between heavy showers and light rain. The air temperature is down but water temperature is still 11 degrees. Everyone has gone out despite the onslaught but the “lunch” will be at camp today for sure and I suspect quite drawn out.

 

Kevin C and Guide Sasha with a cracking fish

Yesterday was quite windy at times but relatively mild and after a disappointing morning a fair few fish were caught across the board with Jason S catching 4. Many of the fish were fresh and it seemed the short spell of action was timed from the bottom beats to the top and those in the right spot had a relatively busy spell. Will G had 3 for the day as did John G. I headed out to see Steven H and Chris S and take some photos. 2 fish jumped in front of me, then Chris hooked one which in turn caused another to jump. Sadly it did not hang on but I got a nice picture of the bent rod.

 

Simmons wading

Kitza had another great day with 35 fish landed. Richard G had 8 fish with 4 from Clay View, Brad had his first ever Salmon in Sasha’s followed shortly by his second. Mark L had 5 including a lovely 12lbs fish from Chopper Island. Joch C had a great morning with 3 from Sasha’s and 2 in Piddling Pool. Kitza are also reporting a deluge today and their first mosquitos. To be fair I had expected to see these much sooner but the cold weather I think has held them back. Pana had a mixed day with strong wind but they landed 17 with Charlie T getting 10 to his own rod.

 

Charlie C with a fish from up river

Brendon G with a selfie in Generator

Last night I took the younger members of the team out for a fish from the boat in Party. We anchored up with a few beers and fished out either side with an occasional 3^rd rod fishing deeper. It was a nice evening as the wind dropped and Will G and I did some casting tuition. Once we got his shooting head working as it should he was zipping it out and hooked a fish towards the draw off the side of the gravel bar. My deeper line also managed to get a hook up and a few other knocks to boot. Being a shallow river there are not many deeper holes that can be fished this way but Party is still one.

Will G into a fish on Party bar from the party boat

Will G's reward for tweaking his casting

Between yesterday morning and supper last night the river had only dropped quarter of an inch and when I checked it this morning it had regained that quarter. I will keep an eye during the day but so long as the river does not colour a rise can only be a good thing. Not only stirring things up but meaning we can get about in the boats more easily over the coming weeks.

Jack Selby

Well done Kitza.

Yesterday started warm here at middle. The wind was low and the sun was out. As I sat to type the blog out on the steps of our lodge I was really warm. Then the cloud rolled in and it was remarkably cold still. We had a mixed morning with 1s and 2s here and there; much as we saw last week.

 

Picnic lunch at Peartiha

By lunchtime we had still air and the warm sun was back out. We had a picnic lunch on Peartiha beach which certainly ran on longer than usual as people warmed up and rested. After lunch the same was true of the fishing except Kevin C who had hold of 5 in quick succession but sadly only landed 2. Brendon G’s unwavering determination out of hours paid off and he had 3 fish from Generator. We ended up with 14 for the day with a couple of fish in the 10lbs range.

 

Brendon G having success round the island

Over at Kitza they had some sport all through the beats. Bryan P had a splendid day with 8 fish landed. 2 fish from Shute, 4 from Green Glide and 2 from Gold Mine. Josh C had 4 with 3 of those coming from Sergei’s. Ian B had 5 fish and Alan M had 3 with one of about 10lbs from Heli pool. Ollie reports than many of the fish are still fresh which is great news. We often expect Kitza fish a little later so this is expected. Here at Middle we are still catching a few fresh ones along with a good number that came in just after the ice break.

 

Ivan watching like a hawk as John G gets to grips with Simmon's

Pana landed 17 for the team, Charlie T and his fishing partner Andrew G landed 5 fish each from the tail of the lagoon down to White Rock. They reported losing a fair few fish too. Graham T landed his first ever Russian Salmon on the float trip and his fishing partner also landed one. The river is in perfect condition and is dropping slowly.

 

Wading out on the bar

Yesterday we had rather a number of live jackets go off. None actually from proper swimming but from a stumble or slipping from a rock. The wading here is not as easy as many people tend to believe with big shiny rocks hiding down every run. However wading a bar in the middle of such a huge river is a truly amazing way to fish.

 

John G rewarded on Simmons

This morning it is mild and still but over cast. We lost one inch of water in the last 24hrs and the water is still 11 degrees. Whilst colour does not seem to matter, with all sorts of flies being fished (many I have never seen or heard of before,) size certainly does and those catching most consistently are fishing size 8s or 10s. Whilst things can change very quickly in the wilderness it would be wise for anyone heading out next week to pack a few 8s,10s and 12s in their fly box as well as the usual size ranges.

Safe release

Whilst the blog is not really designed for personal requests I promised Kevin and Karen that I would send their love to sons James and Charles. They are having a wonderful time here and keeping everyone up beat and positive.

Jack Selby

Extremely Jolly Teams

Saturdays will never be the same. Prior to Charlie returning to the UK my Saturdays were rather civilised. Wave goodbye to the clients, polish off the rest of the bacon and back to bed for a sleep. Not so this week. I headed out with a very cheerful team from here at Middle and collected a somewhat jaded (and bruised) team from Pana. On arrival in Murmansk everyone was very positive about their weeks and despite not being as productive as we have seen in the other years everyone had worked hard and been fairly rewarded.

 

James H-B had a great week at Pana

I found Bill and Ceri in a somewhat monosyllabic state and quickly deduced the magnitude of their end of season party. To their credit they had brought me the supplies I had requested and it was sad to say goodbye. There were still a fair few of the Gremikha clients (the lower Yokanga camp) in the departures hall and so it was good to catch up with them and hear of their 75kms boulder scrambles to get to the pots and pools where monsters lie. Paddy V was elated but exhausted.

Hugh M returns a spanking fresh grilse on Simmon's

 Having done change overs last year there were many familiar faces at arrivals and it made for a quick and easy handling process. Sasha was a wonderful help as ever and we had Middle and Kitza on the helicopter in double quick time. Fishing here was pretty much as standard last night with Jason S catching 2 fish and a total of 6 fish. What was positive was there were 2 fish caught from Bear which was little fished last week so well rested. Pana reported 4 fish but seemed more concerned with the rugby result and Kitza only reported that the helicopter whiskey took it’s toll on a few of the team (see image below)

 

Mark L fuelling his helicopter ride

Reflecting on last week we had 518 fish over the 4 camps and this was in the face of extreme weather and some really bizarre conditions. Here at middle the river came up 6” over the week and Pana was reporting hail and sleet and gusting wind most of the week. Water temperatures dropped and air temperatures plummeted but still we managed to do a bit better. There are still fresh fish coming in and whilst they might have raced through Lower there still providing Kitza, Middle and Pana with a gentle stock. I don’t ask much but if we could keep the water level and fish run constant for the next few weeks it would be a lovely way to end the season.

 

Pana camp from the air

This morning is mild with a gentler wind and we are planning to be back at Peartiha for lunch. I have a resident bird expert in the form of Chris S and so I am looking forward to hearing what he has found and showing him my pictures of the Ruffs. Water temperatures are back to 11 degrees and we only lost quarter of an inch in the last 24 hours so floating lines and small doubles are the norm with a few people on an intermediate poly leader or tip. A red fly seems to have been the popular choice and I suspect now it will bear fruit as everyone adopts this. Bucking the trend was Julian G who caught his fish on a green highlander. I’m now off to Simmon’s to see how things are going and take some more photos. A truly beautiful part of the river.

Beanie doing what she does best

Jack Selby

Steelhead Lessons, Varzuga Style

 Last night Hugo M took Ian H and Hugh M out for a lesson in casting for steelhead. They are booked to fish Skeena Salmon Lodge and wanted some pointers. I was expecting to find a very serious lesson going on but mainly they were just drinking vodka tonics and learning how to mend the line on a grand scale.

Steelhead lessons

Yesterday was milder with a lighter wind and the team were rewarded with some good fishing. Oddly Ian H and Hugh M, who normally lead the pack, had a tough day but Ian C caught 7 with 4 from Tiffinie’s. Jim R had hold of monster fish in Spring but sadly it took off down the fast water and they parted company. Ian S had a strong start considering the night before but did take a short siesta after lunch before fishing bear and catching a good sized fish in Generator. The fish had been previously hooked and broken and Ian S gained a free fly into the bargain. Doug U had some fun sport on Boundary with a number of fish showing and chasing his fly.

No lesson is complete without a V&T

Lower Varzuga fishing picked up again with 14 fish for the team. Whilst no signs show a big push of fish the fact Lower and Kitza are still seeing fresh fish is encouraging for our next weeks. Kitza caught 18 fish with Paul C catching 4. 3 of these fish came from Gold Mine. For those who know the Kitza Gold Mine is a stunning wade at the right height. Dylan WB had 3 including 2 from Spey bank. New to fishing, John M caught 3. One of his fish was a monster 7kgs and caught in Kitchen. Ollie reports that all the fish are beautifully fresh and strong healthy fish. Pana landed 19 fish for their team.

Lovely fish for Ian S

Ian S into another

Today the river has only dropped a quarter of an inch and is still sitting at 9 degrees. It’s slightly milder today and the sun has been sneaking out as I type. There is a much more gentle downstream wind. I’m hoping the upper river will perform today with a more even spread for the 4 rods than yesterday. The river up above Clarks corner is truly stunning and whilst the fishing has been mixed in terms of success it always provides excellent wading and lovely fly water.

Doug U into one on a tricky wade

Tomorrow is change over day so no blog. I will update on today and tomorrow’s news on Sunday morning. The key message to those coming out is “Layers”. The weather has never failed to surprise us these last two weeks.

Jack Selby

HMS Pizzed Up

As is tradition on Ian S’s birthday we set sail after supper last night on the HMS Pizzed Up for an hour or two of skating a fly and drinking a vodka.  The wind had died, the sun had briefly shone and a beautiful sunset was the backdrop to our endeavours. We tickled out of camp and down to the top of Party. Doug U was into a fish during the second drop and I had an offer on a sunk line. Neither held on. Then on the last drop as the river slides to the left Ian S hooked a birthday fish on a sunray shadow. Much red wine and vodka was consumed and some great tunes from DJ Doug capped off a marvellous birthday evening.

 

Beautiful evening for a Birthday Boat Ride

Back to the day’s fishing and we were again cold with heavy wind and the occasional shower. A few of our party took a well earned rest and as seems to be the norm now we had lunch by the fire back at camp. The morning air temperature was 7 degrees and a water temperature of 9. The river has risen by about 6” this week and has now levelled out. Whilst some are still fishing full floating lines and size 8 or 10 flies a few have had success with an intermediate tip or a slow sinking poly leader and small light tube flies. The story of the morning here at Middle was Jim R hooking and losing 4 fish. Everyone worked hard for their fish yesterday and Jim managed to keep 2 in the afternoon. Up river birthday boy Ian S landed 3 fish with Hugo M landing a respectable 4 fish including 2 over 12lbs.

 

Party time at Party pool

Ian H managed 5 for the day with another from Generator after supper. I thought it was a little odd that he was on the Fanta all night. There does not seem to be any one beat doing better than another with fish just caught here and there. Ian’s fish last night was a very fresh grilse giving us hope that there are still a few fish entering the system.

 

In the net for Ian's birthday fish

Down at Lower the wind and cold took it’s toll and they landed 6 fish. Pana had similar weather but with added sleet but they soldiered out for 17 fish for the team. Iain L got 6 for the day as well as a lovely 16lbs fish from Ponzoi. Dick B had 3 and Andrew D had 4. Jack M did not connect but he did take the afternoon off to teach Dima’s son Sasha to fish. Maybe future guide material?

 

Hold him up... and the fish

Kitza caught 20 fish with David W catching 4 as well as his grandson Dylan W B. There were a few fish caught up at Corner Pool and Ronan C had 5, 3 of which came from Gold Mine. Kitza water is still a little cooler than the main river and they are getting almost all fresh fish now. A very jolly team with lots of singing and partying.

 

Rude not to...

Today it is a little bit milder to start and the wind whilst fresh is not to heavy. With luck the milder conditions will give us a slightly easier day and a few more fish on the bank.

Jack Selby (Operations Manager)

Over to Umba

My apologies for the lack of a blog yesterday but after a very busy morning in the village, Bill Drury and I headed over to Umba (about 100 miles West of here) to see the guides and set things in motion for our Autumn season.  It is such a stunning place and I am looking forward to our first guests being on the river in the last week of August.

Umba lodge yesterday

All of which meant that I was out of time to do the blog so there is some catching up to do.

The first thing to say is that I was quite glad I was in a car for most of yesterday as it was a freezing day all day.  A really bitter North wind cut through even the most technical of clothes and catches were down everywhere. 

Doug U with a lovely fish from Middle

In the past two days Middle have landed 49 fish, Kitza have had 50, Lower 30 and Pana have totalled 34 – very consistent fishing across all of the camps.

It has taken a bit of time but the best news from yesterday was the John McC landed his first ever salmon and went on to land 3 more in the afternoon – a great effort on a day when sitting beside the
fire felt like the smart option.

David K-W with a small but very hard won fish in the freezing rain

Sadly for me this is my last blog post of the season as I head home for a long standing family commitment.  Every year I am reminded that I am extremely fortunate to call this my place of work for a month and every year I enjoy it more and more.  The people, the fishing, the scenery and the sheer fun of it are just unique – it is quite simply a brilliant place and my thanks go to everyone who help to make it so. 

Charlie White

Interesting…

The prescribed wisdom of the Varzuga is that the ice breaks in early May to leave a very high and very cold river. With that, the first major run of fish enters the system leading to incredibly productive fishing in early spring like conditions. As the season progresses, whilst fresh fish come in all the time, we would expect less fish to be landed but summer fishing with floating lines and skated flies means that catching them can be more fun.

Stuart H on Bear Corner

How then, do we explain that we landed more fish yesterday than during any day of last week?  118 fish were landed across the camps with catches remarkably even for all rods.

At Lower and Middle, as well as catching more, we saw a lot more fish and whilst plenty were put in the book, an awful lot more were lost.  Not a problem as this river is all about action and that is what everyone was reporting.

Nick W on Beach

Steve and Jenny W were the stars at Lower with 13 fish between them.  We normally toast the top rod each day but the toast last night was instead reserved for Ernie D who landed his first ever Atlantic salmon in the morning and then had another in the afternoon.  25 was the final tally for the day but Stuart H and Glynn D were not happy with that and went out and had 2 more after dinner whilst
Steve W has landed 2 from the Wires this morning before coming in for breakfast.

Jenny W on Wires

Middle finished on 43 for the day.  As is usually the case, the returning rods fared slightly better and it was Doug U and Ian H who put their knowledge of the beat to good use by landing 7 each.  Jack reported a very happy camp last night and it sounded as if they celebrated fully.

Andrew B on Bear Island

Kitza landed 26 but that figure is almost irrelevant compared to the next one.  96 year old (yes I typed that correctly) Dave W landed 7 salmon yesterday from Boggy Bank and the Corner pool whilst his 21 year old grandson Dylan landed 6 from Gold Mine and Beaver Pit.  A brilliant family effort and a rather inspiring one.

Doug U with one of 7 he had yesterday

At Pana they had a day much more as we would expect.  23 fish were landed to the 8 rods with James H-B landing 5 of those which was matched by Jack M.  Ponzoi was fishing well as was Inspectors whilst Peter H landed his first Russian salmon.  A fun day all round and Matt sounded very upbeat on the satellite phone.

It is damp and gloomy this morning – pretty much the exact opposite of the mood of the clients.

Charlie White

A new week

Yesterday was as busy as it can get.  A 6:30am departure from camp to get to Murmansk in time for the charter and then almost as soon as we had got to the airport, the new weeks clients were coming through immigration.  With all of the rivers on the Kola now up and running, the arrivals hall was manic and it was an intense couple of hours.

Chris C on Middle

However, we got everyone on to the helicopters in very short order and we were in camp at around 3pm which was pretty speedy.  Everyone had a few hours on the river and quite a few fish were caught.  7 at Lower, 6 at Middle, just the one at Kitza and 13 at Pana which was hugely encouraging.

Rob H on Generator - you can see that he was able to wade halfway across the river

Last week was a strange mix of very good salmon fishing whilst at the same time not being as productive as we have known the river to be.  We landed 468 fish in the week across the 4 camps and it sounds positively greedy to ask for more than that but we have caught more in the past and it just felt as if the grilse run had not been as prolific as usual. 

Paul C on Party

Having said that, all of the fish we landed yesterday were grilse and a lot more were showing in our home pools at Lower so they may just be late.

It was very good to speak to those clients on the way home, some of whom had definitely been caught up in a “last night of the week” party.  Everyone was hugely complimentary about the staff in the various camps and many made specific mention of the excellent food this year.  It is not why people come but it is good to know that things are being done well.

Chris C with another

As has been the case for many a year now, Eoin Fairgrieve and Bill Drury are heading up the “Ultimate Atlantic Salmon course” this week here at Lower.  With two world class instructors at your beck and call, a falling river and one which has fresh fish coming in all the time, there is no better week for people to improve their skills. 

Jamie H with a grilse from Heli pool last night

As a result, there was more fishing gear on show this morning than the average tackle shop has in stock as everyone was asking for opinions on what would work and what they should fish.  However, Stuart H did not need any of that advice as he went out and landed 2 fish before breakfast to give our week a very positive start.

Charlie White