The Ultimate Atlantic Salmon Fishing Course

My last blog of the season seems to have come around far too quickly. I am about to depart for Murmansk and Christopher Robinson will be running the remainder of the programme from Middle Varzuga. We will have three camps running for the next fortnight and the prospects look excellent.

We have had an amazing season so far with many long standing records broken. I am conscious that big numbers of landed salmon make it sound as though catching fish on the Varzuga is easy – anyone who has fished here will dispute that with vigour. The difference is that we do have a river that has a serious run of salmon and if you put in the hours and fish well, you will be rewarded. Very rarely do people catch fish on bad casts and even rarer is someone who has landed a lot of fish for their week without substantial skill and dedication.

Terry M with another cracker for his week

Our final week here at Lower has been an enormous success. Bill Drury and Eoin Fairgrieve have both worked incredibly hard to ensure that their team have all progressed with their casting and their fishing ability. Some have landed their first ever salmon, some have cast their first ever fly and some have simply improved their casting from an already strong platform. What has been uniform has been the very high level of enjoyment and satisfaction that everyone has taken from it.

Howard E on Bear Corner

We have averaged over 30 fish per rod for the week and there is no other casting course in the world that can come even close to that. We will be running exactly the same programme next year and if you do think that you would like to improve your fishing whilst having the chance of landing a lot of fish then please do register your interest at the earliest opportunity with Bill, Eoin or myself.

All of the camps have fished beautifully this week and the river is itself looking stunning. Everything is very green and the flowers are in full bud – when the sun shines and people’s rods are bent into fish it really is hard to think of anywhere finer.

Jenny C at midnight last night with a fish on a skated fly

A personal thank you to all of the staff here who have worked so hard to make everything such a success and to our Russian partners and friends who I look forward to seeing every year and without whom none of this would be possible. Dasvedanya!

Charlie White

Age proves no barrier to success

One of the great aspects of working out here and back in the office at Hungerford is that it provides an unparalleled opportunity to meet fascinating people from all walks of life and of all ages.

Many people stand out but Sir Gordon L must be in the top 10. At 92 he is not the youngest client we have ever had out here but nothing stops him and he fishes harder than most people 30 years younger than him. Yesterday morning at Pana was a case in point as he landed 12 fish for his morning session. His tally went towards an overall total of 82 for the day at Pana with fish being caught from the top to the bottom of the beat.

Bill Drury on Green Bank

At Lower Varzuga the bright conditions did not help matters hugely but it did lend itself to a superb picnic back at the lodge. We usually have lunch on the river bank but with such a nice day, we decided to get all of the kitchen staff involved and they provided us with a feast. It is extraordinary that despite a slightly later start in the morning than usual and a long lunch, we still managed to find time to land 35 fish with everyone on the score sheet. Everyone’s casting and fishing ability has been transformed and it has been excellent to see people fishing with increased confidence.


Our barbecue lunch yesterday

Kitza continues to fish very well and they had 50 fish to the 8 rods yesterday. Julian P was again top of the charts with 14 fish and George R had a cracking 12lbs fish from the Reel pool. Tom reports seeing fish all over the river which is pretty much the case for all of the camps and I will be sad to leave the river tomorrow when it is fishing like this.

Terry M on his first ever fly fishing trip

Middle Varzuga had yet another amazing day with the 10 rods landing 132 fish. Jim R had 15 in one session out of Simmons pool and Laurence L had 15 out of the prolific pool of the season which has been Party.  The fish are still pouring through and I think and hope that next week will be just as productive.

The camp at Lower last night

They caught more fish in the morning session than the afternoon which was similar to here but with a greyer day today I am hopeful that we will have one last superb day at Lower before we take the boats out of the water to put them away for the long winter.

Charlie White

A trip to Pana

I went to Pana yesterday to take some supplies and to see how the river was looking. The clients were having a picnic lunch down river but I was there long enough to see that the camp pool was alive with fish and it was hard to look at the river for any length of time without seeing one jump. The 8 rods up there had 94 for their day and they are going to break all of their records for the week. Barrie W had a 21lbs fish which is the biggest that he has had from Pana in all the years he has been coming whilst Christopher L and Keith H had a bonanza day of 16 apiece.

Hippo Rock is now almost part of the bank

After we landed back here at Lower, Christopher and I got in a boat and went up to Middle for dinner which turned out to be a very good idea as Jemima cooked us a delicious dinner and all of the clients there were in excellent spirits. The fishing has been nothing short of extraordinary all season and it shows no sign of stopping at the moment. 156 fish were landed to the 10 rods with Laurence L doing particularly well and he has already landed over 100 fish to his own rod for the week. All of the clients remarked on the size of the fish and it is clear that wherever they have been feeding they have done exceptionally well as they are all in perfect shape and fight like things possessed.

Philip W with one of 13 he had for his day

We got back to Lower at about midnight to find a serious party in full swing. Everyone here was celebrating yet another amazing day as they had finished with 69 fish for their group. Steve W and Jenny C had a day to remember with 13 and 10 respectively whilst Howard E landed 6 out of the Larder pool for his morning session. With fish being landed across all the beats it was great to see everyone swapping stories and laughing and joking long into the night.

The midnight light at Middle

Kitza is also fishing incredibly well and the 8 rods had 57 for their day with Malcolm K and Julian P leading the charge with 12 fish each . It was a bit of a struggle to hear Tom this morning as he tried to tell me the full story of almost every fish that was landed but suffice to say that I gathered that they were having an excellent time.

Greg K with one safely in the net

It seems entirely wrong that we should be closing this camp tomorrow evening as the fish are still running through here in huge numbers but it does bode very well for the rest of the season in the other camps. However, it is very bright today which might not be the best for the fishing but at least it almost certainly explains why most of the clients felt the need for sunglasses at breakfast this morning…

Charlie White

More personal milestones

The weather yesterday was exactly what you would hope for on any fishing day – overcast, a light drizzle and very little wind. A day to improve your casting for sure but it also proved to be a day for catching a lot of fish.

Jenny C with one of 8 she landed yesterday

At Lower Varzuga, Jenny C landed 8 fish for her day which is the most she has ever landed. Andy B continues to impress and had 11 to his rod whilst Terry H went from landing his first ever salmon on Sunday to landing his biggest fish of around 12lbs. Eoin and Bill also picked up a rod yesterday for an hour or so and showed all of us how it should be done within a short space of time and we finished the day with 60 fish in the book. Dinner was delicious and great fun with smiles all around the table.

Eoin Fairgrieve during a rare "off duty" moment

At Pana they did have another record day as we had hoped they might. Jack M had 26 for his day whilst Dick B landed a further 19 to go towards a total of 106 fish to the 8 rods. Phenomenal fishing which is as we had dared to hope for given the amount of fish we have seen all season in the lower beats.

Terry H with a good fish from the boat

The team at Middle Varzuga continues to land a staggering amount of fish and the 10 rods had 167 silver bullets for their day. Hugo M and Rob M were fishing Party pool in the morning and Beach pool in the afternoon which sounded promising in the morning but no one would have dared predicted that they would land 27 and 26 fish respectively for their day. I am going up there for lunch today and it will be very good to catch up with them all.

Kitza is fishing beautifully and the 8 rods there had 58 fish for their day. David P and Julian P were the days top rods with 14 and 13 fish but everyone had several fish during the morning and afternoon sessions.


Andy B and one of his 11 for the day

Stephen W and Henry G went out this morning before breakfast and had 2 fish apiece whilst seeing a lot of fish showing all the way down the home pool here and there is every chance that today will be as good as yesterday as we have similar weather and an increasingly able team.

Charlie White

Another day in paradise

When the weather is good, our daily routine is to take Maryke and the lunch out to the river and set it up before the clients arrive. At 1pm yesterday, all of the boats converged near our picnic spot and before I could ask how their morning had been, Eoin simply beamed at me and said “another day in paradise”


Terry M with a fish from Moscoi Rapids

It transpired that he had been with Terry M for the morning session and he had landed another fish to add to his growing total. The encouraging aspect was that they were at the bottom of our beat and reported seeing masses of fresh fish entering the system which indicates that the run of fish continues in its strength. We finished the day with 43 fish and it was great to see the casting and fishing confidence improve in all the rods as Bill and Eoin rotated around the beat.

Jenny C with one from Bear Corner

At Kitza they are dealing in round numbers and the 8 rods had 50 fish for their day. Bill O-Y was the top rod with 14 for his day but otherwise the catches were evenly spread. Their water temperature is now 10 degrees and it is dropping all the while which will help open up yet more of the beat.

At Middle the fishing continues to amaze and the 10 rods had 126 fish for their day. Laurence L had a superb afternoon on Party pool (which has fished incredibly well all year) and he landed 18 fish in about 4 hours. Many of the rods are repeat guests and they have all commented on the sheer strength of the fish this year.

Sam B who landed 8 yesterday

It is raining heavily this morning which sometimes affects the clarity of reception on our radios. As a result I could not totally hear Mungo but from what I could gather, the team of 8 rods at Pana had an excellent day. They landed 80 fish with Dick B leading the way with 22 to his own rod.  This is the highest number of fish this very experienced group have ever had in a day and it is the best day of the season at Pana so far but that is unlikely to remain the case for too long.

Glenn, on the left, with his first ever salmon

Christopher Robinson took a boat up to Middle Varzuga yesterday with Glenn, our mechanic. They were there to fix an engine but it soon became clear from the grin on Glenn’s face that they had spent the return journey having much more fun and his first ever salmon has been celebrated in style.

Maryke at 11pm last night

Not content with guiding Glenn to his first ever salmon, Christopher took Maryke out for an hours fishing after dinner and she also landed her first fish. Breakfast this morning was a quieter affair but there is a definite sense of achievement in the air from clients and staff alike.

Charlie White

First fish and many more

As we had slightly hoped and expected, having Bill and Eoin with us here at Lower has already paid dividends. The strong upstream wind of the morning remained a feature of the day but with expert tuition, the clients were soon casting beautifully.

Terry M was the first story of the day as he went with Bill to Bear Island and after a few pointers, landed his first ever salmon. He went on to land 2 more to give him a dream start to his fishing career. Not all of our rods are beginners and this was amply demonstrated by Stephen W who has already landed 17 fish to his rod. We finished with 67 to our 9 rods and the week could not have started in a stronger fashion.

Stephen W with a nice fish from the Larder pool

Kitza is really fishing very well now and the 8 rods there had 46 for their day with David P the top rod having landed 15 fish. They had a couple of good sized fish of around the 13-14lbs mark from Beaver Pit and Sasha’s pool and it appears as though there are fish all through the beat.


Jenny C in to one on Bear Island

Middle Varzuga shows no sign of slowing down and the 10 rods have had 156 bars of silver already. Phillip W and Nick M had the day of their lives on Clarkes and Party pools and landed 54 fish between them during the guided hours.  They have caught fish all along their stretch of river and with water levels remaining at an excellent level, all of the pools are in the rotation which gives them a huge area to cover and being only 10 rods gives them even more flexibility which they are making the most of.


A dangerously good pudding last night

At Pana the 8 rods had a great start to their week with 48 fish in the book. Dick B and Jack M were the top rods with 10 apiece and Mungo reported seeing more and more fish in all of their beats. As ever at Pana, they are catching some bigger fish and a 15lber was the best that they had yesterday.
Summer is definitely here now and floating lines are the favoured choice. Christopher Robinson took 2 of our rods out in the boat last night and they raised 10 fish to a skated fly in about an hour and the Sunray Shadow is beginning to find its way to the top of everyone’s fly boxes. 


Barry H with a fresh fish from Duck pool

A new day has bought no change to the weather as it is very bright and the strong upstream wind will put the odds in the fish's favour but we have everything else going our way and the team here are determined to make the best of it.

Charlie White

The records continue to tumble

Yesterday was a busy day in Murmansk as most of the Kola rivers are now open and as we all share the same charter from Helsinki the immigration hall was packed but within a couple of hours we were on the helicopter and ready to start a new week.

We can only hope that this week starts in the same way that last week finished. We had superb fishing across all of the camps and Kitza is now dropping in perfectly for the new group. The departing team had their best day of 45 fish from the river on Friday and David P went out last night to land 2 before dinner and they should have an excellent week over there.

Henry P on Moscoi Rapids

At Lower we had one of our best days on Friday with 52 fish landed to the 10 rods. We welcomed Eoin Fairgrieve and Bill Drury with their very keen team of rods and supper last night was a quick affair as everyone was keen to get on the river. Stephen W was the one to get off to a flyer with 6 fish in a couple of hours from Wires but everyone who went out managed to land fish and the enthusiasm levels this morning are great to see.

Pana fished beautifully by the end of the week and the team of 6 finished with exactly 150 fish for their 6 days fishing. There is no doubt that their fishing got better and better each day and with a few fish already in the book from our new team, we hope that this trend continues.

Howard E last night

At Middle the unthinkable happened. I did not believe that it was possible to catch more fish than the previous group had done as that was a record for the river in itself. I was wrong. The 12 rods finished their week with 1,377 bars of silver and amazingly, 8 different clients landed over 100 fish to their own rods. It was great to catch up with them all in Murmansk and it was clear that they all recognised that they had been part of something very special. “We will never see it like that again” was the overriding comment and I think that they have a point but I rather hope that they are wrong!

Bill Drury and Stephen W ready for action this morning

The 10 rods who are there this week have already landed several before breakfast and there seems no sign of the run slowing down. However, we have a very strong and cold upstream wind this morning which is going to make life tougher for everyone but it will give Bill and Eoin ample opportunity to put their tuition skills to good use.

Charlie White

Back to Murmansk

As per last week, it will be a short blog today as we are just about to head off to Murmansk to say goodbye to our clients from this week and welcome our new arrivals.

It has been another excellent week with fish caught across the board.  It has been superb to see Pana improve all the time and having flown up there yesterday I was surprised by how much it has dropped which bodes well for next week. 

Hippo Rock at Pana

Kitza remains a little high but is still fishing perfectly well without quite being on the kind of form we know it can be.  I am quietly confident that the team going in there this evening will have a very good week.

Middle Varzuga has fished like a dream all week.  I keep saying it - time and skill on the water make a huge difference to the statistics across the camps and the 12 rods up there this week would stroll into any Premier League fishing team.  They have fished very hard and very well and the rewards have been immense.

Peter H with a nice fish from Upper Sviats Pool

Lower continues to fish extremely well, I was with Bruce B yesterday morning on the Wires pool and we saw masses of fish continuing to pour in.  This evening we will have the first ever Ultimate Salmon Course attendees who are going to be tutored and guided by Eoin Farigrieve and Bill Drury.  To have top class casting tuition all day from some of the very best in the business on a river that is full of fish should provide a lot of fun and really help everyone leave here a better salmon angler than they arrive.

A bear we saw from the heli yesterday

It is hard to believe that we are about to enter our fourth week of the season and as ever, it all goes too fast.

Charlie White

The last day of the week comes too quickly

After a bright and sunny start yesterday, we were soon helped by perfect cloud cover and kinder fishing conditions. It was noticeable that as soon as the weather changed, our fishing fortunes improved.

I spent an excellent hour with Bill R in the Heli pool and in that time he landed 3 fish which meant that he had landed 10 fish to his rod in the day. Bill has fished pretty much everywhere and yet this was the first time he had ever landed 10 in a day and it was great to be with him for his own milestone. His fish contributed to an overall total of 54 for the day at Lower and there is no doubt that we lost as many again.


Richard P with a perfectly formed fish

The cooler weather did not deter the Kitza team going to the White Sea and after a quick dinner they took a cooler of drinks and boated the 30 minutes to the beach. They got back at some time past midnight having all enjoyed this magical spot. The Arctic Terns have started nesting down there and the clients had to be careful where they walked if they wanted to avoid being harried by these brave birds. On the fishing front, the 9 rods had 27 for the day with Harry M showing his father the way as he landed 5 fish to his rod.

Andrew WD at 39 Steps pool

The team at Pana had a slightly tougher day due to a very different weather pattern up there. A cold and strong upstream wind did not help their cause but they still landed 26 between the 6 rods. Jose F-M continues to be the star performer and had a further 10 fish to his own rod. As ever, they are landing bigger fish up there and several fish of over 15lbs were landed yesterday with the biggest being weighed at 18lbs.


Bill R landing one of his 10 for the day

At Middle there is a dawning realisation that today is the last day of what will be one of the best fishing weeks we have ever seen. We did not think that we would be able to repeat last week’s figures but we are very close to it and they landed a further 188 fish to the 12 rods yesterday. Paul C landed 30 fish to his own rod which is the first time that he has done that and the team have now sailed past 1,000 fish for the week. It is a reminder of what the river is capable and we are all sad that the week seems to be coming to an end so quickly.

"Not yet" - guide Vova waiting to land one of Rob H's fish

With one more day to go, the rods have set off this morning with great purpose and we hope that their last day is as successful as the rest of the week has been.

Charlie White

A trip to Middle

Yesterday was a very bright day which lent itself nicely to a trip to Middle Varzuga after we had finished our fishing here. It takes just under an hour by boat and during the trip we saw a breeding pair of Golden Eagles, several ravens and masses of Arctic terns dive bombing the salmon smolts that have started their migration to sea.


Rob H into a fish at Party pool

They had had another superb day with 185 fish being put in the book to the 12 rods and I got up there just as Hugh was noting down the days catches from each rod – it took some time! Paul C is leading the charge and has already had over 100 fish for the week to his rod as has David C who has been here for 17 years, this is the first time that he has landed 100 fish to his rod for a week’s fishing. They are fishing every hour that they possibly can as there is a real sense that it seems a waste not to make the most of it whilst the fishing is this good.

A greenshank at Middle

I got back to Lower at around midnight to find Richard and Henry P discussing their day and their evening catches. They had had 7 between them in the home pool after dinner which meant that we finished the day with 43 fish to the 10 rods. Peter H was the top rod throughout the day as he put his experience of the beat to good use.


Chris C releasing a fish just below the island at Middle

At Pana the fishing continues to improve and they finished with 44 fish to the 6 rods with Francisco C-S landing a really decent fish of 15lbs. Jose F-M was again the top rod with 15 for his day and it is becoming clear that they are now finding fish throughout their beat.

Kitza is fishing perfectly well but, after a wet autumn and much snow this last winter, it is remaining stubbornly high and their water temperature is not climbing as fast as we would expect. Bill D and Hywel E shrugged off such worries and landed 4 each in amongst a total of 23 that they had for the day. With another hot day today the water temperature ought to rise some more and we should see it beginning to fish as well as we know it can - and when the Kitza is right there are very few places that I would rather be.


Graham W with one from the Bearlets

We have a crystal clear morning today and we have been discussing tactics at breakfast. The consensus has been that, with the water a bit higher than average, we might need to get down to the salmon more than we have been doing so the intermediate tips and slightly heavier flies are now being broken out. Graham W had one before breakfast on this exact set up and he has set the trend for the day.

Charlie White

Changeover at Kitza

We are often asked what the forecast is for the day but the reality is that it is almost irrelevant. As we ate a picnic lunch in bright sunshine here at Lower, Middle Varzuga was being pelted with a serious hailstorm – they are only 12 miles away and yet we saw nothing but bright skies.

Maryke preparing lunch on the river

Despite having their lunch rudely interrupted, the rods at Middle did not exactly wither and finished the day with 184 fish for the camp. Brian W had over 20 fish for his day but it was hard to pick out top scorers as they all did well. I am going up there this evening and I hope to get some of their pictures whilst looking forward to seeing how the whole river system has changed with the drop in water and the increasingly green surroundings that we now have.


Mark M on Bear Island

It was changeover day for the Lower Varzuga and Kitza rods and at 7pm we all boarded the heli and flew the short distance to Kitza. We then stayed over there for about an hour and had an impromptu drinks party as each team of rods swapped tips and stories from their respective camps. Kitza has dropped about 2 feet since Saturday but we could probably do with a bit more coming off it for it to be in perfect shape.

They had had 29 fish for their day whilst the rods here finished on 34 with Bob C finishing on a high note with 4 fish from Moscoi Rapids.

Looking upstream at Kitza last night

I was wrong about the trend at Pana as they did not double their score from the previous day but practically trebled it. 31 fish were landed to the 6 rods with Jose F-M the top rod with 11 fish whilst Luis F had the biggest fish for the day of around 18lbs. Mungo reports seeing many more fish than the day before and the run will gradually build from here.

Sergei and Feorder planning their tactics for the day

We have a bright morning and the water temperature here is around 11 degrees so the rods who have come from Kitza have been busy swapping their sink tips for intermediates and straight floaters. Henry P and Bruce B are already on the score sheet and we are looking forward to another successful day.

Charlie White

Rising water temperatures means a switch to floating lines

It is a cliché that holds the further you go North – if you don’t like the weather then just wait for 5 minutes. After a glorious morning the skies started to cloud over and at around 4pm the heavens opened.

At Lower, a few rods started to come in slightly earlier to escape the deluge but Tudor D stuck it out and was rewarded with 6 fish from the Wires whilst losing a further 8 that he had on for several minutes. Losing fish was a feature of the day and after a quick count up before dinner, we worked out that we had lost almost exactly the same number of fish as we had landed.



Tudor D with a reward for his perserverance

Jeremy C led the way with landed fish to end up with 17 for his day and we finally tallied 44 fish to our 9 rods. William D, on his first salmon fishing trip, landed 3 fish after dinner to cap a red letter day for him.

The downpour meant that the Kitza picnic on the White Sea was postponed but that did not stop them thoroughly enjoying their day. Bruce B had a great session on Sasha's and landed 3 fish of over 10lbs in a row. Their final total of 23 was spread very evenly across the group and again, they lost as many fish as they landed. The water temperature over there is sticking stubbornly at around 6 degrees and sink tips with 1inch copper tubes are still the favoured choice



Varzuga surfing

At Middle, their extraordinary season continues with 238 fish landed to the 12 rods. Jeremy H had his best ever day landing 21 fish whilst Maurice McB also had an excellent day with 15 fish. The very experienced father and son team of David and Stephen C were on Clarks for their afternoon session and made the most of it by landing 30 fish between them in about 4 hours.


Karai who has seen it all before

At Pana, the team nearly doubled yesterday’s score and had 11 for their day. There is every chance that  this trend will continue and it was great to hear that some of the bigger fish have already got up there with Antonio B-G landing a silver 14lber along with 3 other fish.   Mungo took a rod out to the camp pool after dinner last night and hooked 3 fish within an hour so they are there and it is now a question of finding them.


Harry M before the rains came

We have an overcast and quite cold day this morning but our water temperature is now at 11 degrees and most rods are fishing with floating lines. Cascades and Flamethrowers have been popular flies in sizes 6-8 and with the bright sun yesterday we put on slightly longer leaders but in the main, being in the right place at the right time remains the most important thing.

Charlie White

The British weather comes to Russia

After several days of excellent fishing weather it was inevitable that there would be some sort of change before too long. Every time I called England I was reminded that I was missing the best weather of the year but now I can say the same for here.

It was a beautiful day to be on the river but it is fair to say that the morning session was considerably more productive than the afternoon.

Hywel E with a good fish from the Wires

At Lower Varzuga we had some notable firsts with William D landing his first ever salmon in between losing a couple more whilst Harry M had his first Russian salmon. As we all met up at lunch on the river bank it was clear that everyone had had a morning to remember. The afternoon session proved tougher with a strong wind and a fiercely bright sun but with a few fish landed after dinner, we finished with 50 fish for the day to our 9 rods.

William D with his first ever salmon

At Kitza the 10 rods had a slightly slower start to their week with 21 fish being put in the book. 6 of the 10 rods have not been to Russia before and it usually takes a bit of time to get into the swing of things but Richard and Henry P made light of their Russian inexperience to finish the day with 9 between them. They are going to take a picnic down to the White Sea tonight which I know will be a huge success as it is the most magical place to spend an evening.

Harry M and his first Russian salmon

At Pana they boated quite a long way downstream but their first day was not exactly as we had hoped. They did land 6 fish but I had thought that with the rapidly dropping water, more fish would have made it up there. Given our rising temperatures and the amount of fish we have seen at Middle Varzuga it is just a question of when the main body of fish get to them.

Mark M at Bearlets

There were some early risers at Middle yesterday morning and some very late finishers as most rods carried on fishing after the guided hours had finished and several went out after dinner as well. 218 fish for their 12 rods was the final score and all of the rods proclaimed that they had never seen fishing like it. Given that they have all been here before, it is an indication of the strength of this year’s run and with the amount of fish that are showing here at Lower it is obvious that the run is still very strong.

Another very hot day beckons and all of the clients have gone out armed with floating lines, intermediate tips, size 6-8 flies and suncream.

Charlie White