Midsummer Birthday Party

Midsummer! I can hardly believe that just seven short weeks ago we were navigating our way through ice bergs to open up the camps. Yesterday was our first still day for quite a time, warm too and the air temp climbed up to 19⁰C. Time for the sunscreen. The Varzuga has steadied off and dropped a fraction, but only a fraction. Over at Kitza the lake system delayed the rise and it was not until yesterday that it really kicked in and their river height rose 6" over the day.


Midnight - Midsummer

It was a tougher days fishing in all the camps; but there were bright spots and happy experiences. Archie R caught the first salmon of his life, followed shortly by a really nice pike which disappeared into the Russian kitchen faster than lightening. Pana reported 21 for the day; they had landed 15 on the previous evening on their arrival and the difference in scores tells you that for some reason the salmon were just not co-operating. Kitza struggled in the rising water and finished with 18, Ollie reported a happy team and I think there is a good degree of relief that they will be able to boat right up to Rackmanns all week. Along with Yovas the top of Kitza ranks as quite the most magic place to fish for salmon.

Birthday Party

At Middle Camp we had two Birthdays to celebrate. Young Sonya was nine (she has been on this remote Island Camp with her grandmother, Luda, for the past eight summers!). Natasha too had her birthday, she is the wife of Pasha who now guides on the Kola river but who used to guide first at our Lower Camp and then was head guide here at Middle when I set the camp up in 1995. Luda made a delicious cake, Donna wrapped the presents brought out from UK and we had a proper birthday tea party – supplemented with a Georgian red wine for the grown-ups supplied by Igor (Sonya’s grandfather).

Birthday Pool

Birthday and Party remained the theme. I joined Ollie L and Freddie P on Birthday Pool where they had a double hook up and Freddie landed a really nice salmon right on the tail. After dinner I took young Archie and Hugh out in the boat to fish Party Pool and also to experience midsummers night just a few kilometres short of the Arctic Circle. And what a wonderful sunset/sunrise it was, the sun just kissed the tops of the fir trees way up the river at the top of Generator Pool and above us a massive high sky developed. On cue Archie hooked the second salmon of his life, it was netted by Hugh and we returned to the Lodge content and delighted that we had made the most of fishing under the midnight sun on midsummer’s day.

Party Pool

Happy Days

Christopher Robinson

Rising River

We welcomed our three new teams yesterday at Murmansk, and headed of for Kitza, Pana and Middle Camp. I was able to spend a few minutes at both Kitza and Pana on the way through and both rivers looked in peak order. There is plenty of water to get the boats to all the beats and it should stay that way this week.

The very damp Varzuga watershed

Flying over the tundra on the way in I was struck by the amount of standing water in the Varzuga catchment area; acres and acres of damp bog glistening in the sun and the feeder streams all running. Up at Pana the river level steadied off over night and this morning it had dropped a fraction. Further downstream here at Middle Camp the level was up again this morning by a couple of inches. The forecast is not too bad and hopefully we will see the level drop off this week.


Preparing the pic-nic lunches this morning

Yesterday we were later into camp than usual and we did not have quite the normal time of bonus Saturday evening fishing. Hugh S and Peter D both landed a nice salmon each from Generator Pool and after a long days travelling most (but not all!)went to bed reasonably early. Lars B from Norway started us off well with a salmon before breakfast.

Lars and James setting off with Danya

It is fairly still and muggy this morning and the wind that dogged us last week is absent and all got under way pretty promptly in the boats at 9 a.m. Four rods will fish the very top beats in Yovas canyon; Terry will go up there this morning and will join them for lunch at Royal Dee. Donna and I will take the main lunch out to the rest of the team fishing the lower beats and we will meet at Snake Pit.

Tomorrow I’ll try and round up last week’s results.

Christopher Robinson

The Champagne Shrimp

One of regular guests, Ian S, is both an excellent fisher and a canny designer of flies. Last year he introduced the Percy Special to Varzuga with great success. This year his new fly is called The Champagne Shrimp. In my view it is just a variant of the Percy Special, in his view a masterful new creation crafted after hours of deep thought.

The Champagne Shrimp

Well, whatever the creativity behind it, it works – very well – and rare copies of the Champagne Shrimp are much in demand at the moment. Unusually Ian did not top the leader boarder yesterday, Gregoire was top rod with seven salmon, and our total for the day of 48 was pretty evenly spread amongst the team. A much better days fishing overall, the wind was down for once and it felt much more settled and calm.


Harry P at Pic-Nic

Sadly that cannot be said of this morning – we have a strong upstream wind again and there was quite careful consideration of the beat map at breakfast as we tried to work out where the most sheltered pools would be. Ian and Chris had both caught salmon before tucking into their scrambled eggs which at least gave us hope that even in the wind we should have another pretty good day.

Bear Pool yesterday

Richard G and his team over at Kitza yesterday had 26 salmon, and up at Pana they landed 41. The water height is still steady, no sign of it dropping – yet. And with little sun this week the water temperature remains at 11⁰C. A very steady river just now and I think that accounted for our improvement in numbers landed yesterday.

The Middle Camp guests

This week seems to have flown by, tomorrow we depart for Murmansk and in the evening there will be the Saturday evening rush to get into waders and down to the river. The cooks know the form; you do not plan soufflé on first night.

More news on Sunday!

Christopher Robinson

Stable River

When we approach the midweek point there will be a flurry of calls to the office in Hungerford from the coming week’s guests all asking Lynsey what the conditions will be for the coming week. To save Lynsey giving you the correct, predicable answer – "bring layered clothing" - here is an update.

Domingo PS on Pana on the first week

The heavy rain on Sunday and Monday has not really moved the river, it just seems to have helped maintain it at almost exactly the same level. The water temperature too is stable at 11⁰C. I use this link for the forcast - I suggest you treat it as a useful indication of the trend rather than an exact prediction http://www.wunderground.com/q/zmw:00000.1.22324

Predictions on conditions up here are notoriously difficult – we once had snow on midsummer’s day. At the moment the weather looks settled and with late June fast approaching it ought to be warmer. With the warmer weather will come the mosquitoes, and with so much standing water this year it could be a vintage mosquito season. So if you are coming next week please bring mosquito defences – certainly you should bring a spray and if you don’t like them a net is helpful.



Chris M at Middle

The water level is going to be higher for this time of year than normal. At Pana and Kitza it is about at the perfect height just now and all the beats on both rivers are accessible. That could change quite quickly, it really is impossible to tell how quickly the water height will drop – a week of warm wind and sun could change things fast. At the moment at Middle Camp, as I have mentioned a few times before, we could do with lower water. Good examples for those of you who know Middle would be Robinson’s Folly and Bomber Ally where fishing from the gravel bar in mid river is still tricky/impossible unless you want a bit of a swim to the White Sea.

Rodolphe yesterday

We have not done much surface fishing – the best method at the moment is a slow sink tip, or an intermediate tip, a fairly short leader and a #6 or #8 double hook fly. Personally I would use a floating line and a ½" brass tube – but that is just me – the 12 rods here do not agree (and they are catching salmon)! In any event bring an intermediate tip.

Onto yesterday’s results – up at Pana they put 42 salmon in the book. David M had another really good fish, 17lbs from Ford (they had 52 on 16 June which I was unable to report as the Corn Flour order was deemed more important!). Over at Kitza they landed 32 salmon to eight rods with Josh leading the board with 10. Here at Middle Camp we recorded 36 – very consistent – with Ian again top rod with eight.

Sonya helping out on camp duties

We look forward to seeing our new guests next week – in the meantime  - hat, gloves, an anti-mosquito spray, layered clothing and an intermediate tip!

Christopher Robinson

Family and Friends

There is more to a fishing trip than just the fish. Yes, I know, landing a few salmon is what brings you to this remote, wonderful wilderness - but it is also about family and friends and just simple fun and happy times.

Father and son

This week we have long standing teams in all the camps. Up at Pana Charlie T has taken on his father’s mantle and the team, in various guises and with a few changes over the years has been with us since 1991. Likewise here at Middle Camp G de S and Rodolphe C and family have been here since 2003. Over at Kitza too Richard G and the team have many, many years under their belt.

Ian S - a grey, damp morning

Yesterday morning was pretty grim; cold, windy, grey and damp. Terry decided that lunch should be back at the Lodge and we all dried out by the fire for an hour or so. The banya was started up and by the evening the weather had cleared a bit, enough for us to have one of our casting evenings, testing and experimenting with all the rods down by the boats – while in the background Harry and Guillaume were trying for pike with my spinning rod.



Harry and Tim

I do not have a score for you from Pana, the radio reception last night and this morning was poor, Toby sent through a text from his Sat phone – so I know that Beanie wants corn flower for next week, but he forgot to tell me how the fishing went! One assumes it was pretty good.

Banya Time

Kitza had another solid day with 36 salmon landed and we matched that exactly here on the Middle beat with Ian again leading the board with eight and Michel L landing his first ever salmon. Not our best day in pure salmon fishing terms but a really relaxed and fun day with family and friends – what more could you wish for.

Christopher Robinson

Weather

Sunday was a perfect Kola day – blue sky with high, fluffy white clouds and a light wind. Just heaven. Yesterday was somewhat different – grey, closed in and really wet and windy. Terry organized the banya to warm people up on return and once rumour of its lighting reached our damp guests most made an early return to the warmth back at camp.

Sunday weather

The wind in the morning was such that Ian and Chris gave up trying to fish Party Pool – it was a real struggle even for Ian who knows what he is doing – so they moved upstream to the relative shelter of Clarkes and R’s Folly.

 

High water for mid June - fishing Robinson's Folly yesterday

I met them there after lunch and our plans of using surface flies were soon dashed. Firstly the river is still too high to fish right on the surface with any real confidence and secondly the weather was so foul that it seemed like a day for heavier flies and getting down to the fish. Chris ended up with eight salmon for the day – his best ever days salmon fishing.

Monday weather

By 17:30 most of the team were back in and heading either for the Lodge fire or the banya. Overall it was a better days fishing than Sunday and we landed 33 salmon. But it was a bit spotty, some did well, others did not. This theme was repeated in both Pana and Kitza. Up at Pana they landed 46 fish, Charlie T had a bonanza with 17 of them; Nicholas B had a wonderful salmon of 17lbs from Tern Pool. Kitza reported 36 salmon for the day, again the catches were not very evenly spread, Richard G had 12 of the total.

Chris with one of his eight salmon in the day

This morning has dawned damp and cool. The air temperature is 7⁰C and there is an uninviting chill to the day. That said our spirits were lifted at breakfast as Ian S came in with the good news that he had landed two and lost two in Generator in an hour or so. The river is still steady, no real rise yet after yesterday’s rain and 11⁰C. With this water level and the ground really wet it is looking good for next week from a boating point of view – but I still cannot help wishing we had a tad less of it!

Christopher Robinson

Water Height

Pana and Kitza are enjoying the extra water this year. Ollie over at Kitza reported 28 salmon for the team yesterday with the additional great news that Mark L, who had not caught a salmon before, landed five on his first day of salmon fishing. The water level is perfect at Kitza, the entire river is accessible to our jet boats and with some rain forecast over the next 24 hours they should be fine this week.

Danya with one of J-C's salmon at Party Pool

Up at Pana they had another excellent day with 48 salmon on the bank to add to the 21 they caught on the first evening. The water height means that they should be able to boat right down to Ponzoi all this week – hopefully for longer than that, but it will depend on just how much more rain we get.

Tim P and Vova at Clarke's

Here at Middle Camp I could do with less water! It is well over a foot higher than I might expect at this time of year – not a massive difference I know, but our upper beat at Yovas is so much better in low water. Ian S, who knows the river as well as anyone, went right up to Scots yesterday and with Chris M fished all the way down to Blue Rock. Ian had five salmon but felt that the water was just a bit too high to really make the most of it.

Harry P and a cracking hen fish yesterday

We landed 19 for the day, not a great score for the Middle Camp, but good to see Harry adding a further two to his fishing book having caught his first salmon the evening before. We have changed tactics a bit and today will try slightly larger, heavier flies – that said Ian and Chris are determined to try skating and have booked me for the afternoon session. I have the tail-out on the left hand side of R’s Folly in mind for them. Normally I’d put money on that place – but in this height I’m not quite as confident as usual. I’ll let you know how we get on.

The vast watershed and wilderness around us on Varzuga

We will see what this new weather system brings us in terms of rain over the next 48 hours, after that it looks pretty settled. I know that those coming to Pana and Kitza next week will be happy with another good dump of rain. Here at Middle we have had enough thank you!

I’ll keep you posted – now I’m off to dig out the box of Bombers and Sunrays to prep for the afternoon with Ian and Chris.

Christopher Robinson

The First Salmon

I got back up here on Thursday morning, 11 June; almost to the hour a month ago on 11 May we were waiting for breaks in the ice to boat down to the Lower Camp. What a contrast! – it is difficult to imagine when you are back at home just how fast the seasons change in the far North.

Varzuga village - 11 May

Murmansk airport was busy, very busy, yesterday. We are approaching the peak of the Kola season when all the rivers on the peninsula are up and running and the camps are fully booked. The airport bar was really noisy – lots of friends chatting away while in the background we made sure the 80 or so fishers got on to the right helicopter with the right baggage.

Varzuga village - 11 June

Our 28 guests were all in the camps, Pana, Kitza and Middle, by 4.30 and here at Middle Chris and Ian beat the record and were in waders and kitted up within 15 minutes of landing. Harry P, who had not fished for salmon before, was not far behind them, indeed Tim, his dad, had not had time to put his waders on before Harry was off to try Generator Pool.

It is a one of those wonderful moments in life when your son or daughter catches their first salmon. And all the better if you are there to witness it. Harry achieved his goal within an hour or so of touching down here. His smile said it all and Tim was a very chuffed, proud father – albeit it a bit damp, without waders on he had taken his shoes off, rolled his trousers up and helped Harry beach the fish. A great moment in life.

Harry P with his first salmon

Stefano M too had his first salmon pretty quickly and we settled down for dinner with a handful of fish already landed, two were ‘first salmon’ and there was lots of enthusiasm for the coming week. The water level has steadied off and will now continue dropping unless we get heavy rain. It remains quite a bit higher than this time last year, good news from a boating point of view but not quite ideal conditions yet for the Middle beat in June which, in my view, is at its best and most interesting when the river is lower. That said Kitza and Pana want higher water, the better to access all of the vast amount of fishing they have at their disposal.

One wet but very happy Dad !

The water temperature is 13⁰C this morning and the weather seems settled – floating line conditions. However with the higher water most are sticking with intermediate tips for the moment, but there was talk at breakfast of trying Bombers and surface fishing. I guess everyone will give the standard fly patterns a mornings work before experimenting once they have a few fish under the belt.

I have to post this blog down a painfully slow connection - so the photos are quite compressed, but I trust they will give you a feel for life and fishing up here. More news tomorrow.

Christopher Robinson

Final day at Lower

I am aware that regular blog readers will have heard all of this before but the season here has just flown and I can hardly believe that we are now packing up bits and pieces to move our base camp to Middle Varzuga, which will run for another 3 weeks.

Lower Varzuga will close down today which always seems a shame particularly as we had a much better day yesterday and recorded 37 fish for the team. Grant I and Phillip T were the top rods with 7 fish apiece but it has been the dedicated instruction and help that everyone has had from Eoin Fairgrieve and Bill Drury which has been most talked about.

Eoin with a fish from Jannaways

They are both utterly atypical in that they don’t grab the rod from your hands and show you how they would do it; rather they stand back and just offer the odd really helpful hint that allows everyone to seriously improve their casting, wading and all round fishing. This instruction combined with prolific fishing is something that we believe is unique and we will be running the "Ultimate Atlantic Salmon fishing course" again next year.

Keith C taking a slightly more relaxed approach

Pana is dropping quite nicely now which is opening up more of the river and the 8 rods there finished with 42 for their day. Ponzoi was again the most productive beat but the home pools and above that are all fishing well.

Kitza has been the model of consistency and 30 fish to the 8 rods was the score yesterday. With lots of water in the system, we should be able to boat to all of the beats until the end of the season and this will give everyone the opportunity to enjoy the beautiful upper stretches of the river.

Maryke with her annual fish of the season late last night

Middle had another great day and put another 85 fish in the record book. JP C and Ian H were the top rods with 11 and 13 fish respectively. This camp has the longest of our seasons as it holds the fish so well and things are looking very good for the latter part of the season.

Stephen C in the seemingly rare sunshine

Today will be a busy day as we make inventories, plan for next season and ensure that we have put everything neatly away. Bill Drury and I will be back in September for two weeks to target the Autumn run and there are still a couple of rods left for the week of 26 September to 3 October, please call the office for more details.

He is as old as the hills but we hope to see Karai in September

I am of course looking forward to going home but there are very few places in the world as special as this and I know I am very lucky to be part of it.  We will raise several glasses tonight as we celebrate another very successful season and thank all of our Russian friends who make the experience so wonderful.

Charlie White
 

Dinner at Middle

Yesterday started with bright skies and a very light breeze. As the day went on it clouded over and we had the odd shower. It seems strange to make any sweeping statements about the weather this far north but it has, without doubt, been one of the wettest seasons I can remember.

Fortunately I picked a decent gap in the weather to boat up to Middle. Everyone up there was having a great time and they had had their best day of the week. 92 was their final score with top rods being John M and Hugo M – not the first time that this has happened.

Ivan at Middle - turning into a really top guide

It was a lovely evening on the way home and as is the case every year, it was hard not to feel slightly melancholic as we came down river. Three weeks goes too fast and I tried to ensure that I did not forget a single part of the journey so as to keep my memory banks going until I come back in September.

Leaving Middle.  The midnight sun still impresses

Over at Kitza the team finished with 34 fish in the book and again Chic was the top rod with 9 fish. The fishing has been very consistent and so has the evening entertainment. A missed radio call this morning leads me to conclude that Ollie has finally decided that if he can’t beat them he might as well join them!



The head of the police - Andrei

Pana had a better day with the river now finally dropping. 37 fish were recorded with notable mentions being Paul C’s fish of 16lbs from Ponzoi and Jack M taking 5 fish from the Ford in the morning, all of which were over 10lbs.

Toby Burrell - doing a great job managing Pana camp

I got back around midnight to find a very quiet camp as the previous evening had rather taken its toll. I am not sure it is fair to blame that on the fishing here but yesterday was a tough day. 15 fish were put in the book and it felt quite slow on the river. Any chance of glum faces at breakfast was instantly banished by Phillip T going out at 7am and landing 4 fish from Heli. With just today and tomorrow to fish until we close this camp, it is time to make the most of it.

Charlie White

Back from Pana

Well that was fun. Three days in the simply glorious surroundings of Pana with clients who know it so well. In truth, the water is too high for it to be at its best but it is such a stunning camp in utter tranquillity that it seems picky to say that it could be any better.

Paul C with one from the Indel

I left Lower Varzuga on Saturday to fly to Murmansk and on the way it was obvious that all of the feeder streams had pretty much dried up and you would expect the river to drop quite quickly. However, some serious rain in the past couple of days has changed the game and as I flew back in yesterday, I could see Sobacci stream running very high and all of the smaller burns are also pumping water into the system. All of which has meant that we are faced with a rising and quite dirty river – not ideal.

 

Beany - not about to be put off by the rain on Sunday

That was slightly evident in the catches yesterday but as ever, you cannot help but be amazed as to how many fish we actually do catch in conditions that should write everything off.

Pana finished with 27 to the 8 rods which was lower than we would hope but not much is going to get in the way of the team enjoying themselves. Paul C had 4 fish from the Indel before lunch and Jack M continues to catch fish in all sorts of circumstances.

Grant I on the Wires yesterday

Kitza had a better day and they put 36 in the book. Chic McS was the top rod with 9 but from this morning’s conversation on the radio it would seem harsh to expect too much from the rods today. A very major party took place last night and Ollie was not sure how many would make breakfast. I think he is underestimating the stamina of the team and my guess is that they will all be out on the river before too long.

Middle shows true consistency throughout the season and yesterday was no different. 64 fish to the 12 rods was the final tally with John M scoring 11 for his day. JP C also had a good day with 9 fish but it was very even otherwise.

Damian S all smiles after another fish from the Pana home pool

We had a rather tougher day at Lower as, being at the bottom of the system, we are more affected by the feeder streams but even so we still put 27 fish in the book. Barbara H had 4 for her day and remarked that she has been waiting all her life to catch more than two fish in a day and she has now done it three days in a row. We raised a glass (or 3) to David H as he landed a salmon that took him to 200 fish for his salmon fishing career which involves 20 different river and 6 different countries.

Keith C on Heli last night

It is a much better day today with very little wind and bright skies. This will help settle the river down and we should be on a more even keel before too long. Paul B has been out this morning to land two fish from Heli before breakfast and spirits are high – long may it continue.

Charlie White

North Wind

It has not been the easiest start to the week from a weather point of view. After the rain on Sunday the wind has set itself in the North, and yesterday was strong enough to dampen a few spirits at the Lower Camp where, along with Middle the river is wider and more exposed. After dinner they all hunkered down by the fire in the Lodge and did not head out to Heli Pool – many spirits of a different sort were raised in ‘various toasts’ as Bill reported this morning!

Fishing Heli Pool at Lower in the wind

Pana had a another good day with the team of eight landing 43 salmon, Jack M had 14 of them fishing from the Old Bridge down to camp. Good news as it means the salmon are now right through the river system – pretty much on time; I always have 6 June in mind, so the cooler weather this year has not delayed them much.

Terry at Middle reported 62 fish for the day – a good result in the wind. Andy B did well with 16 to his rod. Kitza, for the first time in 10 days or so, had a tougher day as well and they reported 29 for the eight rods. Charlie has sent over another guitar – they have two now at Kitza – not sure if the legendry Kitza Kitchen Parties are playing a part in the score?

Grant I at Beach yesterday

Lower Camp struggled a bit and ended up with 21 – still, not exactly a disaster in salmon fishing terms. The wind has abated this morning although it looks like it is going to remain from the North for a day or two yet. The river is steady after the rain, but will commence its slow drop again shortly. Intermediate lines are the best at the moment, if we get some sun on the river the water temperature will soon be back up to over 12⁰C, so if you are coming next week make sure you have a floating line and also an intermediate tip.

Varzuga Village - potato patch ready to go

This morning Sasha went up to the village, the wind is drying the soil out and everyone is getting ready to plant the potato crop. Another sign that summer in Varzuga is not too far away.

Christopher Robinson  

Summer Is Not Here Yet

Just when the weather here at home is settling down and starting to feel like summer the same cannot be said of the weather up north.

Yesterday saw another day of pretty heavy rain on and off all day, this morning Bill Drury reported the weather distinctly chilly with an air temperature of 6⁰C and a sharp wind from the NW. The water temperature has dropped back to 10⁰C.

Grant I at Sviets yesterday

Not ideal conditions and with a slowly rising river as well to add to the ‘fishing excuses’. That said the teams in the four camps had a pretty good day yesterday and the catches have remained remarkably consistent despite the changeable conditions.

Up at Pana they landed exactly 50 salmon with Barry W taking the best fish at 18lbs. Kitza too had a good start to their week with 46 landed, the whole of the beat is fishing well and the salmon seem well spread out from the top at Rackmanns all the way to below the Camp.

The Wires at Lower Varzuga

I do not have news from Middle Camp, but the team there is an experienced one and I’m sure they will have done well. At Lower Camp they landed 39 fish with Ralph C top rod for the day with seven.

With the water temperature down a bit most fishers are sticking with intermediate tips and slightly larger flies. The weather for the week looks to be on the cold side with an East wind, if you are preparing to come out on 13 June those gloves and a hat might be needed.

Bear dog sheltering from the rain at Lower Varzuga

Charlie should be back from his visit to Pana today and I hope we might have some Pana photos on the blog tomorrow.

Christopher Robinson