Still running

This morning I had a very unexpected conversation with Howard E. We were mulling over the chances of having to fish with sinking tips by the end of the week. That is the extent to which the weather has changed. We now have 6 degree air temperature and 12 degree water temperature. The river has not dropped or risen due to just enough rain to hold it level. However the wind has been howling for 3 days. Quite a difference from the 27 degree heat we arrived to on Saturday.

And release

Despite the weather the fish are still running. As you look out across generator you see waves of running fish bouncing about. And all beats have been very productive. Howard E has had some lovely day's fishing with cracking catch rates. It helps to have a Guideline representative in camp too. Having said that Diego R and his father Emilio have also been a big part of the action. We have been catching between 55 and 65 fish per day for the start of the week. Not bad at all with 7 rods fishing.

Excellent supper of baked salmon and pickled beetroot

Kitza camp have a team of regulars in camp and they are going great guns catching between 44 and 62 per day. All beats are fishing well and Hamish reports that mood in camp is very jolly. Everyone is missing Richard G who sadly was unable to travel. There is always next year Richard.

Henry Crawford at Bear yesterday

Up river at Pana fishing has been good with an impressive number of bigger fish being caught. They are landing between 61 and 74 fish per day to 8 rods. Yesterday there were 10 fish caught on the Indel and fishing with bombers was successful despite the hateful wind and rain. David M and Guy G had 19 between them on the ever popular float trip.

Holly shows Henry how to do it

Like last week my advise is come prepared. I'm told it was snowing in Murmansk yesterday and it's really very cold here with added wind chill. It's perfectly possible that we get 27 degree heat again next week but bringing layers and sinking tips will cover you for any eventuality. Judging by the wind so far this week a compact skagit would be an excellent item to have in your packing. Just in Case.

Vova - Super Guide

Next report on Sunday from Pana to round out the week.

Jack Selby

Sunny Sunday

With a wet and cold start to last week we went from shivering clients huddled next to the fire at lunchtime to lunch on the balcony and 27 degree air temps. It just shows you can't predict the weather here one bit. Today we have started the day with blazing sunshine and the water temperature is 19 degrees. However the cloud is rolling in and the forecast is rain. Diego R had a swim last night in generator and said it was a lovely temperature.

A jumper for Ropo at Eagle Rock

We said goodbye to our teams at Murmansk yesterday who were all full of beans about the week's fishing they have had. The Irish team at Kitza finished their week with 234 fish to the 8 rods with Kitza regular and team leader David W knocking up a cricket score to show them how it's done.

A belting fish for Jennifer C at the wires

With only 5 rods fishing Pana I was not expecting the numbers that kept coming in each day but if one was to choose an experienced and dedicated team those rods would have been the 5. Joe M, Jack M, Iain L, Rhodri and Tudor D set a formidable score of 257 fish including some big fish and really good fishing at Ponzoi. The current team also have many years experience and should have a great time with the fishing almost entirely in or on the surface now.

Eoin Fairgrieve's tuition week is a superb introduction to the art of Salmon fishing

At Middle we had a selection of first time rods and regulars. The fish kept on coming and despite a slight dip in the latter part of the week, we chalked up 497 fish to the 11 and a half rods. I say half as Pete Rippin joined us from the office early in the week but left to open up the Yokanga on the Tuesday evening. The fishing was very fair to all with good sessions and tough sessions. We are fishing almost exclusively floating lines and long leaders and down to size 10 and even 12 at times.

Fly colour and pattern varied a great deal last week with some fishing orange flies and some on green highlanders etc. As I explained to Jim C and James N last night, they all work, you just need them in the water. Diego R had 6 fish here before his swim including a lovely fish of 4.5 kgs. Jim and James had at least 12 between them but were a bit sheepish to say how many they caught this morning. I imagine quite a few.

Blue sky and green camp, amazing the change

Eoin and Bill's tuition week was a great success with 5 of the 7 rods relative beginners but all catching plenty of fish and reporting a lot of fish still running into the system. They finished the week with a staggering 355 salmon between them.

It was sad to say goodbye to Bill, Glenn and Claire yesterday although Bill will be back next Saturday for his Yokanga stint. I know it's easier to operate a fishing program when there are plenty of fish in the system but everyone has really worked well together this year and all the little things that need adjusting and tweaking behind the scenes have been beautifully handled both by our Russian partners and our own imported staff members. It feels a bit disconcerting to think that I no longer have Bill and the crew down below to reassure me the fish are still rolling in. But I simply know they are.

Rachel M with super guide Vitale up at Clarks

The tundra is now completely green and we are getting some splendid light in the evening. Many of the birds are paired up and nesting and it really feels like summer. This week I have Henry Crawford from the office for a bit of training so now I will take him out for another casting lesson. I could probably just let Holly teach him to be honest. Next report on Wednesday with an update of stories from the remaining 3 camps.

Jack Selby

It's Wednesday and all is good

Since my last post we seem to have been bombarded with weather. We have had 2 days of heavy rain and even heavier wind. Whilst it certainly has not put off the fish it has to a degree put off the fishermen. And casting in a strong upstream wind is never easy. However we have still caught good numbers of fish in all camps and a few have caught their first Salmon on the fly.

Rob M into a lively one on Party

The rain we have had, so far, has not given us a rise in the water levels but has slowed the drop. We have been dropping around 1/2" to 1" per day. But it has been cold, the daily temperature today has spiked to a balmy 13 degrees but we have been seeing 8-10 degrees most days and cold evenings. We had some brief sun on Monday night but the team here at middle were fairly shattered so did not take advantage in the drop in wind to hit the home pools. By this time last year, in contrast, we were enjoying warm, late evenings down on party in the big boat skating flies. 

This time a pool of silver at the end of the rainbow

Each morning at least one guest will ask me what the forecast is. I dip my head and peer out of the window and say "in the short term like this". There is no telling what you will get here and whilst we are warmer today and have almost all been fishing full floating lines things at the watershed could be very different and tomorrow could be cold once more. Therefore it is essential to pack for all eventualities. Layers and sinking tips don't take up much luggage space and whilst we hope not to need them it is worth having as back up.

Matt C with another fish

The fish are certainly much more active in the surface as the day goes on and it has always been said of the Varzuga fish: "They like a faster fly". Having had several very different years both here and Kitza I have never seen this aggressive nature and it's nice to see people stripping the fly over structure, seams and rocks to receive explosive takes. Those using Spey lines are seeing similar effects from a down stream mend and a giving the fly a bit of a twitch. We are fishing mainly size 8 and 10 doubles now and a few people are considering skating flies in the surface. If you have bombers bring some. Just in case.

A deep fish from Larder for George R

Down at Lower Varzuga we have Eoin Fargrieve in partnership with Bill Drury hosting our tuition week. Out of the 7 rods fishing 5 are essentially beginners. But what a great way to learn. They have had days ranging between 37 and 52 fish which is an excellent introduction to the art of salmon fishing with a fly. Of the 5 beginners: John A, George R, Stephen C, Matt C and Mike M have all caught their first Salmon on fly. It also gives us heart that fish are still moving into the river and that can only be good as the next couple of week's clients will see fish and with luck catch them.

A rare chance to have lunch outside again

Over at Kitza they are having a ball. I know some of the team and despite the combined age of the team they know how to throw a party. This does mean there is less fishing out of hours but that is the beauty of our varied camps. There is something for everyone and at the end of the day it's as much about the people you are with and the wonderful place as it is the fish you are catching. The team of 8 rods have consistently been catching around 50 fish per day including a bumper day of 16 for David W.

Rachel M with a lovely fish from bear

Way up river on the Pana they are catching fish across all beats. Many fish being taken on the surface and skating flies already. They are averaging about 30 fish each day to the 5 rods currently with Joe M, Jack M and Iain L doing the business each day.

Domingo with a very fresh fish

Here we have seen highs of 92 fish and lows of 68 but the weather certainly had an effect on the totals. Rachel M caught a fish on Simmons (much to her surprise) and then followed it up with 3 from East Generator. Nigel L has done well with his very relaxed approach to fishing hours and time in the water. Pundostrov regulars Hugo M and Rob M have been keeping the tally on the river going and utilising the Russian Banya. The Ponzoi continues to be a favourite and home pool is also producing well.

Almost a smile from Vitale from Rachel's first fish at Simmons

The last 3 days has seen the tundra change colour, finally the new grass shoots are poking through the old grass killed off by the snow. The birch trees are now almost in full leaf and the birds are singing all hours. The Ruffs at the top of the island have done their dance and are now paired off and the wood sandpiper pairs line ever beat.

Wood Sandpiper

For those heading out my suggestion is to bring a versatile set up based on a floating line and plenty of layers. With luck we wont need them but as we know all too well things can change from hour to hour and "be prepared" is the key to comfort and success in fishing. Next update on Sunday and I look forward to seeing the incoming teams at Murmansk airport on Saturday morning. Safe travels.

Jack Selby

Sunday Round Up

Yesterday we said goodbye to a lovely team of largely regular clients and they were happy to have enjoyed the fruits of their labours on their respective camps. Now in my 4th season of taking over from Charlie on the Murmansk change over day, it was great to see all our clients smiling and telling tales of the fish they caught as they checked in. Things have become extremely smooth in respect of departure and arrivals at Murmansk and it's great that so many faces are now totally familiar.

Nice fish from the Kitza

The speed of turn round between arrival and helicopters is so quick and smooth thanks to our excellent team on the ground that it felt like a heart beat and I was in the air with the Pana and Middle teams. We dropped in at Pana and caught up with old friends briefly before heading down to middle and frankly enjoying the warmer weather and good runs of fish.

The Argentinian Connection

On friday all camps fished well ending with 179 to 7 Icelandic rods for Pana. 12 rods at Middle Varzuga managed to catch 712 fish for the week despite some limited fishing hours due to both illness and horrendous wind and rain. Lower ended up with 353 for the week and I still await the final for Kitza but I know they had excellent fishing from speaking to Jamie K and Michael G at the airport.

Wading Essential

Many people think of the Varzuga system as the place you go to dangle your string in the water and the fish evict themselves onto the bank. But what really shows is those who can wade and cast a long line when needed tend to make their own luck. I hear a lot that the river is at an in between height. Whilst this can be considered to be true to a degree there are places where fishing a short line across the close in channel pays dividends too. There are always angles that you can exploit and that really explains the truth of Russian Salmon. If you work hard and think about the way the water behaves and the salmon within you will likely catch more than you ever expected.

Rainbow

Earlier in the season I was chatting to Peter W who mentioned that as he was fishing he realised he was continually watching his line come round and never took enough time to look around at the bigger picture. Here we are on an island with like minded Russian people whose passion is catching fish but also they have a great passion and respect for their wilderness and the wildlife that resides here in summer. Along with the occasional bear and elk we have seen 38 species of bird from waders to terns to bullfinches.

Ringed Plover at the top of the island

Today there is a bit of a breeze blowing drifting clouds through a pretty blue and sunny sky. The water has stopped rising and the fishing last night was great with lower catching 23, Pana getting 11 and Middle 32. This morning the river was 11 degrees here and the air was the same but would not be at least 15. We are fishing intermediate tips or full float with a slow sinking poly leader. I predict that by the middle of the week we'll be fishing a skated fly on full floating. Peter Rippin from the office fished a sunray for an hour last night but with no joy. I suspect that will change rapidly in the next days.

Peter Rippin at Bear

Next blog on Wednesday.

Jack Selby

Leaving on a high

The tundra definitely does something to your body clock.  It feels like yesterday that we were flying in with our first guests of the season but the river definitely tells me that it was 3 weeks ago.  24 hour daylight accelerates everything and it never fails to amaze me how this place can change in such a short time.

Lower Varzuga three weeks ago

What has not changed is the fishing.  My telephone was ringing constantly yesterday with updates from the camp managers and it took me a bit of time to sort everything out but it was clear that it had been a very good day across the river.

The same view this morning

Pana has really started to kick in and the team up there are making the most of it.  56 fish to the 7 rods was the final result and with some cracking fish amongst them, it was a very happy sounding Matt that I spoke to on the satellite phone.

Chris C on Middle

Rock Face and White Rock are fishing very well and it was interesting to hear that they are fishing smaller flies and trying to take the fish away from the main part of the pool as soon as they hooked them – a very Icelandic way of looking after a pool and making sure you can maximise your chances.

A double hook up on the boat

At Lower we landed 27 to our 6 rods.  Wading and casting are key at this height of water and it will be fascinating to see how they get on next week.  Every year we run the Ultimate Atlantic Salmon Course where Eoin Fairgrieve and Bill Drury are on the river all day with our guests to help improve their all round skills.  There is simply nowhere else in the world where you can learn so much about salmon fishing in such a short period of time and it is always a great week – I will be sad to miss it.

Enric in the sun

I was concerned to get a message at around 3pm, from Jack at Middle, to say that they were having a “very slow day”.  I was slightly less concerned when he had counted it all up and found that they had landed 83 fish between them.   Relativity is often in short supply up here!

Kitza is simply bouncing with fish.  96 was the final tally and Hamish couldn’t really tell me which beats were the most productive – it seems to be from Sasha’s to Beaver Pit.  I am sure that Brendan G accounted for a few of those out of hours but it was nonetheless a superb day of fishing.

David M with one from the boat at Middle

I am flying home tomorrow and as a result, Jack is taking over the blog.  He has a very busy camp to manage as well as the small things that I have to do and so we will be changing the format of the reporting.  He will do a round up of this week on Sunday and the next blog after that will be on Wednesday morning.

Bill and the excellent team of guides at Lower 

As ever, it has been a privilege to be up here and it has been lovely to be part of it.  Not a record season but a really solid run of fish and it has been a lot of fun.

Charlie White

Quieter

Yesterday was a very odd day weather wise and it seemed to put the fish off a bit.  It was really muggy in the morning and I was worried that, at some point, we were going to have to take rods off the river because of lightening.  

David M who is roughly 10 feet tall so this fish must be pushing 30lbs....

We saw forked lightening over the White Sea but fortunately it never got any closer.  Instead, at about 3pm the storm finally broke and it poured with rain until about midnight - all 4 camp managers reported a slow morning followed by a much more productive afternoon.

Josep - happy in the driving rain

At Pana the 7 rods had 37 fish for the day and Matt reported a very contented team who are enjoying the utter solitude that Pana offers.  With just 4 weeks in our season up there, the chance to fish Pana is quite rare and this team are loving every moment.

Middle Varzuga finished with 82 to the team but quite a few rods took either the morning or the afternoon off.  They have been fishing long sessions and it seems to have finally caught up with a few.

Nicolas EC on Beach

At Lower, our fantastic team of 6 put 18 fish in the book.  There were very few fish caught in the morning so it was good to get them all into some in the afternoon.  The switch from the intimate Kitza to the much larger Varzuga has caught a few of them out and Bill was busy dispensing advice on the river.

Alexandre G with a small but fat grilse

Kitza marches on unperturbed by weather, water height or temperature.  A further 72 were landed yesterday with our Norwegian team of Jo and Henning having a superb session on 2^nd Island in the afternoon.  They lost count of the number of fish they hooked and played by but the guide confirmed that they had landed 19 between them.

Nicolas with one from the boat

It has dawned very bright this morning with a cold wind which is much more as we are used to so we hope for a return to the norm – if there is such a thing up here!

Charlie White

Getting ahead

My apologies for no blog yesterday.   I normally spend a month up here, leaving when Lower Varzuga has finished for the season but this year, I am leaving a week early and as a result, I have been trying to set things up so that Jack does not have too much extra to do on top of being the camp manager at Middle, which in itself is a very busy job.

Paul C with a deep fish from Middle

As a result, meetings in the village and rather too much time on the helicopter meant I did not get back much before we were due to fly to Kitza for the mid-week changeover.  What a 48 hours it has been!

One of our bear dogs cooling off

The team we flew over to Kitza had a fabulous 3 days at Lower and the 10 rods finished with 319 fish.  Brendan G certainly set the pace by landing 81 of those which shows what the river can produce but not everyone would want to or be able to put in the hours that he did.  The other members of the team fished hard but relaxed equally hard and we had a lot of fun.

Jason S on Heli at Lower

At Pana things are developing just as we would hope.  They have now landed 64 fish with some really chunky fish in amongst them.  JT, who had fished all over the world and really knows his stuff, played a fish that he thought was well over 20lbs for 25 minutes yesterday only for the hook to break.  Ponzoi is their most productive beat which is as we would expect but they are beginning to see fish showing everywhere.

 A picnic in the sun 

At Middle the 12 rods have now landed 436 fish for their three days.  I went up to see them on Monday night and there was a very good atmosphere in the lodge.  One of the rods turned quiz master for the night and one of the questions was “how many fish have we, as a group of 12, landed at Middle Varzuga over the past 9 seasons?”  An answer of over 6,000 fish was pretty astonishing and gave us all cause to reflect on the superb fishing they have had over the years.

Alan S

The 6 rods we picked up at Kitza were all in great spirits and had clearly enjoyed their time in the beautiful surroundings over there.  It has now dropped to a point where all of the pools are clearly defined and it is looking stunning.  A total of 140 fish for the 3 days made for a very happy team and we look forward to seeing how they get on with us at Lower.

Lawrence R up at Middle

For those of you coming out on Saturday I would suggest that you forget all about the heavy stuff as we are now really on intermediate tips with unweighted tubes or flies around size 6-8.  The water temperature is now around 9 degrees and when the sun comes out it really does feel quite warm.  It has been a while since we had “normal” spring weather at the start of the season and it is good to see the river doing what we would expect it to.

Charlie White

A rapid start

Yesterday was the first full day of the week and it has to said, that this week has continued pretty much as we finished the last but if anything, the fishing is slightly more productive.

We have so far landed over 400 fish since we got off our respective helicopters on Saturday afternoon with some remarkable catches being reported.

Guide Artyom at Middle

Here at Lower Varzuga, our 10 rods have accounted for 159 fish but it is only fair to point out that Brendan G has had 45 of those.  The man is a machine and is on the river at all hours of the day.  We managed to drag him in for supper last night but as soon as his white chocolate cheesecake had been polished off, it was waders back on…

Michael G with one of 15 he landed yesterday

Michael G and Jamie K had a day to remember by landing 35 between them in their guided sessions.  It was not long before large gin and tonics were being poured which probably accounts for me being a bit late with the blog this morning!  Our brilliant cook Claire also went out yesterday, with Bill as her guide and landed her first ever salmon – and then two more.  A great afternoon and one we celebrated.

Claire with her first ever salmon

At Kitza, our new Spanish team had 43 fish to their 6 rods.  Three of them have taken two rods each so that they can fish a private beat and have their own guide but it was Alexander G, fishing with his friend Nicolas, who landed 9 fish to make him top rod for the day.  Hamish is going to try fishing up to Chopper Island this morning as he had a quick flick up there yesterday and landed fish which is encouraging as the upper part of that beat is just beautiful.

Typical - over 400 salmon and all anyone can talk about is a pike...!

There was a very good start at Pana where the 7 rods landed 12 fish.  With the big numbers in the other camps this sounds slow but their fishing will just build and build.   This is the earliest date that the opening week will start for some time as next year is the rebasing year for all of our fishing and to land fish half way up the beat (White Rock) on the first day was very encouraging.

A happy Maurice Mc B on East Generator

Middle is fishing very well and the 12 experienced rods have so far put 188 in the book.  Chris C had 21 of those with 9 from East Generator whilst Maurice McB and Paul C had 15 apiece.  This team fishes hard and I know that on top of these figures, 28 fish were landed before breakfast this morning.  I am going up to supper there tonight and the one thing Jack has asked me to take is more score sheets as he is going through them rapidly - never a bad sign.

Charlie White

A great week

Last week offered some superb fishing across all three camps and when saying goodbye to the teams yesterday, it was clear that everyone had spent a simply awesome week in the Russian wilderness.

Carl D with a fresh one from Heli

Yes of course we come here for the fishing but the nights around the dining room tables, the food, the scenery, wildlife and camp camaraderie are as much remarked on as are the final numbers of fish that the diligent camp managers have been recording every night.

Friday night at Lower means two helicopters outside camp

The fishing itself however was something to really sit back and admire.  1,575 fish were landed during the week to 28 rods and the average per rod was amazingly consistent in all of the camps.

Tony B on Middle

All camps finished with over 50 fish per rod and it was lovely to hear the enthusiasm for the rivers and its ability to produce memorable moments.

Flying over the Levosero lakes yesterday - it is still cold

I am worried about jinxing it for future weeks but the changeover was incredibly easy and we were on our helicopters almost before the charter had taken off to fly back to Helsinki. “But I haven’t finished my first pint yet” is not something you hear very often when you make the call to move for the helicopters.

Allan W on Moscoi

That meant some eager teams hitting the rivers for an afternoon session and the rods at Middle and Lower had something like 75 fish between them whilst our Spanish team at Kitza took the opportunity to relax after a long days traveling.  We have a super keen Icelandic team at Pana and it will be fun to hear how they get on.

Dom F on Bear Island

Brendan G is arguably the keenest rod we see each season (amongst some quite stiff competition!) and was on the river here at Lower at 4am this morning.  Having landed 13 fish before breakfast, it would appear as though it was worth it.

Charlie White