Chavanga Fish Blog

Tuesday, 23 May 2017

Our NEW Chavanga web page and NEW Blog

https://www.chavanga.com/blog

Vasil Bykau

Spring is late, but warmth comes to the Kola Peninsula.
We had to postpone the opening of the season for 10 days.
Several photos from the rivers Varzuga and Kola.

Thursday, 6 April 2017

Gigantic salmons of the Kola river

Our NEW Chavanga web page and NEW Blog

Here is another interesting option for fishing on the Kola Peninsula in Russia. The only airport here - is the airport of Murmansk . Almost every angler who comes here from Europe or America is forced to spend a day or two or even three days to wait for helicopter or other transport to get to the river. Many anglers believe that it makes no sense to spend these days in the hotel, if you can spend that time fishing. So we want to offer you the option , which includes one, two or three full fishing days . The organization of this option does not differ from the standard version . You will be met at the airport, taken to the hotel , settled . Will be taken in the morning on the river. Guide will work with you , at your disposal - car and boat . You will be provided with food and other services , which are inherent in the standard program of 7 \ 6 days. Price is determined by the number of fishing days and the number of nights at the hotel. I hope for many anglers this option looks interesting.

Kola-3 has got 2 parts, as to fish the entire river in one day is difficult. First part of the river starts from connection of rivers Kitza and Kola. Its a wonderful place to fish as from the bank as from the boat. From the other bank just in front of Kitza connection there is a great pool called ''Aquarium''. When we done with 'Aquarium' we take the boat and start moving downstream fishing pools like 'Golden', 'Sirius', 'Pump', etc, we fishing till the hanging bridge in the village 'Loparskiy'.

Next fishing day we raft as a rule from that bridge and move all the way down the river till the spot called 'Monika' pool. While on the way down we fish good spots as 'Cementary' and 'Island' pools. The end of second part of the Kola-3 is the vehicle bridge in the village of 'Magnetity'. Here we get to the car and transfer to the hotel.

Accommodation is possible as in the city of Murmansk as straight on the bank of Kitza in the hotel called 'Mokraya Kitza' http://mokraya-kica.ru. Comfortable rooms, heating, shower, toilet etc. True Russian sauna always ready to warm you up after a long day of fishing. Polite and caring staff will do their best to make sure you enjoy your stay.

Biggest fish caught by my client Oliver from UK was 13kg. and 1 meter 2 cm long.

Salmon fishing at the Kola river is interesting for anglers who want to catch a big salmon. Kola got its reputation for a big fish, which comes into the river. There are benefits to be found in a relatively convenient location of the river, near the airport. This greatly simplifies the way to the river. There are also disadvantages. These include extremely high fishing pressure, which is associated with closely located big city. You can also note the extremely irregular running salmon and unpredictable fishing results. But the chance to catch a very large salmon is worth to try.

Indeed, for many years the river gives us that opportunity. Despite the proximity of Murmansk and other settlements in the Kola River there are enough big fish. We must realize that, contrary to naive advertising is not easy to catch a really big fish. You'll need all your skill and the help of our guides. We are pleased to inform you that in addition to the possibility of catching a large salmon, we can offer you accommodation in a really comfortable environment for a resonable price.

http://chavanga.com/
https://www.facebook.com/chavanga?fref=ts

The owner of the Kola rive is the goverment organization - Murmansk Ryb Vod. There is a verbal agreement between the parties, who are engaged in the fishing business organization, whether to use different parts of the river, not to create large clusters of fishermen. Valid license KOLA - 3 gives you the right to catch salmon in any part of the river, including all pools near Deer Camp. Kola part 3 has near 40 km in length. One of the advantages of the site Kola - 3 is that you are invited to fish the lower part of the site. Its length is 17 kilometers. The fishing site begins from the Joint Pool at the confluence of the Kola and Kitsa river. Salmons from both rivers run and stop to stay in this part of the river. Therefore, it is much more susceptible to the adverse effects of the weather or the state of the river.

Fishing organization

Example of standard fishing tour:

1- day. Meeting at the airport, hotel or fishing base accommodation, fishing on a home pool.

2- day. Fishing on the Kola-3.

3- day. Fishing on the Kola-3 (Monica pool)

4- day. Fishing on Kitsa, Bridge pool and fishing down stream pools (3 km).

5- day. Fishing on the Kola-3 or Kitsa

6- day. Fishing on the Kola-3.

7- day. Fishing on the Kola-3.

8- day. Trasnfer back to the airport.

These is just an example of fishing tour, changes can be made to the clients wishes and ideas.

Our experienced giudes would be glad to help you with every aspects of dayily fishing. Comfortable cars and boats are used to maximise the comfort of your transportation and fishing.

The tour price include:

Gteeting at the aiport
Transfer to the hotel or fishing base (clients choice)
3 meals a day during all tour
Fishing guides
Transport to the river and on the river all the time. (off-road cars, the cross-country vehicle, boats, minivan).
Cost of fishing licences.
The first medical aid.

Does not include:

The invitation and the voucher for visa reception.
Insurance.
Airplane tickets to Murmansk.
Alcohol.

More information you could find here:

https://www.facebook.com/chavanga

http://chavanga.com/fishing_information/10

http://blog.chavanga.com/2015/07/fishing-on-river-kola-3.html

Dear Rafal! Thanks a lot for your nice fish!!!

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Kola Peninsula salmon tours.

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Monday, 3 April 2017

Salmon fishing, Varzuga river

Our NEW Chavanga web page and NEW Blog

https://www.chavanga.com/

https://www.chavanga.com/blog

Vasil Bykau

Several years ago we used the free time available for a salmon trip to Varzuga river. What has come of it -look here! I thank John for these wonderful photos !!

Yes - it was fun just to be there!!

A little better view of the church

After dinner, we would retreat to the banya, a type of steam bath - Fiodr has lit the fire, and its heating up

After taking his daughter across for school, Fiodr comes back to take us upriver as far the shallow water will allow

And a boat ride back to Varzuga village

And the church in Kozumen was getting a facelift, too

Varzuga river

Another fishing camp

At the end of every day of fishing, Fiodr's dog, Jackson (named after Michael you-know-who), would meet us at the beach. The town was full of big, sturdy and very friendly dogs

But the dry summer and Fall seems to have set the foliage on fire

Close-up of ground lichen that covered the florest floor in places

David is going to try the other side of the river...

David's last fish

Day 3 - David and I hiked back into the illegal honey hole alone; John casting as taught by Vasyl

Didn't find out how old this house is, but no matter how worn, they all seemed occupied

End of the day

Except for a couple fishing camps for town residents, once you leave town, there is nothing but forest along the river

First stop in Kozumen - Vasyl wanted to buy some vodka and orange juice; which we later drank Russian style - on a side street, from the bottle, under Vasyl's tutelage. It didn't take long.

Fish (almost) Gone!

Fish On!

From the bedroom window - the town gets its electricity from a local diesel-powered generator (which had quit running the night we arrived)

Heading home. 3 hours (in that van parked across the river) to the paved road, then 6 more hours in a more comfortable van to Murmansk

heading upriver

Here's the town fishing camp - apparently when the fish are really running, people from town come out here and stay till they've caught their catch

Home sweet home

Lichen as far as you can see

Looking upriver toward our fishing grounds

Main Street, Kozumen, Russia

A Kozumen house - yes, still occupied. That bump-out in front, on the left side - an indoor pit toilet

Mike and Scott, and Fiodr at the helm (most of the men in the village wore cammo as everyday clothing)

No luck here...

Not sure what kind of berries these were

off to slay some fish

Oh yeah - dry or scorched . Either way - back in business

One iconostasis inside the church

Our daily lunch spread tea or coffee, bread, lunchmeat and cheese

Scott got his shirt and coat sleeves wet - so the fire was a handy drier; Vasyl heated water for tea or coffee at lunch

Scott wanted a grilled cheese sandwich

See you Fiodr....

So we headed further upstream to a place Vasyl said was the best spot on the river - just a few more km's

Some types of lichen in this area also grows on slower humans

Sometimes they have to be relit - this is how we do it in Russia

That's better!

The berries were thick in places

The best firewood stacking job I've ever seen; that's a new building on the church's compound in the background.

The Bro's enjoy a fire and cigar after lunch

The Fall colors were at their best that week

The first fish!!!

The fishing wasn't so good, but the scenery was great

The fly fisherman's view... gotta love those waders

The little boat is a local taxi service - including taking kids across the river for school every week day

The locals said they could not recall a drier summer and Fall, nor could they recall lower river levels

The low water meant that the salmon were held up out in the White Sea, and not coming upriver as they normally would this time of year

The market - everything from Varzuga coffee mugs to fresh meat and Snickers; note the only car on this side of the river in the garage. It ran merchandise from the boat to the store

The only vehicular commuter on our side of the river... he would park his bike on the beach each morning, and take his boat to the other side

The Port of Murmansk, which is fed by the Kola River. Murmansk was a very nice city with a bit of a European feel and look.

The Varzuga shore at Kozumen had a large number of derelict boats. Russians tend to be very superstitious, and they believe that it is bad luck to burn or otherwise destroy an old boat

The Varzuge River just above the mouth

The view from our bedroom window

There was a nice herd of wild horses in Kozumen - who were happy to receive a scratch between the ears when offered; to survive the winters here, these guys must be really tough

There was one other fishing party staying in town, but they seemed to be Russians; apparently no Americans stay in town like we did

This is it - the stretch of river where the only fish were caught

This place was also quite scenic

This water is really shallow...

To find some fish, we hiked into the 'sweet spot'

Uh oh - someone slipped into deep water and got rolled by the current; fortunately Scott had decided to tend the fire instead of fish, and volunteered to dry David's wet sweats