Ponoi 2010 Fishing Reports from Frontiers International

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An outstanding first week in Ryabaga:

Our first anglers were a keen group from the UK and Russia. The Mi8 rotor had hardly come to a stand-still before Dominic Quinlan had landed the first salmon of the season, taken in Home Pool. Notable as well is the fact that Dominic may in fact land the last fish of the season, as he will join us for the week of September 25 –October 2, 2010. Steffan Jones joined us from the UK branch of Frontiers International. Steffan and I first fished together in Tierra Del Fuego, Argentina, on the Rio Grande. He has an insatiable appetite for catching salmon and sea trout, and it is evident in his enthusiasm and skill. I am sure he is equally as single-minded when it comes to recruiting salmon anglers for the future seasons at Ryabaga. Thank you Steffan!

One from Tomba June 2010

Howard Strowman proved once again to be an incredibly vibrant, active, and humorous member of the group. The staff were covetous of his quiver of electronics; everything from an “IPad” interactive racecar driving game to a state of the art digital, head-mounted HD video camera. Howard and son Max contributed greatly to the salmon count for the week. Max took fish of seventeen and sixteen pounds respectively. I understand that Howard worked very hard at beating his personal record of 150 fish landed for the week, and I’m certain we shall see him next year to reattempt this goal… good luck Howard.

And then there were Victor and his friends… Victor and Sasha ventured downriver into the waters of Lapanyarka and Brevyeni to make the first casts of the season in the lower river. Wonderfully, they encountered very good fishing and many fine salmon in the turbulent water. This experience marked the first run of the Hovercraft this year. Our Hovercraft, or ACV (air cushion vehicle), is unique in that it is a watercraft supported by a cushion of high-pressure air inside a “skirt.” The Hovercraft is unique in its ability to carry anglers to otherwise inaccessible parts of the river system, though the vehicle’s wilderness service makes access to parts and critical maintenance complex. Sergei Zhurin has spent countless hours repairing and replacing systems of the craft to ensure safe and reliable use throughout the season.

At Ryabaga Camp, May 29 to June 5, 2010, the total of salmon landed for the week was 903. Of these,
several dozen fish weighed in the high teens. The weather conditions were quite favorable as cool mornings turned into easy days with little wind and rain. The river continued to drop, and water levels were as low as late June levels last year – all in all, the river is in very fine shape. It seems the number of kelts in the system is far lower than in previous years; this is likely due to the record high river level we experienced at ice-out. Water levels reached waist -deep inside our engine storage container, meters above the ordinary riverbank.

All tolled, the first week Ryabaga was one for the books; guests and guides were impressed with both the number and quality of fish caught, and the general feeling about camp was one of great excitement. As we move into the coming week, it is exciting to consider the number of old friends who will be joining us in camp. Perhaps more exciting, however, is the thought of introducing new anglers to this tremendous fishery. The coming months promise more and bigger fish to be enjoyed by all who are lucky enough to join us in Ryabaga. Until we meet on the water, take care!

Sincerely,
Matt Breuer and the PRC Team

 

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Russia - ryabaga camp - ponoi river week 2 report

The Green Bandana

It seemed that Paul Styles was “green with envy” over the fact that Hugh Curry had enjoyed such success with sizeable fish by day four. Hugh started the week with a 19 pounder on Lower Tomba with Tommy Sordelli on Sunday, and he did not let up - each day Hugh had one or two fish over 15 pounds: two at 18, 3 at 16, a 15, a 14… incredible salmon fishing, no question. And Paul knew it. “Getting old is a real drag,” lamented Paul. It was Thursday night. We were all seated at the table, sipping Russian Standard, Gold Label; Hugh maintained that the taste is much smoother than that of Russian Standard, Original Label, though the others could not tell the difference. As I sat across from Paul, I was amused by the ongoing rhetoric regarding his envy of Hugh’s undying luck.

Paul raised his head in query, wondering about the official American-Canadian-English name for the paisley-patterned green cloth that adorned Hugh’s neck. With great confidence and pride Hugh educated Paul and the other attentive anglers within earshot that the garment was in fact called a “bandana.” As Hugh maintained, since the days of the American cowboy this small, yet useful, piece of cloth has been the salvation of many an outdoorsman. Bandanas, worn about the neck and face, have hidden the identity of cattle rustlers, have shielded the adventurer from the ravages of cold and sun, have soaked the sweat of many a weary traveler. Bandanas have been used, in a pinch, to sling wounded limbs, to sling stones in combat (as in David and Goliath), and to clean the barrels of a shotgun. And for many, the bandana has been worn as a stylish talisman, a totem of good luck. Though Paul’s inquiry was one meant for sake of conversation and light ribbing, it did seem as though Paul had reached the point in his week’s fishing that he was willing to do whatever it took to tie into a larger fish. He seemed to be acquiring a belief in superstition. I asked Paul if he would like a green bandana of his own. He nodded with some reluctance and hesitation. I popped up, stormed to my room, and appeared back at the table with a bandana identical to that of Hugh’s. I stood behind Paul and secured the bandana around his neck, just as my father did when he taught me to tie a Windsor knot. Once the bandana was in place Paul let out quite a loud, “yeeee-haaaww.” Several other cowboy references and jokes were passed, though I could see in Paul’s face that he was quite proud of his new accessory. The next day, Friday, as Paul turned up from his final day of fishing he was quite pleased to report that there might indeed be something magical about the green bandana; he had taken a 20 pound salmon, his largest Atlantic salmon to date.

Week 3, 2010 was indeed a great success with nearly 800 salmon landed, including two of 20 pounds. The variety of technique used last week was broad; many salmon were taken with the use of the S4 shooting heads and large tubes (ie. the Snaelda) in the colors of the German flag, fished deep – this method was a terrific producer. For those who didn’t prefer to fish sinking lines, smaller flies and floating lines were quite successful as well. Fishing on the surface with floating lines and small-ish “hitched” plastic tubes or dry flies skated through the swing was another technique that saw very favorable results. The most popular line used last week was the floating shooting head with a ten foot, medium sink poly-leader. The river is dropping steadily and there is more and more opportunity to fish lighter and closer to the surface. For near-surface work, some longer profiled “long-tailed” doubles worked fine (ie. Long-tailed green Highlander, Cascade, etc). Much of the week was quite cool and windy, though weather did not hamper the spirit and effort of our anglers from Quebec, France, Japan, the UK, the USA, and Russia. Memories of the week abound, from the culinary artistry of Francois Brocard, who produced a delicious salmon dish drizzled with a warm sauce of mustard, black tea, and butter, to the spirit and humour of our French-Canadian fishers, to the late nights sipping cognac by the fire with Sergei Alexeev and his friends. The spirit for which Ryabaga is known was steady and strong this past week. Head Guide, Max Mamaev joined the rotation mid-week, as he has been recovering from an ankle sprain sustained two weeks ago while searching for a frog in the pond outside the banya. Dubbed “Hop-a-long” by Ian Irvine, Max was much too eager to be held in camp any longer.

Ian Irvine’s thoughtful reflection about the great opportunity of fishing for salmon in Ryabaga gave everyone pause… Ian’s orations are always carefully articulated, and masterfully amusing. Ian spoke of the professionalism of the guides, the meticulousness of the house staff, and the engineer-ability of the mechanics. Especially noteworthy, however, was how he spoke of the strength of the Kitchen Staff this year, how the food is as good as it has ever been, and how Natasha and her team are able to accommodate even the trickiest of dietary needs. Thank you, Ian; we look forward to fishing with you, and indeed with each of our Week 3 guests, in the future. It was, to say the least, a memorable week!

Best

Matt Breuer and the Ryabaga Crew

 

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Russia - ryabaga camp, ponoi river - summer run arrives early!

June 20, 2010

First Summer Run Salmon Arrive!

It is the pleasure of a fisherman to arrange his calendar according to the changing seasons as they relate to angling. In my native New England, changes in the season correlate with certain mayfly hatches, runs of spawning trout, or with those times when the flesh of cold-water fish is at it’s sweetest. Here at Ryabaga, nothing quite denotes the onset of the finest summer fishing more than the arrival of the first summer-run fish.

Nearly a week ahead of schedule, anglers at Ryabaga have begun catching summer-run salmon. Many of these salmon have arrived in Ponoi with sea lice still clinging to their flanks, and as sea lice perish quickly in a freshwater environment, we can only assume that these first-run fish are moving up from the White Sea with blistering speed. As for the timing, it seems that the trend for the 2010 season is ‘early’; an early ice-out, followed by a rapid drop in the river to prime fishing level, and now, only week 4, the first summer-run salmon have arrived, eager to ascend the river as they position themselves for the autumn spawn.

The changing season, and certainly the arrival of these summer fish, cannot, however, ensure the incidence of fine summer weather. As far north as we are, conditions are mercurial at best, and it should come as no surprise to the travelling angler that mother nature can proffer the full spectrum of weather conditions, particularly on the remote reaches of the mighty Ponoi. Sloppy conditions were indeed the case on Sunday, the first day of third week of fishing in Ryabaga. Wind, rain, and cold temperatures attempted to stifle the fervent efforts of our freshly-arrived anglers. Though dreary weather loomed, the team managed nearly 100 salmon for the first day, not a bad tally for what proved the lowest number day of the week. The rest of the week produced fantastic weather and fishing conditions, and the Ponoi held at a perfect rate of flow and level for the use of floating lines and medium-sized double flies. Anglers keen to catch Atlantic salmon with hitched plastic tubes or dry flies found success this last week. Salmon landed for the week totalled 753. Nearly twenty fish over fifteen pounds were taken, and the Kolmac and Tomba beats, top and bottom beats, both fished beautifully. Moreover, the ‘quality’ of the fish taken was superb. These first summer-run fish, even the smaller of the lot, can really get the reels screaming, and many of the week’s sports were impressed by the sheer bravado of the fish taken.

Anglers from Scotland to New Zealand, Latvia to England, the USA to South Africa, combined to compose a pleasant group for our third week of the season, 2010. Notable as well were the group of lady fishers that completed the group. As Doreen Douglas put it, “Matt, what will you do when we ‘wags’ have gone?” Well Doreen, I don’t know if I will make it to next year without you and your troupe contributing to a very pleasant air about camp. It was my further pleasure to see that, with the World Cup raging in South Africa, anglers from our represented nations were able to find common ground both on the river and in camp… incidentally, the US side is making a fine showing, is it not?

With week five upon us, the river could not be looking better, and I am encouraged to think that this season at Ryabaga might indeed be one to remember. For those who shared last week with us, it was indeed a pleasure, and for those who have yet to arrive, grease your reels and get your fish-fighting muscles loose… you are in for a treat!

Sincerely,

Matt Breuer