salmonjunky
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OK. On behalf of the whole Kharlovka team I am writing this short report on the first Three Rivers week and last week before the break. As even rivers need some rest..
I must say that time really flies here.. It’s like an attraction, kaleidoscope of faces and emotions, you call it. Each week is unique and unforgettable. So, after the bunch of loud and merry youth, full of life and desire to fish no matter how good the party the previous night was, left, we were standing there again waiting for the blades to stop rotating. Anticipating the new group…
Aha, here they come. Some smiling as they’ve been here before, some curiously looking around as it’s their first time in Kharlovka camp and in Russia. But all as one fully set up for a good fish game.
Just to remind. During this program we fish Kharlovka, Eastern Litza and Rynda. A great chance to see all rivers in their beauty and test your fishing skills on various fishing beats.
After thorough safety instructions and a usual photo-shoot, oh, and a quick lunch of course, the guests were paired and spread along Kharlovka and Eastern Litza.
First hours of fishing were lucky for our ladies: Elena and Anna, who landed 3 nice salmon in Mark’s pocket on an orange-and-red tube. Just look at them!
Then the time sped up… As did the weather too. We started the week with mild 10C and then each day got hotter than the one before. Eventually we found ourselves somewhere in Miami or on the French Riviera with the air temps of 30-33C, but not above the Arctic circle.
All water level records were beaten during this week. We faced the unbelievable situation: negative 25 cm on the Home pool scale on Thursday!! Extremely difficult fishing conditions. But… Our guests proved to be real fighters and huge optimists. Like Tuesday, for example, became a Happy day for Patrick – after a 10-minute fight that felt like forever for him, he caught his first salmon ever! And it was a 20 pound sea-liced beauty! Well… To start one’s fishing record with such a fish, wow! Where’s our Super Swede Tie?! And, by the way, that “personal best” fish was landed in the Home pool on a Grey Bomber.
This week we’ve had three families, and it looks like it’s becoming a good tradition to bring wives and kids to Kharlovka camp. Elin, Patrick’s daughter, decided to make a few casts after dinner in the Home pool with her Dad one day and as a result she caught a 13-pound salmon on some secret Swedish FF Fly – another PB!
Nikolai and Dmitry, our cheerful father and son had good fun on the river. Some nice fish hooked and landed – in the photo below we are looking at the two 15 pound salmon caught by the guys on Thursday on a Sunray hitch.
Many more were lost… However, this is what tempts the fishermen come over and over again. To chase that perfect silver that once showed up from underneath the river surface.
Gennady, Elena and Anna. The youngest member of this family has taken over the role of the schedule manager, and quite successfully, I must admit. All caught fish. All fished different rivers including the wonderful Zolotaya, where Gennady landed 4 nice fresh salmon with sea lice.
And Elena as final chord of the week landed a 23 pounder.
One sunny Tuesday, we all heard Big Alex screaming in the radio that Marcus is holding a big fish in the Home pool. Not to miss the opportunity of a good shot, Justin headed to the river with the camera. When he got there the picture was almost epic: huge Big Alex up to his neck in water was hurrying towards our guest with the net above his head. Marcus was struggling with the 26 pounder.
The salmon was landed, weighed and measured. It was a 104-105 cm 26,5 lbs salmon. Well done!
I’ll stop for a second to give you a clear picture of the flies that worked this week. These were: Sunrays, Green and Red Butts, Red/Black Franceses, Black and Green Highlanders, hitched tubes, Bombers and Teenagers.
Mikael and Timo. They seem to never stop smiling. Always in good spirits. Landed some good fish. Mikael had a fresh 14 pounder in Snowbank on the Litza, Timo landed a 17 pound salmon on the Flat stone.
Anton and Matthias – our international team, made good friends. Both landed some fish and enjoyed the physical training part of our program.
So, to sum it up. We enjoyed every single day of this week, no matter how hard the weather tried to grill us. It felt like home, like Matthias confessed one day. It was a good experience for all. Everyone had fish and teamed together for 74 on the week, had a good time chatting over good wines and tasty food. At this point we stop for a 2 week break.
Stay tuned and see you soon!
Best wishes from the Tundra,
Maria
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