In August, typical summer weather for the Kola Peninsula finally arrived. The air temperature was not critically hot and the water in the river was low, but not disastrously so. The water warmed to 16-18 degrees and Salmon accumulated in deeper holes, whilst making periodic visits to fast, streamy water.
This week the river became so full of salmon that it was possible to study the lies more carefully. It was clear that the salmon’s preferences had changed a great deal since the early part of the season. Now many fish were resting in flat sections of the river where the water is almost still. We now believe the reason to be some cold water springs in these sections. The salmon are cooled by these flows and will defend these areas vigorously until it is time to spawn. And although it is now well into the season, silver, fresh run fish are still arriving and building up in the lower river. It was this week that we also noticed the first seatrout, arriving in small groups.
Also at this time, our friends Yury and Dimitry came to fish. They knew the river well from early season visits but this time they came with the intention of catching salmon Icelandic style. They fished with 4 weight rods, long leaders and made short accurate casts. All their flies were tied on hooks ranging from 12’s down to 16’s. A choice of tackle more appropriate for catching parr!
They fished the wider stretches, wherever they found a broad mirror like surface. The key to success in such conditions proved to be delicate presentation. The fish were very finicky and easily spooked. This has been quite a feature of this year’s fishing.
During this week, the salmon were mostly caught on very small flies: Collie Dog, Yellow Monkey, Haugur, Green Butt and Undertaker. But they also responded well to dry fly and Bomber patterns did well.
