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Kola - Varzina's trout and salmon

I was getting depressed, after having chased salmon the whole day without success, while my fishing buddy Janne had landed five in the same timeframe. All beautiful fish between 7 and 10 kilos, plus a true trophy fish measuring 108 cm and weighting approximately 13 kilos.

It had become a little dark in this foggy July night, and I was close to giving up. I did give it a last chance, fishing through S-Bend pool one last time today. I was half-focusing on fishing, half-dreaming, when the take suddenly came! I was not really prepared for it, and the fish took a quick run of about 50 meters. I did not manage to handle the loose line lying around me, and this resulted in a tangle on my fly line, about ten metres from the fly. I saw the tangle pass with much difficulty the first rod guide, then the second, then the next. I knew the situation was critical, and I could only hope for the best. Seconds felt like minutes. Pfeeewww, in the end the large knot went through the top guide; now I could fight the fish in a more relaxed way. The salmon made a couple of great jumps, which turned the otherwise calm pool upside down. My knees were turning into jelly. I did manage the first feverish rush, and after 3-4 trips up and down the pool, the fish became more manageable.

Now the tangle issue came back in the picture again: I was not able to reel in all the line I wished, and had to continue fighting the fish far away from the riverbank. Janne was patiently waiting in the water close to the bank, ready to net the fish first time it would become within range.

 

Then the hook lost its hold in the fish-s mouth, and suddenly everything became very quiet. Janne was even sorrier about the lost fish than me. I could sense a kind of bad conscience on Janne's side, due to the fact that he had caught so many fish today, without me catching anything significant. But I was actually happy that I had at last connected with a salmon today.

 

Then everything went fast: a new take, which proved to be “only” a grilse measuring 50 cm. The immature salmon did give a good fight; he was more airborne than in the water during his struggle for freedom. And then a new solid take thereafter, on the pool tailout, on my large black tube fly. For a long time, it was the fish which decided the course of the fight. Several times it threatened to swim downstream through the rough water below the pool, but I did manage to turn it every time, stressing line and rod heavily. Janne had warned me several times not to let the fish go downstream; it meant a lost fish most of the time.

 

But what should not happen, did happen: the fish swam downstream! I was obliged to run after it, if I would stand a chance. Janne ran after me, hauling the landing net with him. I didn't want to loose fish number two today! A hundred meters down, I found a calm area within all the white-water, to where I managed to lead the fish. Its strengths were tearing off, and Janne could try to land it. He missed the first attempt; I got a clump in the throat… Second try was successful, and at the very same time the fish came in the net, the fly lost its hold… Now it was me being lucky, and not the fish! It was a great relief for me; I fell into Janne's arms and yelled a war cry! We measured the fish at 88 cm and estimated it at 8 kilos, before we released it. Awesome!

 

Last year, Yuri Shumakov was fishing at this very S-Bend pool, when a heart attack struck him. He died on the premises. Yuri had been a pioneer in salmon fishing on the Kola Peninsula, and his death felt like a great loss for all the fishing community who knew him. I found myself a lot of inspiration by reading his Kola flies articles. He is the father to the fly Kolalander, among others. Therefore it felt extra special to me to stand and fish this symbolic place, together with Janne, who had known and fished with Yuri.