Salmon Junkies

When we arrived at the Umba River at the end of May 2011 it felt more like the end of July. Thanks God Umba’s backcountry is vast, so we survived with pride and good fishing. Our first two weeks in June produced a good number of fish and a very high number of Umba Whoppers (large fish). Very encouraging indeed. This “movie” was shot while preparing for the 2011 season in Krivetz in between cleaning the tracks and just before the first guest arrived. A 2.5 day of hard work and fun in between. Hungry for some Umba Whoppers?

Check out this link for Umba Summer Karma - http://salmonjunkies.com/movies/umba-summer-karma-2011/

I have just received these very “cool” photos from Nick Podolsky – Our local “river warrior”

According Nick, Umba is river is running high for the moment. Because of a lot of snow in the region, it is very difficult to drive the Snow-scooter when Nick is on his patols.

The weather around Umba have so far been pretty “warm” with night Temperatures down to – 15 C. and day temperatures around – 4 – 7 C.

Murmansk reports strong frost but not much snow right now

A Million thanks to Nick Podolsky and our private conservation groups, for all the hard work they do to protect Umba river

For the pioneering type – Hard core salmon fishing on the Acha River – a main tributary of the Ponoi River system. The explorative alternative for the guy who enjoys a challenge and likes a bit of hard graft with his salmon!

Our helicopter will drop off the team with our well trained guides and you will be able to fish the pools from about 30 km upstream of the camp and all the way downstream back to the Acha Camp.

You will daily discover premium fly-fishing water with numerous holding pools in the most stunning countryside with an abundance of wildlife ever present.

Our Acha River float program is the ultimate trip for a young and fit “Salmon Bum” who is looking for an inexpensive program with a lot of action and fun. (more…)

I know that some our many guests for the upcoming season already now, have started the first preparations for there week/weeks in Russia. The following list may inspire you of what you should bring

The weather is very unpredictable on the Kola peninsula, and it can change dramatically within very short time so it will be very sensible to bring both something that will keep you warm and dry in rainy and windy day and on the other hand something that is more comfortable, when the sun is dancing for 20 odd hours a day.

Most fishing today is carried out with modern double hand rods between 12 ½ and 14 feet for line 8 -10. For more info and hints please check out our article library on www.salmonjunkies.com (more…)

Some of you may have the preconception that August in Umba is a summer month, replenished with mosquitoes, subtropical weather and swimming in a lukewarm river. Not so. Being so far north and east the summers on the Kola Peninsula are extremely short, and even though one might suffocate in a freak heat wave in July, as was indeed the case last year, August already marks the beginning of autumn in Umba and the surrounding area. The salmon presumably know this by instinct, and they know they have to enter the river before the harsh Russian winter sets in, which is very quickly in these regions. And an autumn run is no different than a ‘classical’ spring run – the big ones tend to arrive first!

When I was there in August there were hardly any mosquitoes, the weather was mostly slightly overcast with a few drizzles and a pleasant temperature of 12-15 degrees Celsius. We even had a couple of nights with below zero temperatures. The water temperature was between 10 – 14 degrees, absolutely perfect for salmon fishing! And the fish came – big ones. (more…)