The best rivers of the Kola Peninsula

New information on the best Atlantic salmon rivers of the Kola Peninsula

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Late fall at the Khoidur River

Khoidyr is a small forest creek which is flowing into lower part of the Amur River between Khabarovsk and Komsomolsk.  It is crossing the road between these two cities 200 km from Khabarovsk.  The fall of 2011 is unusually warm; at the time when it is normally snow and cold it is mild and warm.  In the fall the fish from the creeks is leaving its summer habitats which will be frozen over soon, and goes down into the Amur River for wintering.

I have left the car at the bridge and was rowing upstream in a kayak.  I will never burn gas and listen the rattle of a motor if I can avoid it. 

 This stretch of Khoidur is crossing the great plain - the valley of the Lower Amur.  The banks are covered by the mixed forest and marshes - not as good a forest as we see in the mountains.

 In deep slow pools I had some bites of Amur ide.  This small fish is a predator.  The imitation of an aquatic beetle with an action was a good selection on that day. 

In such quiet forest creeks most of the fish (and all Salmonids) are found in the riffles.  

 Canadian beaver was stocked 40 years ago into the Nemta River 100 km to the west from here.  The animals are now moving down the Amur River and populating its valley.  

 This nest belongs not to a bird, but to a bear.  Don't you believe me?  In August the Himalayan bear is climbing the Maak's bird cherry tree and eating its astringent berries.  The animal is bending the branches, and pushes them under its seat at the tree to make the sitting more comfortable. 

 I was able to catch several little lenok and grayling

 It is a pleasant catch - one of the last fish of the 2011 fly season

The winter is closing up - it has already come to the north of our region.  In a month or less the fishermen will be catching lenok through the ice. 

Hot July at the Amur River

The first part of the summer in Khabarovsk was rather cold & rainy.  Only by mid July we have got the usual hot weather - over 30*C.  The nights are also very warm. The water in the Amur River is 22*c, and in the lakes  - 24-25*C.     These days the city people are using any possibility to go the water to swim. 

On the weekend I was with my family on one of the lakes at the Bolshoi Ussuriiski Island, about 5 km from the border with China. Some of the local fish of the northern origin do not like hot weather.  On the contrary, some species had come here from the tropical waters.  Hot summer is the time when they are feeding most active.  

 These aquatic plants form thickets at the depths of over 2 meters. 

Predators love sitting in a shade, below the green ceiling. 

 I was moving in an inflatable kayak along the weed beds and reed walls.

 Amur catfish was caught with sinking line & pink-and-purple wobbler fly.  

This little snakehead was caught with typical pike tackle: floating line, steel tippet, and red wobbler fly with yellow legs, tied on #1 hook.  

Snakehead is very strong fish with sharp teeth and powerful jaws.  Amur River is the northernmost part of its range. 

First time at the Delaware River

In May 2011 I was invited by my friend Bob to visit him at the Delaware River.  The weather was wet, but not windy. 

Bob's camp is very simple and basic.

This place is considered rather dangerous for non-fishermen..

 Bob has a wooden canoe with which we were planning to float the river.

Nice stretch of the river - no roads and no houses

Trout was not active on the surface, so I had spent some time pursuing a quarry new for me - shad.  This huge anadromous herring was biting tiny (#10) & bright wobbler-flies.  Shad was found in the pools.  

I was also able to catch two little brook trout.  One was caught with a Pluchille streamer, and another - with a wobbler-fly. 

Bill was having some luck with dry flies & rainbow trout, but no trophy specimens were landed  

In one of the pools I had landed a little walleye, which bit a 3" long yellow wobbler-fly

A goos protecting its nest.

At the dike - part 2 (Amur River near Khabarovsk, June)

When the water level in the Amur goes down, the top of the dike becomes visible.  This period it is possible to reach it by boat, and to fish powerful streams flowing through the dike.  This habitat is unusual for the Amur River, but many of the local fish like it.

In strong current it is necessary to use heavy rods and sinking lines

Chinese perch (Mandarin bass)

Chinese perch should be fished near the bottom, among the rocks, with a streamer with upright hook

Mongolian redfin is often caught in the same place, in middle layers of the water

Mongolian redfin

Good size Mandarin bass

June is time of flowers

Lago Fagnano, Tierra del Fuego, Chile

 We are heading to the south of the Tierra del Fuego Island.  The road is literally cut in the rocks. 

Finally the long-awaited Lago Fagnano is visible from a mountain pass.  At the pass we see the first snow.  

This huge lake is 100 km long and up to 500 m deep.  In the first evening we were able to fish the lake - the wind was very mild.  I was lucky to land a very unusually looking rainbow trout. 

 The fish was very strong, rather skinny and bright silver - with no pink strips on its sides.

 About 9/10 of the Fagnano Lake belongs to Argentina; we have visited the western, Chilean part.  Here there is the lake outlet - short Rio Azopardo. 

Rio Azopardo is swift and powerful; its water is very clear.  There are rumors on huge sea-run brown trout which are caught in this stream.   The wading was tough - in most areas the stream was way too deep. 

I was able to catch a fat brook trout.  This fish is probably coming into the river out of the lake for feeding or spawning. 

 Good size rainbow trout was caught far from the bank with a nymph on a floating line

Oct 02, 2010, Amur River in downtown Khabarovsk

Today I was fishing the Amur River in downtown Khabarovsk, near the "cliff" in the park.  My main goal was testing new wobbler flies.  These flies can be tied in different colors and sizes, but these were made for pelagic predators of the Amur River, first of all - skygazer.  

The first fish I caught that day was tiny blackbelly.  This was strange (even bigger specimens rarely bite flies).

  About 10 AM I had a serious pull from the depth about 3 meters from the surface. 

This was 72 cm long skygazer; it is also called Korean tarpon.  

This fish belongs to carps, but looks like a giant herring.  

The weight of fish was about 3,5 kg (close to 8 pounds)

Skygazer had bitten silver and pearl wobbler fly with yellow tail.  There were more bites, but 2 landed fish were much smaller than the first one.