22/05/08 - The first Varzuga report of the season.

The season has started and while it is still cold, it is clear that the fish are already running in good numbers. A very cold spring, which is still continuing, means that there is still a great deal of snow on the ground but the ice broke on the river about a week ago and the first fish came in as soon as that happened.

The river is still quite low as the majority of the snow has not melted yet but the water temperature is 2 degrees Celsius and air temperatures are around 0-5 degrees.

Despite this chilly start, the rods in both Lower Varzuga and Middle Varzuga are all catching good numbers of fish. The ten rods at Lower Varzuga have had 223 mint fresh fish to the net over the first four days with all of the pools on the beat proving productive. Shrimp patterns and the Willie Gunn are proving the most effective at present.

Nick Revill and Phillip Wilde have both had great days with Nick landing 14 and Phillip 15 on the same day. The average size of fish has been excellent with a lot of fish around 10-12lbs which bodes well for the rest of the season.

The ten rods at Middle have had 133 fish in the four days which is a good score as there are still areas of the beat that are inaccessible due to ice blocks strewn along the bank. As soon as the snow melts and the water height rises these blocks will be pushed down river and the whole beat will open up. Alan Jackson and Michael Hynes have proved the benefit of experience on the river and have had days of 11 fish and 10 fish respectively. Again, the average size of those landed has been superb.

With the weather forecast to warm up shortly and a big run of fish already in the river the scene is set for yet another excellent Varzuga season.

While we are full for this year please do not hesitate to contact Charlie White or Lynsey Mair for further details.