My expectations were exceeded, and I'm going back...

Chris Tarrant enjoys a successful week on the world's finest Atlantic salmon river, the Kola peninsula's magnificent Varzuga.

Remember temperatures may go up or down. This warning, slightly changed, comes at the beginning of most adverts pertaining to investment and a week's fishing in Russia can be considered an investment in terms of memories. The summer comes so quickly that one moment the snow can be swirling around your feet and the next you could be in shirtsleeves, bathing in warm sunshine.

Our merry band arrived at Middle Varzuga at the end of May, flying by helicopter over thousands of square miles of Arctic taiga, pine and birch forest interspersed with areas of water-soaked bog. The Middle camp is on a beautiful island in the river with home pools either side, the surfaces of which are constantly broken with leaping salmon. We were met on arrival by the camp manager, who showed us around and organised us into our cabins for the week. These are basic but perfectly comfortable and warm, offering a single bed with duvet and a place to store the array of paraphernalia that accompanies every fisherman. There is a central wash room and a dining room and for those brave enough, a Russian sauna or 'banya' to take the chill off after a day on the river.

The food for the week was nothing short of superb. It was quite easy to imagine being in a London restaurant, only to look out of the window and realise all the food is flown in by helicopter and the cook is working miracles with the facilities.

For the first day on the river the snow fell steadily and yet by the close we had landed fifty-eight fish; remarkable considering the conditions. The fish are not record breakers in size but to find a river where every single one is a bar of silver, fighting fresh and giving their all, is a revelation. We sat totalling the score before dinner, the regulars amongst the party hardly batting an eyelid when one rod announced eleven fish in the morning and a further four for the afternoon. Such is the Varzuga.

The rest of the week saw the weather change to comparative warmth and the fishing improved all the time. On one remarkable day, in between leaving camp in the morning and returning that evening, the field in front of the cabins had erupted into glorious flowering bloom. I even managed to catch a salmon when experimenting with a skated bomber on the last day, the fish boiled around my fly as it scored the surface causing my heart to miss a beat. Just as I felt I was getting to grips with my casting and reading this wide river, it was time to head for home.

The Varzuga is a resource like no other. Many thoughts spring to mind after my trip. 'Harsh environment', 'wouldn't like to live here', coupled with 'amazing', 'superlative' and 'salmon, salmon and more salmon'. A true gem in the world of salmon fishing, the Varzuga is unique. Treated with respect and admiration it will yield silver treasure like no other destination on this earth.

Chris Tarrant