Varzina Trout Camp – Paul Procter Hosted Trip Report

Brown trout guru Paul Procter led a group of 10 anglers to the Varzina River Trout Camp in July 2019 to experience true wilderness and wild brown trout fishing at its best. Paul details the trip below which is highly recommended to the adventurous angler….

Giving the stress of modern day life, true wilderness fishing is something many of us yearn for.  The idea then of travelling to a remote corner of Russia’s Kola Peninsula only accessible by helicopter will appeal to those who crave absolute solitude in an untouched environment. Hailing from the UK, Australia and even New Zealand, a bunch of like-minded souls seeking such an experience met up in Murmansk in readiness for a helicopter flight to the desolated Varzina trout camp.

As with any trip pushing the envelope, travel logistics often get in the way of your best laid plans.  Heavy rain and low cloud had made our heli pilot nervous, which kept us grounded for a further 24hrs!  With mist clearing the next morning, finally we were on our way.  Dropping in to base camp, our first glimpse of paradise had everyone leaping out of their seat and itching to go.

Naturally, with lost time to be made up, the Fly Odyssey group settled in quickly and dispersed a long the river.  Our first evening couldn’t have been better timed.  It kicked off around 5pm when mayflies and caddis fly hatched in unprecedented numbers, the likes I’d never experienced anywhere else!  With caddis fly from bank to bank and rods bending the angst of our wait in a hotel simply washed away.

Jon Pepper, Richard Tong, Alan Swann, Peter Hollins, Kevin Moran and Brian Garner reported excellent dry fly sport with some solid trout and numerous Arctic char coming to the net.  Given 24 hours of daylight, I made an effort to wander out just after midnight.  My insomnia was rewarded with a clutch of hefty fish, all falling victim to a size 14 balloon caddis.

The next morning caddis shucks littered the surface, suggesting any hatch had peaked in the wee small hours.  Thankfully though, Russian trout were keen to get their fill during what is a short summer in these parts when fish stayed on station all morning to pick off stragglers.  Each day we were treated to rising fish until lunchtime when such activity usually tailed off.  Sensible souls took to napping now, the idea being to conserve energy for a late evening sortie.  The keener (perhaps dafter) ones amongst us focused on faster water now where trout could still be tempted on larger, bushier creations.

A fair percentage of our fish fell in the 4-6lb category and with cold river water fuelling their bodies these trout pulled like the proverbial freight train!  The whole party commented on the fighting qualities of the fish here, which given their Ice Age ancestry and the fact they haven’t been tampered with (diluted gene pool) is hardly surprising.

Fraser and Wally had the enviable experience of fishing a tributary only accessible by boat, or a seven hour tramp over dense tundra.  Spending a night in there they sampled dry fly beyond their wildest dreams.  Alan Swann and I took off with a tent too, allowing us to spend a night’s vigil on pools that rarely get fished after midnight!  

Admittedly, our travel plans went a little awry, but when you hook up with one of the Varzina’s giants, any turmoil melted into insignificance.  Whether it was chasing trophy trout, using dry flies, swinging nymphs or true escapism, each individual of our group came with their own agenda and different expectations.  And on the evenings when we all sat down to dinner together, it became obvious that everyone’s dreams had been realized in spades.  This of course meant our time went quickly at the camp though already plans are afoot for a return visit in 2020!

Paul Procter July 2019