The Ponoi River Co

Please Ask Frontiers about our Specialist Weeks for 2009

We are running two special weeks next season.

Father and Son Week

One is a Father and Son week which does not have to be father and son but can be daughter, nephews, nieces etc. This week is designed for young or inexperienced rods who wish to try salmon fishing with a more experienced member of the family and enjoy an adventure. They will enjoy some of the finest tuition from expert guides and casters. They will have the opportunity to learn about the country of Russia, meet its people, understand how to read a river, handle fish taking a fly, during the fight and releasing, study the conservation of Atlantic salmon and our tagging programme, see real tundra and appreciate its vulnerability and much more. This is great floating line fishing when a skated fly should be working well and attracting numerous rises. This week in 2008 caught a record 37 fish per rod of which nearly 60% were mint fresh summer run fish. Across 15 years of camp records the average catch per rod for this week is 21 fish. There is minimal need to buy and bring equipment – we can fully outfit young rods of 5ft tall and upwards and can equip everyone with rods, reels etc at no extra charge.

Salmon Academy

If you were not a ‘born and bred’ salmon fisherman and began your career attending a course of some description pounding away on the Tay or Spey in the off-season, how often did you find yourself wishing you had a real laboratory where all that casting and theory about reading the water, mending the line and ‘why do salmon take’ etc could be put to a real test, a test where there were real fish in real lies that will react to what you are doing and trying. The Ponoi is the ultimate salmon laboratory, it is by no means a fish every cast but the size of the run of fish is such that you can expect a reaction to things you try and places you decide look good. You will learn from real experience and adventure on the water, fish showing at the fly, follows, boils, slow long draw takes and fast hard grabs – it all happens on the Ponoi in a week of fishing and more can be learned by being there and doing it than anything else. On this week, you will be supported and guided by a highly qualified team of guides plus well-known salmon and sea trout expert Steffen Jones but also have the chance to be entirely alone on the water.

For details contact either Mark Hewetson-Brown or Steffen Jones on 01285 741 340 or at mhb@frontierstrvl.co.uk or sj@frontierstrvl.co.uk.

Ponoi River 2008 Recap

It is always sad when good things come to an end…the 2008 season is over and will be remembered as one of the best.

In 1998 I learned what a special place Ponoi is, when I was invited to join the world-class team of guides. It was a dream, come true. Those years have lived in my memories for years as my best days on a river and as being a part of the most professional team I've ever worked with. For different reasons my professional life got very busy in Argentina and even though I kept in touch with many of the Ponoi guides, it wasn't until 2007 that I got the opportunity to return.

One of the best things about living and working in the outdoors in these special and unique destinations is the diversity of people you meet. While in Argentina I was lucky to meet a very nice, enthusiastic fly fisherman with whom I experienced wild fishing trips to Siberia among many other incredible places. In 2006 he became the Ponoi River Co's new owner.

Life spins in many directions and 10 years later I was invited to join Ponoi again. I felt extremely honoured and could not refuse such an offer. This position was now a more challenging and difficult position to take on, it was no longer guiding. The commitment is strong and the responsibility even more, but I am determined to keep raising the standards and working to improve the already best salmon river in the world. I am committed to providing our guests with an unforgettable experience; just like the one I had many years ago.

This season I was reminded again what a truly special place Ponoi. The season started tough, a long winter made opening camp very hard, resulting in moving the opening week back by a week. But after a tough opener, every aspect of camp and fishing started off in perfect shape. A good height and clear water made things even better.

The June weeks produced good numbers, but the summer months were amazing and up from previous years, taking catches up to 50 percent higher with an even higher percentage of bright fish. Our guests were enjoying the Ponoi at its very best. Warmer days slowly began to move in and leaves started budding making the fishing good and the riverbanks very picturesque. July followed with incredible catches, making 2008 the best ever summer run, both in number and quality of sea-lice fish. Before we could realize summer was fading, the river produced the first strong fresh fall run fish. The fish were running early, strong and in very good numbers, in fact the third best fall run ever.

Fifteen years ago we started a serious scientific study, which is paying back, making the Ponoi a prolific Atlantic salmon heaven. The anti-poaching policy is continuing to be enforced by having full time river guard camps in both the mouth to prevent small netting activities and in Kolmac tributary to stop fishing beyond our boundaries. 2008 also welcomed the new Hovercraft, which delivered guests dry and warm down river. This was a very welcomed improvement for the programme at Ponoi.

After hot showers, delicious appetizers were awaiting hungry guests as Denis Dimitrovsky, our five-star camp chef, prepared for dinner. The bar turned into a true meeting point where guests gathered after fishing hours to enjoy a cold draft beer and chat about their daily fishing battles. Some didn’t even make it out of their waders before they were sipping on coffee or enjoying a drink.

Our down river, 8 rod exclusive camp Brevyeni, also had a dream start and records were broken on a daily basis, making 2008 their best season yet. Our guests were amazed at the comfort and hospitality of the staff. Brevyeni waters are truly incredible making the Ponoi River an even more unique experience. Guest are looking forward to returning to every rock, break and riffle to catch those elusive salmon that once rose to their flies, before turning and heading back to sea.

Once again, the Ponoi performed up to its reputation and is a promise for a new, more exciting 2009 season. Expectations are very high following the fantastic Fall run. The Ponoi is now working hard in all post and pre-season aspects to ensure once again, a more unique experience to all our new and always, loyal rods.

Looking forward to your visit, tight lines,

Steve Estela
Managing Director
Ponoi River Co.

With 17 years experience fishing and operating the Ponoi, Tarquin Millington-Drake reflects on this past season and what the river might mean to different levels of fisherman.

Those that selected the Ponoi as the river of choice in 1990 had to make a quick decision with minimal knowledge of any Kola river but their choice turned out to be a masterful judgement. The river enjoys fresh fish belonging to one run or another from the day we start fishing to the day we leave, and well beyond. It is extraordinarily resilient to all conditions and weather. Fish are caught no matter what. Furthermore, for a river this size, it has been impressively responsive to the conservation measures put in place in 1994 when the ‘rus’ or ‘counting fence’ was removed from the mouth of the river, and catch and release with tagging was introduced as an alternative method of population measurement.

As the years went by, the parr densities increased and Russian and US scientists began to predict that numbers of fish caught would increase to something none of us imagined were possible. 2000 fish in a week was even mentioned. In 2003, they were proved right when over 1800 fish were caught to twenty rods. A memorable week but that was not the only crazy week during those years. This was also the time when the bigger fish, including the 31 lb record, were caught.

To bring the story full circle, what goes up, must come down and natural cycles still exist at the Ponoi as much as any other Atlantic salmon river. We are told that the averages of the upwards and downwards trends will be higher. In other words, the highs will be higher and the lows will be less low. This too seems to be taking its course. We have seen a trend downwards which now appears to be over but we have not seen the lows anything like those before the millenium and we were all pretty impressed back then!

The 2008 season appears to have been the turning point from the recent downward trend. The key is the upturn in numbers of fish this summer (which broke all records) and the much-improved autumn run which is the third best since 2000. I remember clearly guiding the autumn weeks in 1999 and 2000 listening to camp scientist Sergei Prusov predicting vast numbers of fish as the removal of the net at the mouth of the river in 1994 took effect. During those seasons, there was also a very clear trend of larger fish which Sergei also said was typical and in keeping with less fish. The less fish, we were catching about 5500 a season then) the bigger they are in the autumn, the more there are, the more uniform the size at 10 – 12 lbs. In 2000, one week, we caught 25 fish over 20lbs.

Whether there were correct explanations or not, in terms of fish arriving late as speculated, the fact is that by 2002, the runs of salmon were huge and in 2003, the predictions of extreme numbers came true with that week of over 1800 fish and autumn weeks of close to 1000 fish. Everyone went crazy but the scientist was there in the background quietly reminding us that the cycles will still occur. Sure enough, in 2004, the indicator was there and the fish-per-rod average for the season went down from 47 to 33. It went down further to 25 fish per rod for the season in 2005 but recent years have shown a stable level from 32 – 38 fish per rod so the lowest of this low period was 25, all the other averages of the low period were over 30 fish per rod per week. The clearest trend of all is the fact that if a good autumn is had then the spring has a better than average chance of being good. The average ratio is that the first six weeks of the next season produce 1.88 times that of the last six weeks of the previous autumn. Of course there are variables, such as the very late spring this year, but the trend is there and if it is right, spring 2009 will be the second best spring since 2000 and therefore the second best ever.

Having the amount of water that we do (Ryabaga enjoys 67 km of fishing), the runs of fish are always somewhere and we can get there quickly and easily, without a helicopter. The size of fish varies greatly, we have caught tiny grilse through to fish of over 30 lbs. We start the season with tons of autumn/winter fish as well as fresh fish and just when things are slowing down, the summer run arrives. Just when they are slowing down the autumn fish arrive. The river is amazing across the entire 18-week season.

But what about from the fisherman’s perspective?

So what does all this information mean to us, the fisherman? For me, firstly, it means a greater faith in the science of Atlantic salmon. This river has enjoyed tremendous attention and professionalism and it is impressive that Sergei Prusov and Fred Whorisky are so in touch with what is going on. That is interesting to all of us, novice or guru and we all learn from it every year. But the Ponoi offers something to everybody. It is a river that all fishermen can enjoy from all levels of experience.

Below are some reflections on what the Ponoi might mean to each category.

The Novice – There is no greater academy for Atlantic salmon fishing than the Ponoi. In a week, the international team of guides, all of whom speak perfect English, will have you casting, spey-casting, snake rolling, everything. I have witnessed this countless times. Novices arrive doubting and lacking in confidence, they leave with excellent skills and with numerous fish under the belt.

The Intermediate – This is the rod that has caught a fair few Atlantic salmon, more than 100. Atlantic salmon fishing is all about experience. Where fish lie, fly speed, depth, angle, how they react, how to get them back etc. What other rivers will teach and yield in terms of experience in years, the Ponoi will provide in a week. The catching is not the point, it’s the rises, follows, boils and how to respond to them, where the fish are lying and how to fish to that lie where the master-class takes place. I have seen people mature into top, thinking fishermen through their time on the river.

The Experienced – What does the experienced rod want most? Big fish in the 30-50 lb range - the Ponoi is not for you. Strong fish, responsive fish, aggressive fish, the Ponoi ticks all those boxes. What they really want is time alone on the water to test themselves. How does 5 km of new wading each day sound? The Ponoi is one of the few rivers that can be waded for miles. There is the odd bluff to get around but there are miles and miles of wading in safety. Reading all that water, knowing which water to walk past, which to slow down for, when to wade deep and when to stay out. If the experienced rod wants to be challenged, there is plenty of virgin wading to test anyone, I have fished it for 17 years and still find it challenging.Autumn Run coming back strongly…

There is no doubt that during recent years (2005-2007) the famous autumn run of the Ponoi has not been as it should. It has been a slight mystery to us all because they have always shown up on the same day (even taking account of the Leap Year this year!) but the run has rather faded mid-autumn season, coming back strongly at the end. The fishing in the spring the next year has always been strong and therefore the conclusion has been that the run was perhaps a little weaker but late.

This season, there was a wonderful summer run. The best since Manager, Will Casella, has been keeping his detailed records in his famous excel sheets! The highest fish per rod per day since 2004, double for a couple of weeks to be exact. As a result, a strong autumn run was expected and this is becoming a reality. This week, over 200 of these silver bruisers have been landed in the first four days. This total, in recent years, has been close the total for the week whereas we expect this week to be closer or over 600 fish.

We are delighted with this news because, those that have stayed loyal to their autumn weeks, are being rewarded with wonderful fishing and incredible, strong fish.

Keep watching as this part of the season evolves. Things are looking great for the end of the season and indeed, the spring of 2009.

New Images of Purnache and Brevyeni Camps are now up!

Fresh images from this spring from both the above camps are now posted. Go to either the Purnache or Brevyeni sections shown in the menu above and have a look at over 120 new shots of the camps and fishing.

Reserve your spots for 2009 now!