Fishing Seasons
We tend to schedule Exploratory Expeditions during the most weather and water-stable weeks of late July through early September.

We monitor river conditions throughout the season and maintain the flexibility to take advantage of localized weather. Though the terrain, topography and hydrology can be different from river to river, by and large the fishing methods and climactic conditions are uniform across the peninsula.

July is the warmest month of the year in Kamchatka with day time temperatures usually between 60 and 80 degrees. As such, this is the peak dry fly fishing time with often heavy the mayfly and caddis hatches. It’s a sight to behold to float silently around a bend and be confronted with 50 trout noses puncturing the smooth surface of the river in elegant head-dorsal-tail rises. Trout feed exclusively on bugs, mice and salmon smolt, and representative fly patterns all work well. Present as always are also kundzha (white spotted) char. Being the warmest month, July is also mosquito season. Most people find the trade-off worth it for the surface fishing opportunities, but if you have a low mosquito tolerance level, consider a trip later in the season.

August is the middle of the season. The salmon enter the river and the full cycle of life is laid out in full magnificence. Rainbows are targeted with mouse and streamer flies, and dry fly fishing is often found in the evenings. Some river systems may hold runs of silver (coho) or other salmon, and most have solid runs ofdolly varden. By the middle of the month, biting insects are gone completely.
September is fall in Kamchatka. It can be chilly, in the 50-degree range. And with sunny weather can come frosty nights. It is also the most photogenic time of year to be amid the sub-arctic taiga and tundra foliage as it turns to blazing yellows, reds and oranges with a backdrop of snow-capped volcanoes. Trout are easily taken with surface skaters like mouse and floating baitfish patterns. Salmon are in full spawn in late August and September. Literally millions of fish bring the river completely alive. It is an overpowering sensory experience to see an ecosystem so healthy and pristine. Important to note also is that trout in Kamchatka do not get “tunnel vision” for salmon eggs as they do in Alaska, so no need for egg patterns, beads, split shot and strike indicators. Mice, streamers, dry flies and a floating line is usually all you need.

There are three fishing methods that you’re likely to employ when probing virgin water:

• Mouse
  Real mice slip and fall into the river from overhanging limbs and grass and then swim like a cork at a down-and-across angle. As they swim, they throw small V-wake contrails off their backs which the trout key to. Anglers replicate this action by plopping their flies against the opposite bank and skittering them across the river, on tension and under control. What follows has got to be the most exciting thing in freshwater flyfishing. Since a live mouse in the stomach of a rainbow trout can do some damage, they tend to take the fly with a ferocious, bone-crushing chomp. This behavior takes place on the surface, totally visible to the angler. The skill comes in controlling your nerves to NOT set the hook when the fish merely swirls behind it - sometime 2, 3, 4 or more times - before actually committing.
• Dry Fly
  Traditional floating line and size #10-18 gray bodied caddis and mayfly imitations are used with staggering success on some rivers, especially in July, less so in August, and again quite successfully in September. The fish tend not to be picky on the specific pattern. However, with so much food floating past their feeding lies, it is critical to deliver a reasonably accurate and truly dead drifted presentation. If the fly floats within an inch or so of the trout’s nose, the chances of it rising are very good.
• Streamer
  Salmon smolt and other juvenile fish make up a significant portion of Kamchatka trout and chars’ diets. Clousers, woolly buggers, string leeches, baitfish and sculpin patterns all work very well throughout the season. Small fish elicit a chase response from their predators, so often it is best to give the fly a little movement as it swings through the water column. And like with the mouse, it’s best to learn to identify likely structure in the river (tree roots, riffles, pools, rocks, undercut banks, etc.) that offer the fish a rest area of calm current adjacent to heavier currents where they can surprise-attack their food.