The Fishing and Seasons

July is the warmest month of the year in Kamchatka and typically has the most reliable weather, with day time temperatures between 60 and 80 degrees. Rain and 50 degree days can happen ANY time of the year, however. Mouse and streamer fishing is consistent from the very beginning to the very end of the summer. The lower Sedanka also has limited traditional dry fly fishing in July when mayfly and caddis hatches are at their heaviest. There are no salmon in the river at this time, but present as always are the native 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. Chum and sockeye salmon enter the river and the cycle of life in the spring creek is laid out in full magnificence. Rainbows are targeted with mouse and streamer flies. And the hundreds of thousands of dolly varden char add even more action to the day for those who can stand it. By the middle of the month the mosquitos, black flies and no-see-ums are completely gone.

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, and with “big nasty” leech and baitfish patterns. 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 or strike indicators. Mice, streamers, dry flies and a floating line is usually all you need on the Sedanka.

There are two flyfishing methods used on the lower Sedanka:

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 back end which the trout key to. Anglers replicate this action by plopping their flies against the opposite bank and skittering them out 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 considerable damage, the fish 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.

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 on the Sedanka 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, riffle-pools, rocks, undercut banks, etc.) that offer rest areas adjacent to heavier currents where fish can surprise-attack their food.