World Class Fishing In Kamchatka (Russia)

There are few places left on earth that can be described as genuine wilderness. One of them is Kamchatka! This is the land of geysers, hot springs, about 300 volcanoes (29 of which are active) and beautiful rivers full of fish – the biggest and the most plentiful in the world: king salmon (chavycha), Coho (silver) salmon, Arctic char, rainbow trout, Siberian char. This must be the ultimate outdoor experience – extinct volcanoes in the background, fish swimming in crystal clear waters, a bear plodding along the river-bank and the cleanest air in the world. Naturally this enormous and unspoilt wilderness has an abundance of rare wild animals: herds of bears, wolves, Siberian elks, snow sheep, sables, minks etc.

Located on the western coast Opala is a clear watered small river, 30-70 meters wide and 0,5-01,5 meters deep flowing with a speed of 1,6-1,8 m/sec. Ideal for fly fishing. The length of the river is 161 km. The area of the headwaters is 4070 km2. Besides the large population of rainbow trout, the Opala is filled with temptations for the fly fisherman. Each year few hundreds of king salmon, 5-6,000 sockeye salmon and 30,000 coho salmon do their best to fill up the river. Opala has interesting attractions along the way: a huge volcano, hot and cold springs, gas springs, exciting white water rapids, and also many of the Kamchatka's amazing, shy and absolutely beautiful bears. It has lots of large rainbows – the queen of the Kamchatka fishing, a big run of malma and plenty of Arctic char. The river is small at the top and gets medium sized near its end. It has a lot of islands, is fairly braided and great for wade fishing.

Itinerary:

Day 1. Arrive Petropavlovsk
Arrive in Petropavlovsk. Transfer to our hotel in Paratunka - 30 km from the airport for overnight.

Day 2. Transfer to the river
Helicopter flight to the river Opala (40 min). Please, note that on some of our departures the transfer to the river is on 4x4 and will take about 8 hours.

Day 3-8. Fishing and drifting
Daily schedule: Coffee at 8.00, breakfast at 8.30. Floating by 9:30 or so, lunch at app. 13:00. By about 18:00 we build a new camp, dinner is around 20:00.
On the river we have complete moveable camps. Our large dining tent affords us shade and shelter. Our aluminium boat boxes and large ice chests double as seats in the rafts and around our large dining table. We camp right at great fishing holes. It’s a wonderful way to see the country and wildlife as we fish and enjoy the wilderness. You have lots of time for fishing as you’re on the river the whole time. We have a portable shower which we put up once or twice a trip. Water for it is heated over the fire. We sleep in tents, provided by the Russian crew but you must put them up and pack them yourselves each day. If you want to sleep alone bring your own tent. The dining tent is taken care of by the guides.

Day 9. Back to Petropavlovsk
Transfer back to Petropavlovsk in 4x4, ca. 300 km/8-9 hours drive.

Day 10: In Petropavlovsk
A spare day in Petropavlovsk. Optional trip to Geyser Valley.

Day 11. Departure
Transfer to the airport. Departure

Recommended travel period of the year: June-October

Necessary equipment: We provide the group with tents and cooking gear. You should bring with you: sleeping bag; warm clothes (at night it gets chilly), wading suit (neoprene preferably), mosquito repellent or a hat with netting covering the face and the neck. For the full list with recommended items see “General” in the detailed trip dossier.

Good to know:
Bears - There is a great chance to see one of the Kamchatka bears – unlike the bears in North America they are not considered dangerous and are very shy. Photographers are recommended to bring a 200-300 mm telephoto lens. Our guides are very experienced in handling bears.

Tips/gratitudes - It is customary to give a gratitude to the guides and cook after a good trip. We recommend around 75 US$ per guest. Gratitude is often collected and handed over to the chief guide.

Fishing information: There is excellent fishing for huge rainbow trout, 6 species of Pacific Salmon, kumzha and Arctic char. Rainbows average 55 cm. and we’ve caught them up to 75! Kamchatka has large coastal rainbow trout which run from 2,2 to 5kg and enter the river from spring on. Arctic char are present all summer. Kumzha (East Siberian char) are great fighters and commonly grow to 5kg! Salmon arrival times vary from stream to stream but generally arrive the same time in Kamchatka as Alaska. We fish for King salmon from late June through July. Silvers (coho) arrive end of August and run through October. Chum & Sockeye Salmon arrive in July and August. Pinks run early August through September, but only strong on even numbered years.

Price Includes:
Rafts steered by English speaking fishing guides; 1 guide per 3-4 rods
all meals on the river
cook
tents
matresses
cooking utensils
transfer to river and return
fishing licenses
overnight in hotel in Paratunka incl. breakfast on days 7 & 9 and 10
visa invitation
airport transfers

Not Included:
International flights and flight Moscow-Petropavlovsk and vv.
Russian visa
tips
alcohol drinks
fishing gear
personal expenses

Vacation Extensions:
The Kamchatka Volcanoes Trek (Russia)