Umba river – Few Salmon Rivers on the Kola Peninsula, or in the world for that matter, have had such a spellbinding and deeply felt effect on Salmon anglers from all over the world. For many of them it has almost become a lifelong love affair and you may witness hardened and weather-beaten anglers become all “mushy”, when they reflect and talk about Umba. Such is the character of this river and there are really very few places left in this world like it.
There are rivers on the Kola Peninsula, where you have the chance of catching higher numbers of smaller fish – but the unique mix of quantity-size and quality, that you will find on in Umba is unparalleled, and so is the price.
The Umba river system has something like five different salmon runs each year and some of these consist of fish specially “designed” (pumped up in protein) to spend almost 2 years in the river before returning to sea! An incredible feat actually – homage and respect to the salmon.
As May ends and we move into the end of June, the summer will manifest itself with high-pressure weather and bright sunny weather, sometimes 24 hours a day. Needless to say that these conditions will affect the fishing, but you may be astonished to hear that it sometimes improves catches. The amount of summer fish on our beats is probably peaking middle of June. Regarding the fish – two major things happen during this period. We see an increase in fresh grilse so that the salmon to grilse ratio goes up towards 1:1. But we also encounter some of the overwintering or hibernating fish bound for an 18 months stay in the river before spawning, and you will not be in doubt when you hook one of those. Being up to 25% heavier measured in length these bombs will make your lower jaw hit your chest and have you recheck your backing…
The average summer run salmon will be between 7 and 15 lb. but every week will see bigger fish landed – usually males and sometimes well over 20 lb.
Available prime weeks season 2013 – Euro 2850 per rod
25/5 – 1/6 – 4 open rods
1/6 – 8/6 – 4 open rods
8/6 – 15/6 – 3 open rods
15/6 – 23/6 – 2 open rods
Travel to Umba – One day extra fishing free of charge! The bus leaves Murmansk airport on Saturday at 01.00 a.m and arrives at the Umba Lodge early the same morning. Fishing starts around noon after some hours sleep. If you prefer to arrive in Murmansk later on the Saturday, you must pay for the additional extra transport costs. Upon arrival at Murmansk airport, you will be greeted by a Salmon Junkies representative and guided to your bus. The drive to Umba takes about five hours, but there is a short stop in Kandalaksha where you can enjoy a small snack and drink. The last part of the drive from Kandalaksha is 105 km and goes deep into the Taiga. It quickly becomes obvious just how far away from civilisation you really are – there is a reason why Umba is called ‘the end of the world’. The drive to Umba is pretty comfortable as the road has been improved considerably recently. The route sees us take the main road to St. Petersburg, providing a good insight into the region.
Umba Itinerary
- Friday/Day 1: Arrive Murmansk airport in the evening. Bus drive to Umba departs 01.00 Saturday morning. Approximately five hours bus drive to Umba.
- Saturday/Day 2: After some rest, fishing Umba/Krivetz river. (Euro 30 per rod for guide)
- Sunday/ Day 3: Salmon fishing – Umba/Krivetz river
- Monday/Day 4: Salmon fishing – Umba/Krivetz river
- Tuesday 7/Day 5: Salmon fishing – Umba/Krivetz river
- Wednesday/Day 6: Salmon fishing – Umba/Krivetz river
- Thursday/Day 7: Salmon fishing – Umba/Krivetz river
- Friday/Day 8: Salmon fishing – Umba/Krivetz river
- Saturday/Day 9: Depart Umba Lodge 01.00 in the morning, arriving Murmansk around 06.00 in order to catch the first flights back to Moscow or St. Petersburg.
For more information please contact Steffen Juhl sj@salmonjunkies.com