Fall Has Arrived and So Have the Fish
Weekly Report: September 13 - 19 2021
With our Fall Run in full swing, it was a pleasure to welcome a group of guests from the UK and Russia. Ryabaga has been experiencing true fall conditions for a while now, with cold temperatures hovering around 6 degrees C and a vibrant orange and yellow taking over the landscape across the river. Cold nights have dropped the river down to about 5 or 6 degrees C, but the salmon keep entering our waters.
This week Ryabaga anglers pursued a fish in the river's shallow, fast stretches, the deeper holding water, and everything in between. Anglers fished both above and below Camp, though the best action seemed to be concentrated in the Purnache, Gold Beach, and Clough Creek beats. That said, this is Atlantic salmon fishing: a specific beat may produce well on a given day, but here on Ponoi we are confident that a monster bright fish might appear anywhere in our water at this time of year.
Ryabaga veteran Jane S. wasted no time in getting down to business, and she brought 11 salmon to hand on her first day. This certainly made for a warm welcome back to the Ponoi! Other guests followed suit, and some sizeable bright fish followed in the fishing days to come. With an average of 27 fish per rod there was constant action all around and a good number of the catch this week were fresh, fall-run salmon over the 10 lb. mark.
On day 2 our friend Paul D caught several fish with guide Alexey, and a few trophies among them. He landed a 20.5 lb. fin perfect fall-run and then followed it up with one around 17 lbs.
On day 3 each boat came in with a bright fish over the 10 lb. mark, but Malcolm's 18 lb. fresh fish in Clough Creek turned a few heads in the big tent later that night.
On Day 4, Jane S. landed a magnificent 20 lb. bright fish with guide Cullan in Clough Creek. Len S. went on a big fish streak the last few days, landing a 15, 14, and 12 lb. fish on days 4 and 5.
On the last day he found the fish of the week, a sea-liced 22 lb. beauty in the Hourglass Beat that was landed after a great battle. In addition to the great fishing on the river, Sam C. enjoyed some fantastic action in Home Pool and came in to breakfast every morning with a photo of a bright fish taken around sunrise. Some of these were large, multi-sea winter salmon pushing 13-14 lbs.
Only on Ponoi can you catch a perfect fresh salmon before the morning's coffee. It's truly an amazing start to the day! It has been a pleasure to open Ryabaga to guests from around the world once again, and to welcome back old friends who've fished the river for years along with some new but now proven salmon anglers. As the fall continues, we can't wait to see how the run develops. For current updates and photos from the river be sure to check out our social media accounts (@ponoiriverco). Until next time, tight lines and thanks for sharing this special place with us. All the Best, Max Kantor Ryabaga Camp Manager