WFS 283 – Kamchatka Fly Fishing with Will Blair

Show Notes: wetflyswing.com/283

Presented By: Stonefly Nets, Fly Fishing Film Tours, Trxstle, Togens Fly Shop

Sponsors: wetflyswing.com/sponsors

Will Blair, the guy who’s been leading Kamchatka wilderness trips for 25 years, breaks down the step by step on how to do a trip to Kamchatka. We find out why this place is so much different than Alaska, with lots of untouched waters you can explore today.

Will shares the story of how he and his partner Victor started the lodge during a challenging time and now have one of the most unique trips in the world. We also hear about where Will was during the 9/11 attack plus the funny story of a bear who loves taking Pepsi from their lodge. We cover it all today in the longest fly fishing podcast episode in the history of the Wet Fly Swing Podcast!

This is definitely a record-breaking episode so don’t miss this one!

Kamchatka Show Notes with Will Blair

03:20 – Rick Kustich was recently on the podcast at WFS 277

04:00 – Will worked in Bristol Bay, Alaska for a decade – at Katmai Lodge

04:42 – You can find 30″ rainbows in Naknek, Kvichak, and Kenai

07:08 – Bruce King was the head of the Kenai River rainbow trout program

07:21 – Roger Bloom runs the California wild trout program for 30 years

08:08 – Ozernaya has huge hatches of stoneflies, caddisflies, mayflies

13:17 – There’s a secret spring creek in Southwest Michigan

24:03 – Will and another guy from Colorado started Kamchatka Expeditions

24:25 – Will met Victor Rebrikov who became his partner then and now

29:24 – Will and Victor started The Best of Kamchatka

34:04 – Will talks about the river down below the canyon on the Oz called The Big Bluff

37:12 – Hook size restriction is implemented to avoid killing the fish

39:21 – Kamchatka rainbow

40:00 – Leopard rainbow trout

44:25 – Steelhead in Kamchatka are considered “Redbook species” which are endangered species and you can’t just fish for them

49:00 – Kamchatka Buttercup

49:56 – Kamchatka is not the place for Salmon fishing

56:48 – Will describes how their team get to Kamchatka from Petropavlovsk

1:00:36 – In 2014, Will started a flyout program called Rainbows from Above

1:03:11 – Fly Fishing in the Anthropocene

1:06:26 – Tiger tracks found in Yakutia 

1:06:41 – The Tiger by John Vaillant

1:09:10 – There are about 20,000 brown bears in Kamchatka

1:11:19 – Will tells the story of the bear who loves Pepsi Cola

1:13:06 – Video of Kamchatka Lycas chasing the bear off (at 3:13)

1:16:43 – Victor signed a 49-year federal lease with the Russian Government for the entire Two Yurt River Valley

01:20:51 – Dolly Lama Fly

1:22:24 – The camp

1:28:24 – There are 29 active volcanos in Kamchatka which produces geothermal water

1:42:53 – 9 foot, 7-hand, single hand, with floating line is the perfect rod for Will

1:47:33 – Will tells the story of where he was during the 9/11 attack

1:52:48 – Will tells the story of his right-hand man Yegor

1:58:30 – Will recommends ExploreKamchatka.com

1:59:47 – Kamchatka trip costs 10-15k

2:02:08 – The Best of Kamchatka is an Orvis endorsed outfitter and works with Yellow Dog Fly Fishing Adventures

Kamchatka Conclusion with Will Blair

We learned about the step by step on how to do a trip to Kamchatka and we learned why this place is so much different than Alaska.

Will told the story of how he and his partner, Victor started The Best of Kamchatka. We discovered what it’s like to fish in Kamchatka as Will describes.

This is definitely going on our bucket list!

Show Notes: wetflyswing.com/283