Russia - Pic Intensive!!

[highdrifter]

Okay, it's been almost a couple months or so since I’ve been lurking.. I shall forever be the great procrastinator...

 

Pretty cruddy summer so far eh?! Steady rains have mucked our beloved harbor and the fishing has been slow to say the least. I’ve been plugging away at her lately with a big zilch to write home about… It’s truly depressing and it’s probably obvious from some of my posts or lack thereof. It’s a downer when you read about all these awesome adventures and you got nothing. Forget writers block; the fishing just plain sucks nowadays.

 

The best months for piking have gone by too quickly without much action, partly because the water has been too dirty. It’s been so stained that the weed growth has suffered a lot, and no cabbage means less hidy holes and ambush points for esox. It almost seems as though the fish had moved to the Islands and to clearer water where they could bulk up a little after the spawn. Recently, the water has cleared up some and we’ve been seeing fish, but there’s no interest in what we’re throwing at them. Thank the huge masses of baitfish still hovering around and the ever increasing fishing pressure for that one. Even larger fish scatter at the sight of pricey minnow baits thrashing enticingly just a tail shot away. Worst downer yet is the feeling that I’m partly responsible. Either this or there's too much on my chest and my technique is suffering. Good chi plays a big part in being successful.

 

On the upside, me and the lass have recently started an HVAC Filter business together, a venture proposed to us by her father, and things are starting to pick up. In June, we acquired a new facility complete with a large storage/production space and a nice office for Tanya. She takes care of accounting and sales, and I'm in charge of production and stock, so I’m the man of the house you could say; the shop is mine. Drop me a PM for all your HVAC filter needs lol!!

 

Some more good news, Tanya and I are engaged! I admit; it’s taken some time get adjusted to the non-bachelor lifestyle and to grasp the big picture, but it's great to be part of something bigger than yourself and the idea of adding ten years to my fisher lifespan is pretty good. And oh yeah, I’m crazy about her. Manhood is at hand, my friends.

 

Was up in New Liskeard in early June and it was down by the big pond, at one of my favorite shore fishing spots, that I popped the big question. And she said YES!!

 

 

 

Thought I’d include a pic of our sale boat, Claire de Lune (Moonlight).

 

 

 

The fun begins. A week later, we were off to Moscow for Tanya to see her mom and dad and make the big announcement. We would be busy sightseeing and visiting her father’s filter production business where I was to be put to work, so fishing would be out of the question. However, half of our trip was to be spent visiting Tanya’s aunt and uncle, who live in the neighboring country of Latvia, who as it turns out happen to own a small summer home out in the country, the Dacha!!

 

Tanya assured me that there would be the opportunity to do a little fishing, so after some translated google research about local species and tactics, I made sure to pack some baits and a stradic… Pike, walleye and perch it appears have very similar counterparts there, all with their own special characteristics and names. I got all giddy thinking about the possibility of hooking into a monster pike in another continent, so I awaited this part of the trip with great anticipation.

 

I should mention that the furthest I had ever travelled in the past was to visit family in the UK (I’m half brit doncha know), so this trip was going to top it up a big notch. Flying doesn’t agree with me, so the idea of being stuck in a plane with screaming kids for almost 12 hours had me feeling a little queasy.

 

But fly we did, with a plane full of antsy tourists and a connection in Prague. Total travel time, with layover; approx 12 hours. It didn’t help much that the brand new airport that we landed in was in the far outskirts of the city. Once we cleared customs, we ran to catch a train, subway, another train, public taxi… It was a total rat race of tired confusion.

 

Apart from the constant hustle and total culture shock, Moscow is an incredible city. I find myself getting into it more as I recount our experiences and things I am privy to have seen. One in particular; Tanya’s father has a filtration production in a war torn part of Moscow, located in an industrial complex that someone had acquired after the war. The lower levels had been restored and were now being rented. The premise was heavily guarded and was encircled with high cement walls and trench wire. I needed to flash a fake Russian ID at the gate and the entrance to the office. My name was Sergei Lobachov!

 

The production and office were some ways apart so I got some good photo opps while we shuffled between the two. What an eerie feeling to walk amongst such a place.. Even snapping pics had to be done in a covert fashion, so as not to raise any suspicion...

 

 

 

Of course, some of the lower units had not been restored and were utilized in a more sinister way...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A plack commemorating 2 consecutive visits from Lenin in 1920 and again in 1921.

 

 

 

Another freaky memory; on the very first evening we had arrived, Tanya's parents took us for a walk on the grounds of an old mansion that had been allowed to reforest. There was still light at 11pm and we were returning to the apartment, when we stepped past a scantily clad young girl lying face down in the grass beside a curb. I was told not to utter a single word as we walked past several uniformed police officers. It wasn’t until we passed them that I noticed the creased body bag behind her. Apparently, the girl had OD’d moments earlier. This deeply disturbed me and Tanya’s parents made their best to explain that this sort of thing happens in the big city.. That I should be so lucky. Guess I'm very lucky to be here.

 

The good part of the trip was truly awesome though. We visited the Kremlin, Red Square, Moscow University and their HUGE bazaar to name a few, all the while being pampered by Tanya’s very gratious parents. We saw the circus, went shoe shopping (I drew the line when we walked into a suit store HAH!!) and Nick got us the best table at the Yar restaurant, where the quail I had cost more than the shoes. Talk about lavish!

 

 

 

There was even an elaborate cabaret show to keep us entertained, and to keep the Vodkah from getting stale.

 

 

 

A few more pics before we move on...

 

Russian Space Shuttle, along the banks of the Moscow Rivah!!

 

 

 

Typical scene on the train...

 

 

 

Rush Hour, downtown Moscow..

 

 

 

Inside the Kremlin. Tzar cannon. The balls I'm told weighed a ton each!!

 

 

 

Tzar Bell...

 

 

 

Leningrad. Now the city of Saint Petersburg.

 

 

 

Local beheading station!!

 

 

 

Lenin and Nickolai the 2nd, or whas it the 3rd hahah!!

 

 

 

Some ammature birding... A crow. Or is it??!!

 

 

 

 

After four exhausting days of this, we were finally off to Latvia and freedom!!

 

Tanya’s mom knew it would be a long grueling transit to our next destination, so she rushed to get me some tall suds before we embarked. Apparently, alcohol is permitted as long as it’s not spirits and you don’t get sloshed on the bus!!

 

 

 

There's never enough suds.. Four hours later and I'm half in the bag, and there's still another 8 hours to go and I gotta get through customs, a lost Canadian with no courage!!

 

I did get through though, with no issues save an agent who seemed annoyed that I didn't speak Russian or Latvian. No random strip searches for me this time!!

 

 

Finnaly, a sign we're getting close. It's 4am and I've yet to get a wink of sleep, so I'm going on pure adrenaline at this point...

 

 

 

If ever one travels to the country of Latvia, they can't help but to be impressed by the vastness of the countryside... Just an incredible expanse of Bohemian Landscape. I had no interest in the scenery though, my eyes were tuned to the sight of fresh water. I saw several lakes and rivers along the way that just had to hold monsters, including the Daugavpils river on the edge of Town, but all I could do was stare out the window, slobbering . I was told there were lots of fish here, but that I had to wait until we went to the summer house to wet a line. What a tease!!

 

Daugavpils Rivah!!

 

 

 

Fast forward to Dacha.

 

To heck with it, I need to get back at her and I can't let this sit again for another month. I’ll let the pics speak for themselves. There's a few of em!!

 

Nothing too exciting, as the only fishing I did was in the swamp behind the house LOL. It turns out this was all I needed to get inspired. The neighbour's pond was the largest so we started there.

 

 

Fishing is way too easy, all you gotta do is string up and send it. Simple as that. Uncle Erick helping me set up this retractable beast of a pole. It was 7 meters long!!

 

 

 

Chummin..

 

 

 

After an hour of fighting with the pole and that blasted duck weed, I caught my first fish!! Hopefully, someone out there can give me a positive ID..

 

 

 

I caught several of these, including lots of what appeared to be gobbies, but this was the best pic taken.

 

 

Erick would promptly release some of them in his newly dug out pond. The gobbies were tossed in the bushes of course.

 

 

 

I swore I could see some stick figures hanging from the trees... Creepy!!

 

 

 

A little colour. The garden was a sight to behold!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some wild strawberries..

 

 

 

We ate our fill and drank our fill too!!

 

 

 

And that's it.. Oh, we stayed in Riga, the capital of Latvia, for one night before flying back to Toronto. It was great to finally have some time to ourselves. Not surprisingly, this is the only picture I took here...

 

 

 

Hope you enjoyed.

 

cheers

HD

[Roy]

A super report Fidel!

 

I'd say your fish is a bream. Either common bream or white bream.

[TC1OZ]

I would love to travel there!

 

Thanks for the report!

[Joey]

Wow, what a super report Fidel, very impressive. Very interesting and great pics. Sorry to hear about your engagement

 

Seriously, congrats dude

 

Joey

[drwxr]

Crucian carp,

my favourite fish when i was a kid.

[drwxr]

A super report Fidel!

 

I'd say your fish is a bream. Either common bream or white bream.

sorry but its not a bream , although its in top 5 targeted fish species back there.

[Radnine]

The balls I'm told weighed a ton each!!

 

Wait 'till you have been married for a while, that'll seem small (and they'll be blue!)

Congrats on everything, I've always wanted an oligark in the family.

Jim

[chinookhunter]

nice pics

[LeXXington]

Great report Fidel and congrats on the engagement..

 

Russia is a place I really want too see, oh the history!!

 

Thanks for the pics.

[kickingfrog]

And the add at the top and bottom of this page is????

 

 

 

Always neat to see how other cultures, I just wish I could do it more often.

[Jonny]

I thoroughly enjoyed your report. Thanks for taking the time to post such an extensive "travelogue" complete with some great pictures.

 

And congratulations on your engagement.

[Dutch]

Great pics and story.

 

Sounds like a real good trip.

 

Thanks for sharing!

[Kilka]

That fish is called a Karas' in russian (the last s is soft). Not sure what it's called in English but it's a carp species. Very tasty.

Edited August 19, 2009 by Kilka

[highdrifter]

That fish is called a Karas' in russian (the last s is soft). Not sure what it's called in English but it's a carp species. Very tasty.

 

Ya just jogged my memory!! Erick said the name a few times. Pretty kewl!!

 

cheers

[Daplumma]

Most exellent report.

[Slop]

Congratulations on your engagement Fidel!! I'm envious of your adventures across the pond. Best of luck in your new business.

 

Give me a hollah if your evah in the capital.

[Hooked]

First off, congratulations on the engagement Fidel!

I'd have to say, that was a stellar report mang! It's too bad you didn't get into some big water fishing, cuz I'm sure there are some brutes to be had out there. But I have a feeling that your time will come out there again. That is an experience and a half and looked like fun, I think next time it'll be more chilled for you and some big fish to be had. BTW, how was the brew out there?

Edited August 19, 2009 by Hooked

[icefisherman]

We ate our fill and drank our fill too!!

 

 

What do you know about the drink on this picture?

Just checking you as I am very familiar with it and it has nothing to do with Latvia or Russia for that matter

 

Cheers,

Ice Fisherman

[b2kptbo]

Very cool, thanks for sharing...

[blaque]

This is a shining example that a post with only one fish in it can be one of the most entertaining , even on a fishing discussion board.

 

That was awesome drifter

[John]

 

 

Congrat's Fidel....great post. Easy to tell who wears the pants though!

Edited August 19, 2009 by John

[snag]

Nice catch!

Tanya, that is

 

She's way out of your league. What a cutie!

 

You've definitely been a busy boy these days. Hopefully the fall will be kind to us.

 

We have to arrange a business meeting soon

 

 

Congrats on the pending wedding

 

Tip:

Register gifts at BPS, LeBarons, JB's etc.

[highdrifter]

What do you know about the drink on this picture?

Just checking you as I am very familiar with it and it has nothing to do with Latvia or Russia for that matter

 

Cheers,

Ice Fisherman

 

Yeah I know. Uncle Erick is Polish... and he just loves his Polish Brandy!!

 

As it turns out, I love it too.

[highdrifter]

 

 

Congrat's Fidel....great post. Easy to tell who wears the pants though!

 

Yeah I know. She's monitoring my stats as we speak HAAH!!

[highdrifter]

Tip:

Register gifts at BPS, LeBarons, JB's etc.

 

This is why you're my boy dawg!!

 

Thanks!!