The Kharlovka River

The mighty Kharlovka is one of most famous rivers in the world for large Atlantic salmon. The Kharlovka impresses with its size providing exciting fishing from both banks of the river. The river is blessed with a large 3+meter waterfall that is located 10km upriver from the Barents Sea. These falls act as a barrier with the salmon stacking up in the lower 23 pools of the river. By mid July the conditions normally come just right for approximately 50% of the salmon to leap through the falls and disappear into the upper 35 kilometres of river.

There are 3 more pools above the falls that can produce exciting results during the late season autumn weeks.Below the falls the river winds through several beautiful pools before entering a deep canyon with great fishing at the top and bottom. From there the river flows into the Golden pool before rushing down a powerful set of rapids called the Washing Machine which lies above the above legendary Kharlovka Home pool. Located just 50 meters from the camp with the little Kharlovka creek flowing into the pool on the far bank -  many anglers consider this to be the best pool on the river in terms of productivity throughout the season. In addition, it is here that the largest salmon are often caught. 

A kilometre long rapid lies below the Home pool leading to the productive lower section of the river where there are a half dozen spectacular pools. Here the river widens considerably, especially during high water periods with pools that reach 200 meters across. This impressive lower section can provide an excellent opportunity to catch the first fresh fish that start their way up at the end of May. A large salmon caught here, often, having made a series of leaps and ripping off all the backing, rushes back to the sea, not allowing the angler to even catch his breath.

Recent Big Salmon Facts:

Largest 3 Kharlovka Salmon – 42, 41, and 38 pounds

In one season there were 49 salmon landed in the 30 pound class (Kharlovka and Litza rivers)

20.3% (1 out of 5) of the salmon landed were 20+ pounds.