Fishing in Magadan: description of fishing spots, reviews

Sea fishing in Magadan

Fishing in the Magadan region is a unique fishing place. Here you can catch flounder, coho salmon, halibut, cod, grayling, sea bass and malma (as the locals call char). Fishing is allowed in licensed areas, which are divided into spinning and net fishing areas. Fishing with a net is allowed mainly on the seashore, and with a spinning rod - from the shore on low pebble spits, where it is convenient to set up a fishing camp. You can order a fishing trip in Magadan by arranging an organized trip to the sea for several hours. This is an exciting event for amateur and professional anglers. But most of all, anglers like to go fishing in small groups on multi-day trips on small speedboats. Usually such a trip takes place along the Svetlaya and Tikhaya bays and at Cape Chirikov.

Free fishing in Magadan

Many people know the Buyunda River, because it is the best body of water for fishing in the Magadan region. Despite its popularity, the place is free. Here you can not only get a good catch, but also admire the beautiful landscapes and clear water. Buyunda is inhabited mostly by grayling, which is the main target of fishermen.

Lake with the poetic name Jack London is famous for its accessible location compared to other lakes. It is quite large in area, so there is a lot of space for catching whitefish, chukuchan and grayling.

A favorite place for tourists is the Elgen River. Fishing guides recommend visiting it first, and local fishermen agree with them. In Elgen, even a beginner can catch grayling, there are so many of them here.

The Kheta River is suitable for active recreation. You can not only go fishing on it, but also have an interesting family vacation. Everyone will enjoy admiring the local beauty while the head of the family is busy catching popular ichthyofauna.

Sport fishing in the Magadan region

According to fishermen, sport fishing is both relaxation and gambling with fish. They believe that fishing with nets does not provide excitement, so they prefer to fish with sports gear. In the summer, this is fishing with spinning rods. The most common sport fishing is in the lower and middle reaches of rivers, where fish tend to spawn. The objects of fishing with spinning rods in the Kolyma basin are lenok, pike and perch. Fishing with an artificial fly rod gives good results for Pacific salmon, grayling and coho salmon. Amateur fishermen use a regular float rod to catch Dolly Varden, grayling, and dace. A special place in sport fishing is given to ice fishing. This type of recreation and pleasure has become widespread in Magadan in the villages near the sea. There are times when one of the residents is lucky with a trophy catch, which is released after a photo shoot.

Fishing in the Magadan region

There really is a lot of fish in the Magadan region. This is due to the fact that fishing in rivers and lakes is not developed on the same scale as in the rest of Russia. In addition, it is rare to see a poacher here. The combination of these factors has a positive effect on the population of aquatic inhabitants. The fish here can live peacefully until spawning, without the risk of being caught. Of course, the Magadan region does not shine with a variety of fish species. Here you can count on a successful catch of salmon, perch, and pike. Grayling is also found here. The life of people in this region also affected the number of peled - they were artificially introduced into reservoirs.

Red fish in the rivers of Magadan

One of the most valuable species of Kolyma river fish is pink salmon. Its dimensions reach 3 kilograms. It appears in rivers from mid-spring and lingers until August. The best time to catch it is the end of June. Once every 3-4 years, the pink salmon population increases sharply. The rivers are overflowing with fish. For sports fishermen, this is the most uninteresting time. After all, you can catch fish almost with your bare hands. In general, pink salmon are caught using yellow and white oscillating spoons. This fish is not picky about bait, and it is easy to catch. The main thing is the right choice of color. The sinker is traditionally attached to the fishing line at a distance of no less than 15 and no more than 30 cm from the spoon. The main thing is to carefully calculate the weight for the current, because the spoon should be in the water at the level where the fish rises to spawn. Pink salmon, when moving along the river bed, sees a swaying spoon and tries with all its might to catch it. This makes fishing easy and efficient.

Coho salmon - fish and the “face” of the Magadan region

Coho salmon is traditionally considered a symbol of the region. You can catch it only in those rivers that flow into the Sea of Okhotsk. Usually this fish starts to be caught in August and ends in September. But in principle you can catch it until November. The main difficulty when catching coho salmon is the choice of gear. After all, at the end of summer - beginning of autumn, Dolly Varden returns to the rivers of the Magadan region to spend the winter. This fish is caught on the same gear as coho salmon, so the likelihood of catching the “right” fish drops sharply. When fishing for coho salmon, it is better to “know the enemy by sight.” This is a strong and very persistent fish. Often fishermen broke spinning rods and reels when trying to deal with it. The fish makes powerful jerks and suddenly goes downstream or downstream.

Salmon and how to catch it

The most delicious and most difficult to obtain fish.
She has the most tender and tasty meat, at the same time the individuals are quite large. It is prohibited to fish for salmon without a permit. You can hunt it only on licensed areas. This is due to fish population control. Salmon is an extremely valuable and healthy fish, so everyone is trying to catch it. All areas where you can catch this red fish are divided into 2 types - those where it is allowed to fish with a net, and those where you can fish with a spinning rod. In some areas, a combined type of fishing is allowed. One of these is near the village of Gadlya. Traditionally, net fishing areas are located closer to the sea, while salmon fishing can be done along river banks using a rod. Fishing in the Magadan region

Poaching

The abundance of red fish in the region attracts not only fishermen, but also poachers. They hunt primarily for caviar. The fish are gutted right on the spot where they are caught, and an honest fisherman often has to deal with carcasses of fish scattered along the banks. Dead fish rot and the rotten smell ruins the entire fishing and vacation experience. Therefore, when going fishing, you should always take a license. Personal responsibility is a good example for others. The more fishermen who fish responsibly, the greater the public stigma attached to those who attempt to fish for salmon illegally. Today, fishing in the Magadan region is not just a business. This is an active holiday. More and more often, people come to fish with their families, set up small camps, put up tents, cook fish soup, and raft down rivers.

What kind of fish is in the catch?

The basis of fishing is salmon. Fishing for halibut, migratory salmon, river fish and char in the mountain lakes in the Kolyma region is exciting and exclusive. Fishing in Magadan on rivers and lakes is never without results. There is fish, a lot of it, and the catch is always practically guaranteed. This is evidenced by numerous reviews of fishing in these areas. In the spring, herring, flounder and capelin spawn. In summer, fishing for sockeye salmon, chum salmon and pink salmon is open.

Cod fishing in the Sea of Okhotsk of Magadan is represented by burbot, which is caught all year round. Halibut comes in August. By the way, halibut is “sea tongue” translated from Latin. It belongs to the flounder family and is its largest representative. Specimens of fish over 25 kilograms are caught on sports gear.

It has been noted that in sea trawls there are specimens up to 50 kg. These are inhabitants of decent depths. All year round they swim in waters up to 300 meters, feeding on close relatives - flounder, as well as eating crabs, small octopuses and everything that can fit into their mouths. When it warms up, in August-September, halibuts migrate to the shore. At this time, they can be caught using sports gear.

The king fish of Magadan is coho salmon. You can catch it in rivers flowing into the Sea of Okhotsk. Good fishing for it is in August-September. Typically bait for halibut fishing is the head or tail of a pink salmon, a piece of fish, or artificial lures such as spoons or jig heads. In autumn, fishing is famous for grayling, lenok, and whitefish.

Kolyma fisherman's sea menu

I was lucky to live most of my life near Lake Baikal. Next to the pantry is not only the purest water, unique beauty and inexhaustible energy, but also great fishing happiness. The biggest catches, the most famous trophies and the most extreme adventures were associated with Lake Baikal and its tributaries.

Now I have the good fortune to live next to one of the richest seas in biological resources - the Sea of Okhotsk. Although, unlike the Baikal fishermen, I cannot afford to swim and sunbathe on the sandy beaches in the summer, I do catch fish with a bare hook, and I don’t consider flounder, a delicacy for the residents of the “mainland,” as fish, indifferently calling it, like every Magadan resident, “chicken.” "

The wealth of choice, the volume of catch and the accessibility of fishing are amazing. There have been fly-by fishermen on Baikal, but in order not to catch it at sea... There are two options: either you got caught in a storm, or you took too much alcohol with you. The only measure of the amount of fish caught is your conscience (in its absence, the carrying capacity of the car or boat). The measure of time spent... Not necessarily weekends or holidays. Not necessarily a watch. In principle, 20 minutes is enough to fill a bucket with flounder in Rybport, and 10 minutes to travel there and back.

Variety of sea menu... A huge number of types of fish, different sizes, different tastes, different sporting interests. Completely different than in freshwater.

The content of catches depends, first of all, on the migration processes of fish schools and is, so to speak, seasonal in nature. Secondly, some fish can be caught from the shore, but some need to be reached by means of a vehicle. Well, first things first.

By the May holidays, the bays of the Sea of Okhotsk are freed from ice, the water warms up, and objects of fishing interest begin to move towards the shore from the open sea and from the depths.

Flounder begins the open water season. First, small, and then increasingly larger specimens of “wheat stones” and “gerbils” approach the shore within casting distance. It is still prohibited to go out on rubber boats at this time; navigation for them opens only on June 1, although, of course, there are many daredevils to play tag with the Code of Administrative Offenses: if they get caught, they won’t get caught. For about ten days people are “playing with fire,” but then the big fish come right up to the shore, and good specimens of flounder become available for regular spinning casting.

I wrote about flounder fishing last year. I would like to add that throughout the entire open water season this fish will remain an indispensable attribute of any trip to the sea, and, despite its excellent taste and decent resistance, it will soon become boring and, when caught by more worthy trophies, which will be discussed below, will begin to perceived... Well, approximately like bullheads in Talanki when fishing for white grayling.

Flounder comes to the shore not just like that, but to feed. How? And what almost all fish in our Kolyma region feed on is caviar. Caviar of another fish known to all Russians. The one that often ends up on our tables “under a fur coat”.

Herring. This year, more of it entered the Gulf of Amachton than ever before. At low tide, in shallow coves, the exposed bottom stirred like a silver mass of fish that had not managed to escape to the sea. The seagulls screamed, marveling at the unprecedented feast, and people filled their bags. I, who knew the value of every omul bite, could only be amazed that in Russia there were still quite accessible corners of nature, where there was so much fish, so much that the surrounding farmland was fertilized with it.

After the herring approaches, the entire shore is covered with a crust of caviar. Over time, in low tide areas, it will heat up under the sun and... The smell is still the same.

During the herring approach, the fishing people focused not only on the shallow water, but also on the piers, under which there was more or less depth. The herring stayed close to the wall, and it was possible to fish vertically with short spinning rods. But mostly Magadan fishermen used a float rod. They fished for tyrants, the same as for smelt, only the hooks and fishing line were used more powerfully. Still, smelt weighs a maximum of 300 grams, and herring grows up to half a kilogram.

Fishing tactics are not much different from catching omul from a boat. Slight fiddling with the tackle (the float is already swinging on the wave), a blow or sagging of the fishing line - yes! Desperate fluttering - and in my hands, scattering large scales from a lilac-tinged body, clutched a fish that I had previously only seen in the store. The mouth of the herring, it turns out, is quite impressive in size; it can probably be caught with small spoons or microjigs.

Spring herring is not as fatty as autumn herring. But it is caught with caviar on fishing rods. The latter does not approach the shore, and, as a rule, it is caught in nets. Salted in brine. Basically, 4 hours in brine and you’re done. Or in the oven with mayonnaise. Tasty too. But only fresh. Like any spawning fish, herring quickly loses its taste. I can’t even imagine how I’ll eat store-bought frozen fish when I leave Magadan! Over time, I’ll probably get used to it, just as I’m used to eating here only fresh seafood fresh from the water...

The herring approach is also famous for the fact that sharks approach the Magadan coast. The so-called herrings. They are rarely seen by humans in the form of their terrifying fin, but sometimes they get caught in nets. Each such catch is savored for a long time in the fishing community, and sometimes on federal channels. Tea, we don’t live in the south, we rarely see sharks. These are not boring aquatic mammals like whales and killer whales, which you meet almost every time you go out to the open sea.

After the herring, another well-known commercial fish from the herring family comes to our shores. On the shelves of shops and markets its name is capelin, in Magadan it’s uyok. I don’t know what the reason for such a capacious and laconic name is, but, as you understand, there are quite a lot of obscene ditties and sayings with words that rhyme with uyk.

But more on the trick a little later. Because between the herring and the fish, another famous fish approaches the shore. It’s just that it is not a common fishing object; it is only caught as a by-catch of flounder and is considered a delicacy. However, not everyone is happy about its capture, since this fish causes real fear and disgust.

Okhotsk catfish. Or a dog, in Magadan. The fish that became the prototype for Alien. A serpentine body covered with thick, wrinkled skin of brown or black color. Blue bulging eyes. Square shaped head. And teeth, teeth, teeth! Teeth on the jaw, teeth in the throat. A powerful, hard mouth designed to gnaw shells and shells so that its owner, a real gourmet, can enjoy seafood delicacies: mussels, scallops, crabs.

In the fishing community, tales are circulated about how caught catfish bit careless fingers, made holes in boots and the sides of a rubber boat. A slippery flexible body, the aggressive attitude of a fish caught on a hook, coupled with a constantly gaping mouth is not the most pleasant sight that one encounters when dangling on a wave in the middle of a bay on a small rubber boat. Some people prefer not to get involved and simply cut off the mood with the fish, letting it go on its own, out of harm’s way.

The terrible appearance of catfish is compensated by its taste. White tender boneless meat baked in wine sauce - you'll lick your fingers!

Previously, this moray eel of the Sea of Okhotsk was found in abundance along the Magadan coast. Its places are the rocky bottom, where it finds refuge under rocks or in crevices, as well as sunken ships, submarines and other objects of anthropogenic impact on the sea. Due to the high risk of breaking the tackle (catfish leads an exclusively bottom lifestyle), no one specifically hunts for it. It is occasionally caught as by-catch of flounder.

I heard, however, that you can catch catfish under stone piers (of which there are several in Magadan), when at low tide you can reach their base with a fishing rod. The tackle is simple: a weight or jig head with a powerful and necessarily sharp hook (the fish’s mouth is incredibly hard) with a piece of fish or lard attached. Looking through the clear water into the crevices between the stones, bait is thrown into them. If there is a dog sitting in the “hole”, it will definitely bite.

I heard about it, but I never saw or took part in such fishing. This is because for me, as an underwater hunter, taking a catfish with a harpoon is much easier and more interesting than blindly trying to catch it from a surface position. I’ll tell you about the features of spearfishing in the Sea of Okhotsk some other time. And in connection with the catfish, I want to note that finding and shooting it is not the most difficult thing, but removing it from the harpoon and hanging it on a cooch without getting caught in the teeth - yes! The blood is boiling. Especially when you miss and the catfish, instead of hiding, begins to pounce on you, opening its terrible mouth wide...

Let's get back to the uk. A couple of weeks have already passed since the herring went to sea, covering the entire coast with sticky, crispy caviar, and the main object of fishing for Magadan fishermen remained flounder, stuffed with both its own caviar and herring. But then a rumor rustled around the city that several small fish had washed up on the sandy beach of Nagaevskaya Bay. Magadan came to life, anticipating the start of one of the most significant events of the year.

“Uyeok has gone!” - the millionth school of medium-sized but tasty fish approached the shallow waters, and a good half of the city came ashore. It’s like folk festivities on the Nagaevsky beach: bonfires are burning, music is playing, children are making noise, women are laughing. The men, having pulled on high wading rods, stand shoulder to shoulder in the water up to their waists with a net in their hands and intensely peer at their feet. First one, then the other part of the slender line plows the water surface with sharp movements, and the net comes out of the water with live silver. Particularly successful and efficient ones, expressing on their faces the primordial feeling of a male hunter, go ashore and pour the catch into a vessel helpfully set up by the other half. A flock of capelin, fairly thinned out, again disappears into the depths, the line straightens out, is filled with the hum of conversations, and sometimes squabbling if someone has not divided the space.

Read also: Tackle for catching navaga

Three or four days, a maximum of a week, the boom lasts. In every entrance, in every apartment there is a persistent smell of fried fish. But nothing lasts forever under the sun, and the excitement becomes less, and the excitement soon passes. There will be no more such mass exit of townspeople to fish during the year, if you do not take into account a certain crowd in Gertner Bay during the winter arrival of smelt.

Another colorful representative of the fauna of the Sea of Okhotsk is a fish with the scientific name sea broadhead perch, or in Magadan - ruff. Already from the name it is clear that this fish is characterized by numerous spines and greed. Near the shore there are countless hordes of small pipe cleaners, ready to swallow all the tyrant’s hooks if he gets into the water even for a minute. But further out into the sea opposite the rocky outcrops, where the depth plummets to 6-10 meters, keep to the real ruffs, all freshwater ruffs are ruffs.

Usually you come across fish weighing 400-600 grams, and they look best and most appetizing in the ear. Ruffs are also smoked and dried.

For me personally, sea bass is of the greatest sporting interest. It may not be comparable in size to other sea creatures in this story, but fishing does not turn into harvesting fish. The ruff is located at the “points”, so sea fishing acquires an important element - searching for fish. These “points” are small, usually 20 by 20 meters; Their location is accompanied by a depth of about 6 meters (deeper there is already flounder) and proximity to capes, rocks, and piles of stones. Judging by the fact that the “points” do not work every time, the perch is prone to short migrations. So you search, from rock to rock, from cape to stones.

What is interesting about the ruff is that it can be caught in a retrieve, as the depth allows. Classic jig rig, brightly colored twisters. Having “probed” the bottom, I bring the bait a meter or two above (ruff is a water fish) with pauses, during which the fish, as a rule, grabs. After hooking, the ruffe begins to actively fight and dance in circles, which is different from the flounder grazing nearby, which simply presses down without much fluttering or running around.

The fun begins when you pull the fish to the surface. Almost all the rays of all the fins of the ruffe end in spines, the injections from which are very painful. A fish without scales (of the sea fish with scales that need to be cleaned, I have only seen herring so far) and covered with thick mucus: you can’t hold a flounder in your hand. The gill covers not only end in a spine, but also have a series of spiny growths similar to a saw. In general, you can’t even take it under the gills. The remaining option is to take the fish by the mouth, which is studded with small teeth, not short, like the “sandpaper” of the burbot, but also not as sharp as those of the pike. Or use gloves or a special grip.

Freshly caught sea bass with an unusual green color. But then, like all sea fish, it quickly loses color, becoming covered with brown spots and secreting an abundance of mucus.

Well, after the ruffe and flounder, it’s time to head away from the shore. The water is getting warmer every day, and schools of larger fish come from the open sea to Nagaevskaya and other bays of the Tauiskaya Bay. If quite recently we could afford to fight with a stone flounder weighing 2 kilos, or a brush for a kilo, now we need to prepare stronger tackle.

From the beginning of June, pollock and cod approach large sea capes where sea currents collide. You can’t reach these capes with a simple elastic band; here you need solid equipment with a large mounted or stationary motor. Those prone to seasickness must take anti-motion sickness pills.

Pollock and cod live together, mainly at depths of 15 to 30 meters. To penetrate a significant depth, you need heavy baits, and, accordingly, a spinning rod with a decent test. True, the most common gear for these fish is not a spinning rod at all, but something very far removed from refined delights. A coil of fishing line with a diameter of 2 mm, a heavy lead sinker, above which two healthy hooks dangle in the loops of the same thick fishing line. We attach lard, sliced fish, meat or something else edible and go ahead, the tackle works flawlessly.

The process of fishing with this gear is only vaguely reminiscent of fishing. I hooked the bait, threw the sinker into the water, waited for the line to slack, pulled it a little, waited a little, felt the blow, hooked it, pulled the fish out, threw it into a container (bucket, basin, polypack, etc.), and threw the tackle back. The interest is no longer in how it resists, but rather in what it caught? Pollock? Cod? No, it’s flounder again!

Such fishing becomes boring after about an hour. It is much more interesting, of course, to fish with more delicate gear and artificial baits. As a “stick” for cod, a river-caliber spinning rod is quite suitable, with which both taimen and coho salmon were caught (for halibut, which we will talk about next time, a river spinning rod is unlikely to be suitable). Marine baits have the same variety of types and colors as freshwater ones. Jigs, octopus, squid...

To be honest, at the beginning of my sea fishing career, I didn’t experiment much and decided to try twisters tested on sea bass on heavy jig heads. And in general, he guessed right. Even though the artificial bait was biting a little less often than the partners using the above-mentioned “donka”, the twister made it possible to practically cut off the bites of the ubiquitous flounder.

Pollock and cod, although they are caught with the same gear, in the same place and belong to the same family (the third species of cod living in the Sea of Okhotsk is navaga, already known to readers of Mayak), but have significant differences among themselves.

Pollock is a kind of net-robber from the gateway: long, skinny, sharp. The disproportionately large head further emphasizes the rickety physique of the fish. The pectoral fins are unusually long; it seems that with just a little more evolution, pollock will turn into a flying fish. What is striking is the huge round mouth. Judging by the fact that it is strewn with small brush teeth, fish are not the primary interest of pollock; most likely, following the example of the whale shark, it collects into its mouth all the biomass floating in the water column.

The pollock resists very actively, pirouettes under the boat. The long fins spread out like a fan of fingers. An excellent sport fishing object, if not for one BUT.

An unpleasant drawback of pollock is that it is infected with helminths. In the store we see processed fish carcasses and have no idea what horror was happening in the belly of pollock during its life.

Another thing is cod. This fish, which grows larger than pollock (the usual size of cod in a catch is one to one and a half kilograms, but fish under 7 kg are often caught; pollock usually does not exceed a weight of 2.5 kg), is one of the most coveted trophies of Magadan fishermen. She is much more well-fed than her younger brother and, most importantly, for the most part, she is not stuffed with worms.

Cod is also a pelagic fish, but unlike pollock, it stays closer to the bottom surface. Quite often, very large specimens are caught in crab traps. Judging by its sharp, shark-like teeth, its diet is more predatory, fishy.

The cod looks like a well-fed piglet. With the same length as pollock, it weighs twice as much. Accordingly, it resists in such an important way, with dignity, without sudden jerks, pressing the spinning rod into the water column with its mass.

I have never tasted tastier cod fried right there on board the boat. The meat really melts on the tongue and doesn’t get boring for a long time.

Whatever one may say, with all the abundance of marine ichthyofauna that is of sporting interest, the diversity of living creatures that are not of this interest is much greater. According to scientific data, for the 20 species of pelagic fish that live off the coast of the Magadan region, there are as many as 111 species of bottom fish, among which the dominant position is occupied by the family of slingshots: various kinds of sculpins, gobies, broadheads, hookfishes, triglops, etc. As can be seen from the names, these are the same incredibly amazing fish that are distant relatives of our Baikal gobies. But the size of the Sea of Okhotsk sculpin is such that it can easily swallow a medium-sized cod. By the way, gobies, along with catfish, are the fish that can afford to attack a diver. True, if the catfish attacks more for the purpose of self-defense, then the monkfish is attracted to various kinds of glitter, such as a mask or go-pro.

When fishing near the shore for flounder or ruffe, you often come across butterfly gobies of a beautiful red color. They are small, no more than a kilogram.

But at the depths there are real monsters weighing 5-7 kilograms - multi-spine sculpins. Judging by their huge belly, which is always full of something, the Kerchak lives quite well.

Almost everyone had unfortunate crabs or their regurgitated chitinous remains in their huge mouths, into which you could stick your head, let alone a hand.

Slingshots are of little use. So, take a photo with something huge and unimaginable as a souvenir. I have never heard of anyone cooking them.

The second place in the number of species among bottom fish is occupied by the eelpout family. In body shape, these fish are very reminiscent of our freshwater burbot, which is why the common people had this name. Although there is so much to choose from in this family: slimeheads, lykodas, gymnels, kruzensternii, thick-cheeked fish and, finally, eelpouts.

We have already met one of the brightest representatives of this family while ice fishing for navaga. He also bites in the summer, when fishing for flounder, tying his entire mood into knots with his flexible body.

It just so happened in Magadan that the sea bass is called ruff, and perch is called greenling. The greenling in our area, unlike Kamchatka, does not have such fishing interest due to its small numbers and small size. It is caught occasionally when fishing for herring or smelt with tyrants, as well as with donkeys when fishing for flounder.

The list of the above names of marine fish caught on sports gear is, of course, not complete. Smelt fishing begins in mid-July, and in August the most trophy fish, halibut, will approach our shores.

And what can you not see during spearfishing! In general, to be continued...

Author of the article: Svetlana Lavrova.

The original article is here .

Fishing in winter

Winter fishing in Magadan begins with char, navaga and smelt during the first ice. This period starts from mid-November until snowfalls. This is the time when fishing points organized on taiga rivers can be reached by car. Throughout the winter period, those who have snowmobiles go fishing. Winter fishing is for grayling, kunja and Dolly Varden.

There is a favorite fishing spot in Magadan in Gertner Bay. On weekends the bay is filled with cars. Fishermen tend to settle as close to the ice edge as possible. After all, according to popular belief, fish are found in the depths.

Fishermen choose fishing spots based on their own considerations. Some go to last year's fishing grounds. Others, mainly Magadan fishermen, know their places, while others, individual farmers, drill the ice away from everyone. Fishing in Magadan is a gambling hobby, therefore, when they see another fisherman starting to bite well, everyone tries to quickly take a place around the lucky one. And the sound of grinding drills can be heard all around.

And fish have their own rules. It moves constantly, and anglers will be lucky if they find a good school of smelt. Fishermen know that if the bite starts right away, it makes sense to stay in that place. If you swing your fishing rod two or three times and don’t catch anything, you need to look further for a fishing spot.

Fishing in Nagaevskaya Bay

Here fishing goes on without any fuss. There are not many people, since to get to the fishing spot you need to walk. It's at the head of the bay. Fishermen believe that in this bay the fish do not scurry about chaotically, but move along the coast. In the bay you can catch two types of smelt - catfish and smallmouth. Young, two to four year old smelts go to the bays to feed. The size of the fish depends on the depth. At 20-meter depths, 30-centimeter catfish live.

The catches in the bays are not so great, but local residents love these “home” bays, which they consider to be the place where fishermen grew up

Fishing tours

For amateur fishermen, fishing spots are available in large rivers of the Sea of Okhotsk coast. Those who wish can fulfill their dream and go fishing to the Yana and Taui rivers in Magadan on a tour organized by a tourist agency. Accommodation is provided in an established tent camp near the First Oleniy licensed fishing area. The company provides delivery to the fishing spot from Magadan by ferry along the Yana River. On site you can take advantage of the services provided for organizing fishing from a motor boat, and you can also rent the necessary fishing equipment. On the rivers, fishing is organized for chum salmon, coho salmon, and grayling. The Yana and Taui rivers are home to large Kamchatka grayling. Having had enough of the catch on the Yana River, you can move to the camp on the Taui River in the same licensed area.

During the summer months and September there is an active fish life on Taui. Large schools of chum salmon and coho salmon enter the river. In October, salmon move to the upper reaches of the Kava River, and grayling migrate to its tributaries. The Tayu grayling differs from the others that are found in the rivers of the Magadan region in color. He is red.

Places for free fishing in the Magadan region

Subtleties of grayling fishing

Grayling usually lies in pits. But it rarely happens that you find a good hole and you fish all day. Usually after 2-3 successful casts the fishing stops. The fish freezes, it is scared and will not take the bait. Look for the next hole. And so you can walk along the river for three kilometers. On this day there will be no fishing in the previous holes. The fish should calm down. The next day you can do another round.

If you catch grayling with a spoon, it should move slowly through the water, you need to stop the retrieve at intervals.

Grayling is a delicate fish, and in good weather it is difficult to protect it during the day. When fishing in Magadan in July, the caught catch can be covered with ice by chipping it from the ice along the route. It's good if you have a refrigerator in your car. If neither one nor the other is available, fishermen should always have salt in their car. The fish must be gutted and sprinkled with salt. This way you can deliver your catch home. Well, if the grayling turns out to be a little too salty, it should be soaked in fresh water.

Quiet river Lankovaya

Fishing both in Magadan and beyond is a pleasure not only for passionate fishermen, but also for their families. They are not averse to going, for example, to one of the good fishing spots, which is located on the quiet tundra river Lankova. You can get to the fishing spot either by boat or by hiring an all-terrain vehicle. Char fishing is good on Lankova. Usually local fishermen go on fishing tours to these places in the first autumn months, when the char has gained fat; in the spring it is dry and tasteless. Local residents try to stock up on char for the winter during this period of the year. This fish is perfectly baked, dried, and smoked.

Fishing on the Arman and Ola rivers

Licensed fishing is also organized on the Arman and Ola rivers. A license to catch pink salmon must be issued in advance. On weekends there are usually queues for licenses. Char fishing is going well on the Ola River. Without a license, you can engage in sport fishing, the principle of which is based on the “catch and release” postulate. There are plenty of sports fishing enthusiasts in these places. Reviews about the organization of fishing are only positive, because catching fish is comparable to excitement, especially if the bite is good. Fishermen believe that it is more interesting to catch chum salmon when it is strong, that is, when it enters the river to spawn at or near river mouths. And the higher it goes upstream, the weaker it becomes.

Ban on fishing in the Magadan region

Terms of restrictions and bans on fishing in the Magadan region:

From September 10 to May 15, fishing in the Yasachnaya River is prohibited;
From May 25 to June 20 on the Taui River;
All year round on the Nilberkan River;
From August 15 until freeze-up at the mouth of the Buyunda River;
From June 30 to September 30, salmon fishing from rivers that flow into the Bering, Chukchi and Okhotsk seas is prohibited.

Interesting articles about fishing:

Fishing in Zhukovsky
Fishing for chub with a spinning rod in August
Where to go fishing in the Voronezh region

Lake Mak-Mak

Good fishing in the Magadan region, according to fishermen, on Lake Mak-Mak. This fish lake is located in the upper reaches of the Cheka River. Its length is approximately 3.5 km. The width varies from 200 meters in the valley to 500 in its upper part. You can get to the fishing spot either by helicopter or by snowmobile in winter. The lake contains the most char. This fish is typical for mountain lakes. Loaches in lakes have a unique color: from pink to bright scarlet. The fish is very strong, as fishermen say, “a stubborn fighter” because it fights with gear with strong jaws and sharp teeth. Pacific salmon - sockeye salmon - enter the lake to spawn. Males mature here, awaiting the arrival of females from the sea.

Free fishing in the Magadan region

The Magadan region is a paradise for Russian fishermen. The place is famous for its many types of fish, and the surrounding area is divided into paid and free zones.

If you are looking for a great place for fishing in the endless expanses of Kolyma, then the Magadan region is the ideal option. Fishing like this is the dream of everyone for whom it is not available. Many rivers flow through the territory, there are large and small lakes with a lot of fish.

Local reservoirs contain fish species that are not familiar to anglers. Here you can rarely find roach, crucian carp and crucian carp. Before going on an outdoor activity, immediately prepare your best equipment and bait. Despite the difficulty of fishing due to the large size of the fish, professionals often catch: sockeye salmon; chum salmon; flounder; pollock; pink salmon; Chinook salmon; herring; cod; halibut; saury; whitefish; greenling; grayling; Chukuchana; perch; pike.

Here are the TOP 10 best places where you can fish for free in the Magadan region:

1. Kolyma River

Description, what kind of fish is found, how to get there:

Located on the territory of Yakutia and the Magadan region. The length of the river reaches more than 2 thousand kilometers, most of it flows in the territory of Yakutia, and the rest in the territory of the Magadan region.

The Kolyma River contains about 30 species of fish. The most popular fish species are the grayling population, as well as perch, crucian carp, pike and, of course, roach.

A hydroelectric power station was built on the river in 1991, which supplies electricity to most of the Magadan region, as well as Magadan itself.

GPS coordinates: 64.75716, 153.92727

Ola River

Description, what kind of fish is found, how to get there:

It originates in the Far East of the Russian Federation in the Magadan region. The length of this river is about 162 kilometers.

The Ola River is also the largest in the salmon population, and this is often very captivating for anglers.

It is planned to sell brown coal in the lower reaches of the river, which could cause significant damage to the fish population. Grayling is in greatest demand among fishermen.

GPS coordinates: 59.60127, 151.29339

3. Taui River

Description, what kind of fish is found, how to get there:

It is located in the Asian territory of Russia, within the Khabarovsk Territory and the Magadan Region. The length of the river is 378 kilometers.

In the lower reaches you can find ships. The river is distinguished by its ferocious and cool climate, the average air temperature is -4 degrees.

The most popular fish among fishermen are grayling and perch.

GPS coordinates: 59.70307, 148.96394

Balykchan River

Description, what kind of fish is found, how to get there:

The name comes from Yakut, translated as “Little Fish.” The length of the river is more than 350 kilometers in length.

There are no ships on the river, but water tourism is developed. Also, on the upper reaches of the river there is an abandoned village, which received the same name “upper Balykchan”

The most popular fish species are grayling and pike. Also whitefish and other types of fish.

GPS coordinates: 63.51802, 154.34819

Yama River

Description, what kind of fish is found, how to get there:

Located in the Asian territory of Russia - the Far East, Magadan region. The length of the river is more than 280 kilometers.

The tundra appearance of the landscape does not leave any fisherman indifferent. Coniferous forests provide the area with the cleanest air.

The river is very rich in fish, a wide variety of fish species due to the flowing waters. One of the features of the reservoir is that there are large grayling in the waters.

The most popular fish is Pacific salmon.

GPS coordinates: 60.16891, 153.1385

Jack London Lake

Description, what kind of fish is found, how to get there:

The name comes from the discoverers. When the lake was first discovered, the research team found a book by Jack London called "Martin Eden"

A lake with fresh water, its depth reaches 50 meters. It is part of the park with the same name “Jack London Park”. The peculiarity of the reservoir is the presence of 4 islands.

Almost until the month of August, you can find floating blocks of ice. However, it is worth noting that on the coast, the water warms up to +12-13 degrees.

The lake is home to Siberian char, a special type of East Siberian grayling, etc.

GPS coordinates: 62.08219, 149.52647

Lake Clean

Description, what kind of fish is found, how to get there:

Unusual for its coastal climate, on the eve of summer you can catch aesthetic fogs. The lake itself is shallow, the greatest depth does not reach more than 8 meters.

The water is dark in color and the bottom is covered with gray silt.

The reservoir gained its popularity thanks to the population of East Siberian grayling, whose weight exceeds more than 2 kilograms.

GPS coordinates: 59.54775, 151.82965

8. Lake Grand

Description, what kind of fish is found, how to get there:

The lake is located at a distance of just over 180 kilometers from the city. However, this does not prevent him from being popular among residents of nearby villages, as well as Magadan itself.

The Grand is located 8 kilometers from the highway, which, in good weather conditions, will allow you to comfortably get to the lake.

The grayling population is in greatest demand, and char are no less popular.

GPS coordinates: 60.73083, 151.88289

Lake Momontai

Description, what kind of fish is found, how to get there:

It is located in the north of the Magadan region, on the border with Yakutia. The length of the reservoir is more than 12 kilometers in length.

There are no roads to this lake, so you can only get here by off-road vehicle or by helicopter.

Popular fish populations include grayling and whitefish.

GPS coordinates: 63.7034, 148.14312

Lake Mak-Mak

Description, what kind of fish is found, how to get there:

It stretched for more than 3 kilometers. And it’s half a kilometer wide.

Fishermen recommend fishing during the best season – from mid-August to October inclusive.

There are a couple of fish species in the lake, the larger population being the Neiva char. Pacific salmon also swim in these waters.

GPS coordinates: 59.96294, 152.10356

Do you know any other good places for fishing in the Magadan region - write in the comments