“Every day a new campsite and a new section
and stood outside next to our young cook’s
of water,” explained Wild Salmon Center
helper Vladimir, joining him for a cigarette. I
not want me to, I am dead.”
President Guido Rahr to our group of celebrity
tried to explain to him what was going on in
clients. This trip we had the owner of a
there. The meeting didn’t end, and we talked
national news network in the U.S., and the
for a long while. When I inquired about his
little droplets of vodka. The owner of CNN was
past president of the World Bank among
pencil-thin legs, he lifted his shirt to reveal a
up, and I asked him if he needed anything.
The next morning I awoke early, perspiring
our guests. Guido went on to explain how
depression in his belly, under the right ribcage.
With a large hand he waved me off, holding a
this operation was not only a fly fisherman’s
It seemed to go all the way back to his spine
satellite phone to his ear with the other mitt.
dream, but also a conservation program
and was big enough to fit a fist into. His chest
His assistant informed me later that he made
funded by the anglers who purchased these
and belly were a mess of twisted skin. He’d
a habit of calling his ex-wife, and good friend,
trips. He explained how the guides were
spent years in a wheelchair, he told me.
almost every morning. I headed over to the
taking scale samples and recording every fish caught, using the most modern methods to reduce harm to these wild rainbows. The
cook tent to make sure the chefs were up and “My friend,” he explained. “He shoot me with
making coffee. Then I hiked down to the river in
Kalashnikov with barrel right here.” He used
my waders with my Spey rod for a morning fish.
data was then sent back to the U.S. to help
his index finger as a barrel and held it close
figure out how to produce a healthy, natural
to his body.
population of fish in our own rivers, damaged by numerous human activities. He was
34
“God save me. I have reason to live now. If God
The river had disappeared in fog. Standing waist deep and listening to the rolling and
“Ve war young, and drink much vodka.” A solemn
gurgling of the water felt like being in some
presenting slides on a screen, and showing
mood came over him. A bit of anger flashed
kind of sensory deprivation chamber. Giant
all the Wild Salmon Center’s operations
in his eye, and then the expression on his face
flat boulders poked out beneath the fog,
throughout Russia. I exited the cook house
changed. A look of relief swept over his face.
giving the whole scene a very ancient feel.
STRUNG MAGAZINE
SPRING 2020
