Interview With A Russian Fishing Guide: Valera Malahov In Kamchatka

Hello, what's your name?

My name is Valera Malahov

Valera. How old are you?

I'm forty eight.

What of your family. Are you married? Do you have children?

My wife is called Elena and we have one son.

Where were you born?

I was born in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk on the island of Sakhalin.

Editor's note: That's the island just north of Hokkaido in Japan for those that don't know.

And where do you live now?

These days, I live on the Kamchatka Peninsula. I live in the Razdolniy settlement outside of Petropavlovsk.

For interest's sake, what is your background? What education did you receive?

Actually, I am qualified as a lawyer. I used to work for the Department of Protection Militias, a branch of the police.

And how long have you been a fishing guide, and where do you work?

I have been a fishing guide for the last 8 years. Most of the fishing holidays are in the south and centre of Kamchatka.

How did you become a fishing guide?

I have been engaged in fishing and tourism since childhood. It was just a natural progression once I retired form the police..

What do you do when you are not guiding?

I guide most of the summer. Over the winter I teach karate at a special sport school.

What do you most enjoy about being a guide?

I love the beauty of all things Natural. I also like working with animals and working with good people.

Would you like for your children to become guides?

Yes. Certainly. I think it is a good job.

What's the biggest fish you have ever caught? What happened to it

A Chum Salmon. It weighed 6 kilograms. I caught whilst on a trip to the Opala River. That's down in the south-west of the Kamchatka Peninsula. It is a remote area. You have to fly in by helicopter. I caught it on a spinner. I have to say we ate this one.

What's the biggest one of your anglers has ever caught?

Ah! Much bigger. I took a group of Czech anglers to the Sopochnay River on the west coast back in September 2008. One angler caught a Steelhead weighing about 13 kilograms. That was a very nice. They are wonderful fish but quite rare in our waters. We released this one and hope it survived to breed again.

What was your most memorable moment guiding?

I think such stories are best told around the camp fire in the evening. Come on a fishing holiday with me and I'll tell you about meeting with bears, about the joys of fishing and about near disasters. I have quite a few stories to tell.

Yes. Soon, I hope. In the meantime, what one piece of equipment would you advise anglers coming to Kamchatka to bring?

A Cheerful Disposition. (He laughs.) Everything else can be got here.

If you had the chance, where would you like to go, either for general travel or for fishing?

I really want to go to the western coast section of the central part of Kamchatka. It's very wild, and very beautiful. I think it offers the best fishing. I really want to explore the rivers there; the Kolpakova, Icha, Sopochnay, Belogolovay and others.

Well good luck with that. Let's hope your boss reads this and helps you out.

Thank you for your time, and for sharing something about yourself with us.

Spasiba and Dasvidania. (Thank you and goodbye.)