Nick Podolsky

It is with tremendous pain and great sorrow that Salmon Junkies has to announce that Umba camp manager Nick Podolsky has been shot and killed in a private dispute while he was taking care of his Summer School for young people near the white sea coastline 35 km East of Umba. He was 53 years old.

To describe Nick in short is impossible as Nick was one of a kind. Nick was at the center of it all, unabashedly mixing business with his great passion for nature, fishing and the environmental aspects along his beloved Umba river on the southern part of the Kola Peninsula. Nick Podolsky belonged to the “First generation” of Russian Fishing guides on Kola. My own friendship with Nick started in the early 90s where we spent months together each season for many years. My memories together with Nick are plentiful and rich, and it’s difficult to understand that there will be no more adventures together. I will always remember Nick as one of the most extraordinary persons in the Salmon fishing community. Those who have been fortunate enough to be guided by Nick knew what a big personality Nick was, always trying to “think outside the box” as the captain of the top boat.

For most people Nick Podolsky will be known for his incredibly beautiful carved fish. Nick Podolsky’s carving career started after a visit to Sweden in 1996 where he was introduced to one of finest Swedish craftsman in the “Carving business”. Today Nick Podolsky’s carved Salmon and trout are world famous and a trophy piece of art. One of Nick’s last projects was his summer camps for the local young people, teaching them how to protect their “own backyard”. A pretty ambitious project by Russian terms and standards.

We have lost a great salmon angler, not to mention a dear and wonderful friend. We will always miss you Nick Nick leaves a wife and five children.

Our warmest thoughts go right now to his family and hope that down the road they will manage to get through their painful grief.

Glory be to Nick’s memory.