Mainly fishing with swim jigs
The lake in the Selizharovsky, Ostashkovsky and Penovsky districts of the Tver region of Russia, 25 km south of Ostashkov, is the largest in the system of Upper Volga lakes on the Valdai Upland, the fourth and last of the group of lakes through which the upper course of the Volga River passes, regulated by the Upper Volga Beishlot.
Two Volgo lakes (Volgo-I, Volgo-II), connected by a channel at Bolshoy and Maly Lokhovo, stretch from west to east for 40 km, the width of the lakes is up to 4 km, the average depth is 2 m, the water surface area of the lakes is 61 km². As a result of the construction of the Upper Volga Beishlot, Lake Volgo has significantly changed its boundaries. Previously, it was 7 km long and up to 2 km wide. Now the Volga stretches from the village of Volga (Tukhachevo), in the west to the village of Selishche in the east. Between the lakes Peno and Volgo (about 30 km), the Volga River is a flood, sometimes expanding, sometimes reducing its borders. The southern banks of the Volga are more elevated, the northern ones are more low-lying. In some places, limestone outcrops are visible along the high banks. From under the limestones, springs often beat - the so-called "boiling water" with "healthy" water, the temperature of which is 6 ° C all year round. In the area of the villages of Kolobovo, Polki and Pochinok, the lake forms three large bows.
In the western part near Peno, the Plotichenko and Zhukopa rivers flow into the Volga-I from the south. On the northern bank of the Volga-I (length 19 km) are the villages of Kustyn and Zanepreche. The Lemenka and Bolshaya Dubenka rivers flow into the channel between the lakes from the south, and the Kocha River from the north.
On the northern coast of the Volga-II (length 21 km, width up to 3 km) there are two large bays. Almost in the center of the lake rises the island of Bely Plav. The northern shores of the lake are low-lying, often flooded during flooding. Along the banks of the Volga-II there are the villages of Yasenskoye, Pochinok, Zavirye, Polki, Lapino, Volga (Tukhachevo), Devichye, Kolobovo, Bor, Kazakovo. In the place where the Volga River flows out of the Volga-II, the village of Selishche is located.
The water level in the lake, depending on the Beishlot regime, can fluctuate significantly.
Basically, fishing with a swim jig is fast retrieve and even with 17-20 lb fluorocarbon you won't have a problem. If you assume that this will be the main way of fishing, then you should switch to nylon.
For anglers who come to the Volga for the first time, it is difficult to navigate in the choice of a place and methods of fishing. Especially when every day counts. Having more than one decade of fishing on this lake behind me, I will try to draw up a map of promising places in the lower lake, which is better known to me. I hope this will help readers plan their fishing trips in the vast area of the lake. Whether you live in a tent on the shore or at a recreation center, the entire water area is at your disposal. Even just rowing you can get to good places, but you have to row a lot.
Let's start with the bridge in the village. Settlement (point 1, see the map). Mostly locals and those who like coastal bream fishing come here. Here, under the bulls, there is decent traction, and on the bottom gear with a feeder you can quite well catch a scavenger and bream. And in an artificially eroded hole - right behind the bridge on the right downstream - you can catch this fish on a float from long walkways. But if the bream always keeps under the bridge, then good fish come here according to an unpredictable schedule: for example, at noon in a couple of hours you can take a dozen and a half breams of 1.0-1.7 kg, and after a few hours you won’t even see bites. If you fish from a boat, then on the site of the former wooden bridge, ide and roach are sometimes very decently caught in the wiring for "greens", black bread or dragonfly. There are no piles left, and there is nothing to attach to, so you have to anchor close to the concrete bulls. Upstream the channel is quite straight, but visiting anglers rarely fish here. Unless someone, wanting solitude, sits down with feeders on the shore - where there is a single tree on the green slope of the left bank. A stream flows in there, and from this point you can easily get to the right place on the pre-channel table. I somehow didn’t manage to catch a good spin here, and until recently, monstrous buoys made of sleepers on chains, placed by local bream breeders, prevented me from cherishing it. However, a good pike sometimes came across right under the Selishchevsky steep bank.
Now, however, the bream fishing by the local population has somehow subsided, and the sleepers-buoys have disappeared. Therefore, when there is at least some kind of traction, especially if the water has cooled down, here you can quite well catch both bream and its eternal companion pike perch. Even further upstream, from the turn, Lake Volgo itself begins. Plot from the village The settlement to Bely Plav Island is a stretch about 7 km long and up to 2.5 km wide. The relief is simple: the bottom gradually descends from the coast and the greatest depth rarely exceeds 6.5 m. There is no channel as such here - it "ended" in front of the island. The fact is that before, before the construction in 1843 of the Upper Volga Beishlot - the first dam on the Volga, this part of the water area was a lake. Despite the monotony of the depths, a variety of fish are successfully caught on this, the lowest, reach. First, roach. Small, palm-sized, stands along the banks like a wall, and it is not difficult to catch it on anything even from the shore. This year, despite the heat, they keep a very high water level, and any fish, including good bream, began to approach the banks, to the grass. A catchy place, for example, the mouth of the Studenets stream, which is to the right of the pier on the wild beach of the Chaika base (2). In July of this year, in the afternoon, in the very heat, on a side nod, we managed to raise four bream in a row under 1.5 kg. Well, on a boat, it’s enough to find thickets of pondweed at the exit from any bay or river, and even better a mountaineer (it has emersed pink flowers-cones), feed it, but not with lumps of porridge, but with some kind of loose powder, and then roach will probably gather 200 -250 g.
Maybe someone more impressive will pull up. There are more such places: at the mouth of the river. Bolshaya Dubenka, in the bay near the village of Bor Volgo, around the island, at the exit from the paddling pool (7) behind the village of Zavirye and in the river flowing into the lake in front of this village. Now about predators. Pike perch is perhaps the most attractive of them. There is a lot of him in the Volgo, but this, of course, does not mean that he takes it always and everywhere. If above the island its sites are more or less local, then on the lower reach, due to more even depths, it is more difficult to find them. The lower reach is the most suitable place for circlers. Where else can you find a run several kilometers long and with a relatively flat bottom?! And there are no problems with live roach. So you can drive circles along the route from the island to Selishchi and back - depending on the direction of the wind. More likely to meet with pike perch and large pike in those parts of the lake where the depth, although not much, but still exceeds the "pseudo-conditional" one. Such a site (3) is located on the right bank opposite the "Chaika" base, between a high sandy cliff and vil. Bor Volgo. An even more extensive area (4) is located in front of the island (if you swim from below). A little above Bor Volgo (5) a manor's estate has been preserved. Decent depth there comes almost to the very shore. Pike perch stays there almost always. It is not for nothing that for a long time this place has been called "Barsky Zakol" - in the old days they were caught there. By the way, I caught my biggest zanders and pikes in the Volga in these places. Tolstoy Rog (6) is very interesting - this is an underwater spit located on the left bank, a kilometer below the village of Zavirye. The current of the main Volga beats into it, which cannot but attract both pike perch and good perch there.
It is worth paying attention to R. Bolshaya Dubenka and the mouth area. Somehow I did not intersect with pike perch here, but I caught pike and perch fairly well. On the bends of the river, ide is common, pecking, however, mostly medium-sized. However, the predator keeps not only in the listed "evil" places. This is easy to verify if you tack along the reach on oars with a track (by no means trolling), spreading wobblers for forty meters (no more than two!) With a working depth of 3.5-5.0 m or just heavy, 10-15 g , mormyshka, baited with a garland of non-small worms. Surely you will meet some kind of predator, including a decent perch. There is no such mormyshka - a jig head of a suitable weight is also suitable, a “shoe” is better, because. it wiggles more and picks up less dirt. And how lucky with the size of the fish. Those who stay at the recreation centers "Chaika" and near the village of Bor Volgo or, with tents, in the vicinity, will also be interested in the strait between the island of Bely Plav and the village of Zavirye, where the Volga rootbed passes and all the lake fish fauna is found. In front of the island, on the left, there is a spit that goes to the village of Kazakovo, where there is a perch and a pike. The same spit, only with a sharper slope, is located to the right behind the island. Above the village of Zavirye there are two bays. The first one, the paddling pool (7), due to its shallow depth and intensive vegetation, is interesting at the beginning of summer and on the first ice. At the exit from it, good fishing can always happen, especially in the current hot summer.
A little further, through a rocky cape, the Vyazovenka Bay (8) cuts into the forest - after the name of the Vyazovnya tributary. There are pebbles and depths, so you can look for a perch, and catch a scavenger float, roach and ide. In general, the bottom relief is much more interesting above the island, in places with a sharp change in depths, when, for example, a long three-meter "lunar" landscape ends with a good drop almost into a 10-meter channel. So, practically opposite Vyazovenka, the high pine cape Gubinskoye Rylo is deeply wedged into the lake - it is here that such a deep "ditch" (9) passes, where you can fish a predator on a jig. There are even more interesting places between the villages of Polki and Yasenskoye. Here, in addition to two large pits, there are many different hillocks and ridges where you can really find any predator. And moving with an echo sounder from the largest pit near the village of Polka in the direction of the village of Devichye, you will almost certainly stumble upon the so-called Crooked River, where the Volga channel zigzags almost at a right angle, breaking off by almost 10 meters. Upstream, at the very, consider, the beginning of the Greater Volga, in the area between the mouth of the river. Kocha and a small grassy island (10) there is always someone to catch, if the water is not heavily shed. Here is a snag on a snag, which attracts a lot of perch and pike, but at the same time, this snag does not interfere much. But you only need to catch wobblers with a depth of no more than a meter, poppers and small turntables. The perch here is of a special violet-ink suit, and the roach is large, the color of blackened silver.
And from the opposite side of this island almost immediately begins a decent sandy slope into the channel (11), where pike perch and deep pike keep. From here it is within easy reach to the "pipe" - the neck connecting the lakes. It starts from the village of Volga, or Tukhachi. This place is almost a cult: steep, up to 12 meters, dumps in the channel always "keep" large bream and pike perch here. And on shallower outlets, large perch is not uncommon. Having reached these places, it is worth going through the "pipe" and going into the river. Lemenka - it flows to the left along the way. At the old piles and on the float, bream and roach are well caught, and in the river itself - pike and perch. Although I don’t want to, I’ll have to drop a drop of tar in the epilogue. The "starved" guests of the lake sometimes behave like boorish hosts. This applies to both "savages" and individual vacationers from the bases. They sin with networks, well, no less than local residents. With the latter, it's easier: the fishery control knows them perfectly, most of their habits and secret "appearances", and even fewer of them have become over time. But other visitors, having seized upon "freedom", often consider themselves free from any moral and ethical standards. I'm not talking about the notorious trolling, when, under the motor, they drag a dozen assorted wobblers under a case of beer. And, ripping off a 300-gram pike perch from a 20 cm Super Shad Rap, they claim that it was useless to let it go. It's all sad!
About the Volgoverkhovye, Lake Volgo and fishing there.
The Valdai Upland is not very high and not very large in size. Its highest point is 343 m above sea level. Numerous hills, lakes, swamps, a myriad of boulders scattered everywhere here - all these are traces of a giant glacier moving from northwest to southeast. Under the influence of the last glaciation (70-11 thousand years ago), several powerful moraine ridges formed in this region - Valdai, Ostashkovskaya, Vyshnevolotskaya. Most of the lakes are located in the depressions between them. The western slope of the hill is steeper, the eastern slope is more gentle. A characteristic feature of the landscape is long, elongated hills. There are also individual dome-shaped ones. The most famous peaks of the Valdai Upland are Mount Yuri and Andrey (343 m), Mount Kamennik (321 m), Mount Orekhovna (288 m). There are several hundred large and small lakes in Valdai. The Seliger region, located in the central part of the Valdai Upland, attracts tourists with an abundance of water and forests. However, this is not only a lake region, but also a region of rivers. Here, on the watershed, the great rivers of the Russian Plain begin - the Volga, the Dnieper, the Western Dvina, their innumerable tributaries - small rivers and streams.
The average date of the opening of the lake is May 1. The earliest is April 14, and the latest is May 17 (for Seliger). The prevailing winds are west and southwest. The southwest wind, which usually brings warmth and precipitation, has a local name - "mokrik". In the summer months, the water in Seliger and the Upper Volga lakes warms up quite quickly. Already in June, the water temperature, as a rule, is about 20 °, and in July - early August it reaches 25 °. For summer holidays, the period from mid-May to mid-September is considered the most favorable. It is impossible to name the exact number of lakes in Valdai. There are several hundred of them - from large ones, tens of kilometers long, to small ones, only tens of meters long. The latter are often little known, lost in the wilderness. We will tell you about the largest and most interesting lakes in this region, in particular, about the Vekhnevolzhsky Lake Volgo. 
Somewhat south-west of Lake Seliger, filling a huge furrow with clusters of boulders scattered here and there, left by the Great Glacier, the necklace of the Upper Volga Lakes bent at a right angle from north to east. Actually, this is the very beginning of our great Russian river - the Volga. There are four main lakes included in this cascade: Sterzh, Vselug, Peno and Volgo, not counting the many large and small reservoirs scattered around the surroundings, connected to the named lakes by rivers and channels.
The largest of this group is Lake Volgo. The area is 183 sq. km, the volume is 0.52 cubic km, the length is 85 km, the maximum width is 6 km. One of the first large reservoirs created in Russia in the 19th century for transport purposes. The peculiarity of this lake lies in its two-dimensionality (Small and Big Volgo) - this is firstly. And secondly, the Volga, in fact, flows from it behind the Beishlot dam located at the end of the lake, built back in 1843 during the construction of the Vyshnevolotsk system. The Upper Volga Beishlot is located 5 km below the original place where the Volga flows out of Lake Volgo.
Initially, the dam was made of wood and stood on a stone foundation. With the help of this dam on the Volga, the conditions for navigation during low water periods were improved due to the passage of water supplies. Near the dam there is a stele, reminiscent of the fact that Beishlot was blown up by the Nazis during the Great Patriotic War in 1941, and then restored in 1943 in concrete structures. The length of the dam is 46 meters, the average annual water flow is 29 cubic meters per second, the annual fluctuation of the level of the upper pool is up to 3.5 meters, the lower one is about 0.1 m. The Upper Volga Beishlot is under protection, access to it by cars is prohibited. Photography and video filming is also prohibited. 
In its current form, Beishlot raises the water level in the Upper Volga reservoir by 7 meters. The reservoir is shallow, so the water in it warms up quickly. The fish, at first, goes into shallow water, and after spawning again goes into the depths of the lake, into wintering pits. The lake is considered to be a bream lake, but various fish are successfully caught, especially pike perch and pike. Pike perch per 6-7 kilos is a fairly frequent guest in our cages, and pike per 8 kilos is also not uncommon. Comes across here (though rarely) and asp. In winter, if you know where, you can catch a large burbot.
The Small Volgo, according to reliable sources, is heavily snarled and stuffed with large bream and pike. The coast is impassable. Perhaps one of the most interesting and beautiful places here is the so-called "pipe" - 
a body of water connecting two parts of Lake Volgo. Depths here with very sharp drops - from 2 to 8 meters. With a fairly wide and long mouth, a rather fishy river, the Lemenka, flows in on the right. The cape at the confluence is in the recent past the end point of the fish, mushroom and berry harvesting trip of tourists from recreation centers located on the lake. The piles of the old bridge, the canyon-like underwater cliffs, the shores overgrown with pure forest - everything is conducive to stopping and setting up a fishing bivouac, if, of course, there is a free place.
Getting into the main lake Volgo, you dissolve in the vast water surface - to the end of the lake about 20 km with a width of 3-5 km. More monotonous depths of 3-5 m begin, with separate huge pits of 8-9 m each. The shores are a continuous resort: pure pine, sand, in general, is a complete compensation for the sovereign Baltic.
In the last third of the lake is the island of Bely Plav, very beautiful, overgrown with forest. A large sandy spit leaves from it, on the slopes of which it is easy to find perches, around thickets of reeds, uruti, arrowheads, etc. Well, what is the ichthyofauna in the named ichthyoflora - there is no need to say. On both sides of the island there are villages: Zavirye, which is considered to be a fishing village, and Bor Volgo. And the fishing Zavirye is considered because immediately behind the island there is a huge wintering pit with large pike perch, not even a pit, but some kind of fish center and an echo sounder, if any, does not have time to count the fish. 
For anglers who come to the Volga for the first time, it is difficult to navigate in the choice of a place and methods of fishing. Especially when every day counts. Having more than one decade of fishing on this lake behind me, I will try to draw up a map of promising places in the lower lake, which is better known to me. I hope this will help readers plan their fishing trips in the vast area of the lake. Whether you live in a tent on the shore or at a recreation center, the entire water area is at your disposal. Even just rowing you can get to good places, but you have to row a lot.
The section of Lake Volgo from Bely Plav Island to the village of Selishche is a stretch about 7 km long and up to 2.5 km wide. The relief is simple: the bottom gradually descends from the coast and the greatest depth rarely exceeds 6.5 m. There is no channel as such here - it "ended" in front of the island. The fact is that before, before the construction in 1843 of the Upper Volga Beishlot - the first dam on the Volga, this part of the water area was a lake. Despite the monotony of the depths, a variety of fish are successfully caught on this, the lowest, stretch. First, roach. Medium-sized, palm-sized, stands along the banks literally like a wall, and it is not difficult to catch it on anything even from the shore. This year (2010), despite the heat, they keep a very high water level, and any fish, including a good bream, began to approach the banks, to the grass. A catchy place, for example, the mouth of the Studenets stream, which is to the right of the pier on the wild beach of the Chaika base (2). In July of this year, in the afternoon, in the very heat, on a side nod, we managed to raise four bream in a row under 1.5 kg. Well, on a boat, it’s enough to find pondweed thickets at the exit from any bay or river, and even better a highlander (it has pink cones on the surface), feed it, but not with lumps of porridge, but with some kind of loose powder, and then roach will probably gather along 200-250 g. Maybe someone more impressive will catch up.
There are other such places: at the mouth of the Bolshaya Dubyonka River, in the bay near the village of Bor Volgo, around the island, at the exit from the paddling pool (7) beyond the village of Zavirye and in the river flowing into the lake in front of this village. Now about predators. Pike perch is perhaps the most attractive of them. There is a lot of him in the Volgo, but this, of course, does not mean that he takes it always and everywhere. If above the island its sites are more or less local, then on the lower reach, due to more even depths, it is more difficult to find them. The lower reach is the most suitable place for circlers. Where else can you find a run several kilometers long and with a relatively flat bottom?! And there are no problems with live roach. So you can drive circles along the route from the island to Selishchi and back - depending on the direction of the wind. More likely to meet with pike perch and large pike in those parts of the lake where the depth, although not much, but still exceeds the "pseudo-conditional" one. Such a site (3) is located on the right bank opposite the Chaika base, between a high sandy cliff and the village of Bor Volgo. An even more extensive area (4) is located behind the island. A little higher than the village of Bor Volgo (5), a manor's estate has been preserved. Decent depth there comes almost to the very shore. Pike perch stays there almost always. It is not for nothing that for a long time this place has been called "Barsky Zakol" - in the old days they were only caught in the bar. By the way, I caught my biggest zanders and pikes in the Volga in these places. Tolstoy Rog (6) is very interesting - this is an underwater spit located on the left bank, a kilometer below the village of Zavirye. The current of the main Volga beats into it, which cannot but attract both pike perch and good perch there.
Those who stayed at the recreation centers "Chaika" and near the village of Bor Volgo or, with tents, in the vicinity, will also be interested in the strait between the island of Bely Plav and the village of Zavirye, where the Volga rootbed passes and all lake ichthyofauna is found. In front of the island, on the left, there is a spit that goes to the village of Kazakovo, where there is a perch and a pike. The same spit, only with a sharper slope, is located to the right behind the island. Above the village of Zavirye there are two bays. The first one, the paddling pool (7), due to its shallow depth and intensive vegetation, is interesting at the beginning of summer and on the first ice. At the exit from it, good fishing can always happen, especially in the current hot summer.
A little higher, through a rocky cape, the Vyazovenka Bay (8) cuts into the forest - after the name of the Vyazovnya tributary. There are pebbles and depths, so you can look for a perch, and catch a scavenger float, roach and ide. In general, above the island, the bottom topography is much more interesting, in places with a sharp change in depths, when, for example, a long three-meter "lunar" landscape ends in a good drop, almost into a 10-meter channel. So, practically opposite Vyazovenka, the high pine cape Gubinskoye Rylo is deeply wedged into the lake - it is here that such a deep "ditch" (9) passes, where you can catch a predator on a jig. There are even more interesting places between the villages of Polki and Yasenskoe. Here, in addition to two large pits, there are many different hillocks and ridges where you can really find any predator. 
The main search for pike perch is best done on a track equipped with 2 lures, on separate leashes, for example: a twister lure, a twister - a heavy mormyshka with a worm (7-10 pcs), a lure-mormyshka. It makes no sense to describe the details of such fishing further, because the classic follows - you caught a pike perch, a buoy overboard and throw a spinning rod equipped with what it bites. With the exception of some particularly doomed days, the predator is in constant motion and it is difficult to find a place to stay, so success lies in moving around the lake. At the end of July and in August, when moving, pay attention (if this happens) to the unusual behavior of gulls. If you see a flock of gulls circling over one place, then this is a "teapot", the surest sign that a large perch knocks a trifle into a pile and drives it to the surface. Here do not yawn and throw spinning on these, you know, half-kilogram (and more) perches, or you can try to catch on the "vertical line".
But it’s very easy to find a parking place for a person - it’s dry all around, sand and still the same pine, and in some places a birch and a Christmas tree. To the left of the stream there is a stone pier, built no one knows when. On the opposite bank, at the mouth of the confluence of the river Bolshaya Dubyonka, there is an extensive shoal with snags, bushes, thickets and, naturally, fish. Here, ide is added to the fish, which is not as abundant as bream, but it also responds to bait and fish up to 3 kg often come across. Further, down the lake, there will be more of it, and I will stop there, but on my own behalf I add that the fish in the lake are very clean, lively and sometimes come across very large - pike perch up to 10-12 kg, pike up to 9-10 kg. At the very end of the lake, as its crown, is the large village of Selishche, from which the real Volga actually begins, but up to Beishlot it, although with a course, is of some kind of lake type. Here, along the banks of the Volga, the forest is sparse, with wide meadows, a river with depth differences, which are indicated by buoys of local fishermen. By the way, under the bridge near Selishchi, you can catch ide in wiring for a crumb of black bread and roach for greens. So, sailing down the lake, we get to Beishlot, and as everywhere right behind the dam there are very beautiful and fishy places, especially in the rapids behind Beishlot all fish are caught, including asp, perch, and occasionally grayling. There is a forest around, there are not many people, but it is full of mushrooms and berries, and directly at the dam there is some kind of Mecca of moss mushrooms, so you won’t understand what is more, moss or mushrooms, and on old pillboxes (from the time of the war) you can look for mushrooms. On this, based on the amount of material, the descriptive part of the journey can be completed, because from Beishlot begins “its own, different distance”. 
How good are the places described? Yes, the fact that, basically, they are passable for people with a car, and at the same time there are a lot of untouched places. Surprisingly, in these places, unlike Seliger, you will not meet scoundrels with electric fishing rods. Apparently, this is due, unfortunately, not to the consciousness of people, but to the inaccessibility of using this rubbish in large water areas. They also stopped trawling lakes, which disrupted the ecosystem. It (i.e., an amphibious trawl) in the village of Khvoshnino, on Vseluga, was even set on fire a couple of times by indignant local fishermen, who, in the old fashioned way, quite actively use fixed nets, often under licenses. The main bait for all types of fish is the worm, and, given the difficulty of catching it in places remote from settlements, you can do without frills, any one is suitable. If you plan not to “cling” to the base on the mainland, it is better to take it with you and store it in moss. Bait is also without bells and whistles, what is, is good. The gear is really any, however, I personally noticed (A. Guskov - approx.) that lately pike prefers a golden twister and a mormyshka with a worm at a time when the sun clings to the trees at sunset, and a yellow "wobbler" during the day . And, given the smooth, clean bottom, mugs will be indispensable, since the bait roach stands like a wall along the banks. If there is a desire to catch perch or pike, it is better to do this at depths of 1-3 m, although pike at such depths are rarely larger than a kilogram, but since the shores are quite indented by vast snarled bays with a depth of 1.5-2 meters, then this is where you can take your soul to a spinning player with a small unloaded turntable or a floating wobbler-component. This is in the summer, and in the winter it is mainly fishing for spinners. Due to problems with bloodworms, local residents actively practice catching “white” fish for dough. I deliberately did not dwell on float fishing in great detail, just because catching bream in the lake does not present any problems in general, the main thing is to have a worm, bait and ropes for anchors, and the boat must be stretched out, because. otherwise, with a wave, it will “walk” on the anchor “ends”, which negatively affects the shy bream with such, in general, a shallow depth. 
Although I don’t want to, I’ll have to drop a drop of tar in the epilogue. The "starved" guests of the lake sometimes behave like boorish hosts. This applies to both "savages" and individual vacationers from the bases. They sin with networks, well, no less than local residents. With the latter, it's easier: the fishery control knows them perfectly, most of their habits and secret "appearances", and even fewer of them have become over time. But other visitors, having seized upon "freedom", often consider themselves free from any moral and ethical standards. And, ripping off a 300-gram pike perch from a 20-cm Super Shad Rap, they claim that it was useless to let it go. It's all sad!
It remains to be warned that in the summer, from time to time, a black-orange cloud appears out of nowhere, which it wears over the lenses of the lakes and is accompanied by such a wind that it will not seem enough. Therefore, - I saw an incomprehensible color increasing cloud and a sharp swell on the water - hurry home, unless, of course, there is a desire to save on the “powerful rider” simulator and compete with waves a meter high.
The water expanses of the lakes of the Tver Territory attract tourists with the beauty of their waters and pine forests, clean shores and the same clean, fresh air. Unlike Lake Seliger, they give the impression of places untouched by man and help to retire with nature itself. The chain of the Upper Volga lakes consists of 4 large reservoirs: Sterzh, Vselug, Peno (in the people of Peno) and Volgo, which seem to be strung on a blue ribbon of the Volga River.
Lake Sterzh
It has a length of 12 km, a width of 1.5 km, and an average depth of 5 m. 
This lake is the first in the system of Volga lakes, it comes to Seliger at a distance of 10 km and is considered the cleanest. Sterzh, among other representatives of the Upper Volga lakes, is distinguished by the indentation of the coastline and, in the northern part, by elevated shores. The surface of the reservoir is calm, which is why it is popularly called the “quiet lake”. The bottom of the Sterzh is mostly pebbly and sandy. In the middle of the lake, one can observe the darker streams of the Volga going. The deepest part is the northern part, to the south the lake becomes shallow, the bottom becomes silty and the reservoir smoothly turns into a river, up to 2 meters deep. Then after 3 km the river flows into Lake Vselug.
Lake Vselug
It is 14 km long, up to 4 km wide, and the average depth is 10 m. 
This deep-water lake is located among fields, meadows and pine forests. The shores of the reservoir Vselug are gentle, gradually rising. The lake is shrouded in many wooded backwaters, has a strong sandy, sometimes rocky, bottom. A characteristic feature of the Vselug is the presence of bottom boulders that form rocky ridges - habitats for zander and pike.
The lake reaches its maximum depth of 20 meters near Novoslovetsky Island (the northern part of the reservoir). To the south, Vselug becomes shallow and narrows significantly, passing into the strait near the village of Vseluki, connecting Vselug with Peno.
Lake Peno
It has a length of 10 km, a width of up to 1.5 km, and an average depth of 4 m. 
Peno Lake is often referred to by locals as the "Narrow Lake". And it is no coincidence, because its coastline is flat and slightly indented, which visually narrows the reservoir. Only in the southern part Peno expands a little, forming two backwaters: the western one - Grininskaya and the eastern one - Ksty.
The shores are mostly low, therefore, during the flood, water often fills the forest - there are karches sticking out in places. The lake has a muddy and viscous bottom, the Peno waters are mossy, with a reddish tinge.
Between the Peno and the subsequent Volgo reservoir, at a distance of about 40 km, the Volga River flowed in the lowland. In the last century, a beishlot was built a little below the river, which transformed 4 lakes into the Upper Volga reservoir. When the beyshlot is closed, the Volga from Peno to Volgo floods the lowland to a width of 3 km. Such an extensive spill is also a consequence of the junction of the Zhukopa River, which is full of water in these places. It happens that in the spring Zhukopa becomes wider than the Volga, thereby turning its waters towards Lake Peno. Thus, everything in the area is flooded with water.
Lake Volgo
It has a length of 20 km, a width of up to 4 km, and an average depth of 2 m. 
This body of water in the system of Upper Volga lakes is considered the smallest and longest. Before the construction of the beyshlot, the length of the lake reached 7 km, and the width - 2. But now these figures fluctuate, because they depend on the work of the beyshlot. The northern shores of the reservoir are not as high as the southern ones. Sometimes in places of elevated shores you can find an outcrop of limestone rock. In addition, springs with “healthy” water very often come out from under the limestone, the degree of which is stable throughout the year and is fixed at +6.
Near the villages of Polki, Pochinok and Kolobov, three huge bows can be observed, and south of the village of Pochinok, the lake surface is crowned by a picturesque island called Bely Plav. The water level in the reservoir also depends on the operation of the beyshlot.
Around the Upper Volga lakes there are a huge number of small lakes. They are located above the cascade, transferring their water to a system of small streams. Some of them, despite their narrowness, are quite deep. For example, a lake not far from the northern part of Sterzh reaches a depth of 30 meters. On the Upper Volga lakes you can enjoy the amazing silence, admire the high pine shores and fish fruitfully.
The reservoir is shallow, so the water in it warms up quickly. The fish, at first, goes into shallow water, and after spawning again goes into the depths of the lake, into wintering pits. The lake is considered to be a bream lake, but various fish are successfully caught, especially pike perch and pike. Pike perch per 6-7 kilos is a fairly frequent guest in our cages, and pike per 8 kilos is also not uncommon. Comes across here (though rarely) and asp. In winter, if you know where, you can catch a large burbot.
The Small Volgo, according to reliable sources, is heavily snarled and stuffed with large bream and pike. The coast is impassable. Perhaps one of the most interesting and beautiful places here is the so-called "pipe" - a body of water connecting the two parts of Lake Volgo. The depths here are with very sharp drops - from 2 to 8 meters. With a fairly wide and long mouth, a rather fishy river, the Lemenka, flows into the right. The cape at the confluence is in the recent past the end point of the fish, mushroom and berry harvesting trip of tourists from recreation centers located on the lake. The piles of the old bridge, the canyon-like underwater cliffs, the shores overgrown with pure forest - everything makes it possible to stop and set up a fishing bivouac, if, of course, there is a free place.
Getting into the main lake Volgo, you dissolve in the vast water surface - until the end of the lake about 20 km with a width of 3-5 km. More monotonous depths of 3-5 m begin, with separate huge pits of 8-9 m each. The shores are a solid resort: pure pine, sand, in general, is a complete compensation for the sovereign Baltic.
In the last third of the lake is the island of White Plav, very beautiful, overgrown with forest. A large sandy spit leaves from it, on the slopes of which it is easy to find perches, around thickets of reeds, uruti, arrowheads, etc. Well, what is the ichthyofauna in the named ichthyoflora - there is no need to say. On both sides of the island there are villages: Zavirye, which is considered to be a fishing village, and Bor Volgo. And the fishing Zavirye is considered because immediately behind the island there is a huge wintering pit with large pike perch, not even a pit, but some kind of fish center and an echo sounder, if any, does not have time to count the fish.
For anglers who come to the Volga for the first time, it is difficult to navigate in the choice of a place and methods of fishing. Especially when every day counts. Having more than one decade of fishing on this lake behind me, I will try to draw up a map of promising places in the lower lake, which is better known to me. I hope this will help readers plan their fishing trips in the vast area of the lake. Whether you live in a tent on the shore or at a recreation center, the entire water area is at your disposal. Even just rowing you can get to good places, but you have to row a lot.
The section of Lake Volgo from Bely Plav Island to the village of Selishche is a stretch about 7 km long and up to 2.5 km wide. The relief is simple: the bottom gradually descends from the coast and the greatest depth rarely exceeds 6.5 m. There is no channel as such here - it "ended" in front of the island. The fact is that before, before the construction in 1843 of the Upper Volga Beishlot - the first dam on the Volga, this part of the water area was a lake. Despite the monotony of the depths, a variety of fish are successfully caught on this, the lowest, stretch. First, roach. Medium-sized, palm-sized, stands along the banks literally like a wall, and it is not difficult to catch it on anything even from the shore. This year (2010), despite the heat, they keep a very high water level, and any fish, including a good bream, began to approach the banks, to the grass. , for example, the mouth of the Studenets stream, which is to the right of the pier on the wild beach of the Chaika base (2). In July of this year, in the afternoon, in the very heat, on a side nod, we managed to raise four bream in a row under 1.5 kg. Well, on a boat, it’s enough to find pondweed thickets at the exit from any bay or river, and even better a highlander (it has pink cones on the surface), feed it, but not with lumps of porridge, but with some kind of loose powder, and then roach will probably gather along 200-250 g. Maybe someone more impressive will catch up.
There are other such places: at the mouth of the Bolshaya Dubyonka River, in the bay near the village of Bor Volgo, around the island, at the exit from the paddling pool (7) beyond the village of Zavirye and in the river flowing into the lake in front of this village. Now about predators. Pike perch is perhaps the most attractive of them. There is a lot of him in the Volgo, but this, of course, does not mean that he takes it always and everywhere. If above the island its sites are more or less local, then on the lower reach, due to more even depths, it is more difficult to find them. The lower reach is the most suitable place for circlers. Where else can you find a run several kilometers long and with a relatively flat bottom?! And there are no problems with live roach. So you can drive circles along the route from the island to Selishchi and back, depending on the direction of the wind. More likely to meet with pike perch and large pike in those parts of the lake where the depth, although not much, but still exceeds the "pseudo-conditional" one. (3) is located on the right bank opposite the "Chaika" base, between a high sandy cliff and the village of Bor Volgo. An even more extensive area (4) is located behind the island. A little higher than the village of Bor Volgo (5), a manor's estate has been preserved. Decent depth there comes almost to the very shore. Pike perch stays there almost always. It is not for nothing that for a long time this place has been called "Barsky Zakol" - in the old days they were only caught in the bar. By the way, I caught my biggest zanders and pikes in the Volga in these places. Tolstoy Rog (6) is very interesting - this is an underwater spit located on the left bank, a kilometer below the village of Zavirye. The current of the main Volga beats into it, which cannot but attract both pike perch and good perch there.
Those who stayed at the recreation centers "Chaika" and near the village of Bor Volgo or, with tents, in the vicinity, will also be interested in the strait between the island of Bely Plav and the village of Zavirye, where the Volga rootbed passes and all lake ichthyofauna is found. In front of the island, on the left, there is a spit that goes to the village of Kazakovo, where there is a perch and a pike. The same spit, only with a sharper slope, is located to the right behind the island. Above the village of Zavirye there are two bays. The first one, the paddling pool (7), due to its shallow depth and intensive vegetation, is interesting at the beginning of summer and on the first ice. At the exit from it, good fishing can always happen, especially in the current hot summer.
A little higher, through a rocky cape, the Vyazovenka Bay (8) crashes into the forest - after the name of the Vyazovnya tributary. There are pebbles and depths, so you can look for a perch, and catch a scavenger float, roach and ide. In general, above the island, the bottom topography is much more interesting, in places with a sharp change in depths, when, for example, a long three-meter "lunar" landscape ends in a good drop, almost into a 10-meter channel. So, practically opposite Vyazovenka, the high pine cape Gubinskoye Rylo is deeply wedged into the lake - it is here that such a deep "ditch" (9) passes, where you can catch a predator on a jig. There are even more interesting places between the villages of Polki and Yasenskoe. Here, in addition to two large pits, there are many different hillocks and ridges where you can really find any predator.
The main search for pike perch is best done on a track equipped with 2 baits, on separate leashes, for example: a twister lure, a twister - a heavy mormyshka with a worm (7-10 pcs), a lure-mormyshka. It makes no sense to describe the details of such fishing further, because the classic follows - you caught a pike perch, a buoy overboard and throw a spinning rod equipped with what it bites. With the exception of some particularly doomed days, the predator is in constant motion and it is difficult to find a place to stay, so success lies in moving around the lake. At the end of July and in August, when moving, pay attention (if this happens) to the unusual behavior of gulls. If you see a flock of gulls circling over one place, then this is a "teapot", the surest sign that a large perch knocks a trifle into a pile and drives it to the surface. Here do not yawn and throw spinning on these, you know, half-kilogram (and more) perches, or you can try to catch on the "vertical line".
But it’s very easy to find a parking place for a person - it’s dry all around, sand and still the same pine, and in some places a birch and a Christmas tree. To the left of the stream there is a stone pier, built no one knows when. On the opposite bank, at the mouth of the confluence of the river Bolshaya Dubyonka, there is an extensive shoal with snags, bushes, thickets and, naturally, fish. Here, ide is added to the fish, which is not as abundant as bream, but it also responds to bait and fish up to 3 kg often come across. Further, down the lake, there will be more of it, and I will stop there, but on my own behalf I add that the fish in the lake are very clean, lively and sometimes come across very large - pike perch up to 10-12 kg, pike up to 9-10 kg. At the very end of the lake, as its crown, is the large village of Selishche, from which the real Volga actually begins, but up to Beishlot it, although with a course, is of some kind of lake type. Here, along the banks of the Volga, the forest is sparse, with wide meadows, a river with depth differences, which are indicated by buoys of local fishermen. By the way, under the bridge near Selishchi, you can catch ide in wiring for a crumb of black bread and roach for greens. So, sailing down the lake, we get to Beishlot, and as everywhere right behind the dam there are very beautiful and fishy places, especially in the rapids behind Beishlot all fish are caught, including asp, perch, and occasionally grayling. There is a forest around, there are not many people, but it is full of mushrooms and berries, and directly at the dam there is some kind of Mecca of moss mushrooms, so you won’t understand what is more, moss or mushrooms, and on old pillboxes (from the time of the war) you can look for mushrooms. On this, based on the amount of material, the descriptive part of the journey can be completed, because from Beishlot begins “its own, different distance”.
How good are the places described? Yes, the fact that, basically, they are passable for people with a car, and at the same time there are a lot of untouched places. Surprisingly, in these places, unlike Seliger, you will not meet scoundrels with electric fishing rods. Apparently, this is due, unfortunately, not to the consciousness of people, but to the inaccessibility of using this rubbish in large water areas. They also stopped trawling lakes, which disrupted the ecosystem. It (i.e., an amphibious trawl) in the village of Khvoshnino, on Vseluga, was even set on fire a couple of times by indignant local fishermen, who, in the old fashioned way, quite actively use fixed nets, often under licenses. The main bait for all types of fish is the worm, and, given the difficulty of catching it in places remote from settlements, you can do without frills, any one is suitable. If you plan not to “cling” to the base on the mainland, it is better to take it with you and store it in moss. Bait is also without bells and whistles, what is, is good. There are really any tackles, however, I personally noticed (A. Guskov - approx.) that lately the pike perch prefers a golden twister and a mormyshka with a worm at a time when the sun clings to the trees at sunset, and a yellow “wobbler” during the day . And, given the smooth, clean bottom, mugs will be indispensable, since the bait roach stands like a wall along the banks. If there is a desire to catch perch or pike, it is better to do this at depths of 1-3 m, although pike at such depths are rarely larger than a kilogram, but since the shores are quite indented by vast snarled bays with a depth of 1.5-2 meters, then this is where you can take your soul to a spinning player with a small unloaded turntable or a floating wobbler-component. This is in the summer, and in the winter it is mainly fishing for spinners. Due to problems with bloodworms, local residents actively practice catching “white” fish for dough. I deliberately did not dwell on float fishing in great detail, just because catching bream in the lake does not present any problems in general, the main thing is to have a worm, bait and ropes for anchors, and the boat must be stretched out, because. otherwise, with a wave, it will “walk” on the anchor “ends”, which negatively affects the shy bream with such, in general, a shallow depth.
Although I don’t want to, I’ll have to drop a drop of tar in the epilogue. The "starved" guests of the lake sometimes behave like boorish hosts. This applies to both "savages" and individual vacationers from the bases. They sin with networks, well, no less than local residents. With the latter, it's easier: the fishery control knows them perfectly, most of their habits and secret "appearances", and even fewer of them have become over time. But other visitors, having seized upon "freedom", often consider themselves free from any moral and ethical standards. And, ripping off a 300-gram pike perch from a 20-cm Super Shad Rap, they claim that it was useless to let it go. It's all sad!
It remains to be warned that in the summer, from time to time, a black-orange cloud appears out of nowhere, which it wears over the lenses of the lakes and is accompanied by such a wind that it will not seem enough. Therefore, - I saw an incomprehensible color of an increasing cloud and a sharp swell on the water - hurry home, unless, of course, there is a desire to save on the “powerful rider” simulator and compete with waves a meter high.
Material reprinted from http://bestrybalka.narod. en/
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On the not very high Valdai Upland, among the boulders scattered by the glacier that passed here eleven thousand years ago, there is a necklace of beautiful Upper Volga lakes with clear water. Lake Volgo is recognized as the largest lake in these parts, the largest width of which is 6 km., And the length is 85 km., The depth compared to the length of the Volgo is not particularly impressive - three to four meters, but there are pits up to six meters deep.
The history of the emergence of a lake with modern geographical characteristics dates back to the 19th century, when the Beishlot dam was built to improve transport progress on the Volga River, and thus the ancient glacial lake increased in volume and formed two reservoirs connected by a channel, which were called Small and Big Volgo. Behind the dam, the Volga River continues its way across the plains of Russia, and before the dam, Lake Volgo splashes its waters with sandy shores, decorated with pine forests.
The southern shores of this reservoir are elevated and in some places you can see limestone outcrops, from which “boiling water” often beats, as springs are called, the water temperature of which is always six degrees. The northern shores are low-lying, cut through by small, overgrown with algae, shallow bays. During the spill, it is the northern side of the Volgo that is flooded. In the very center of the surface of the lake rises the island Bely Plav, overgrown with forest, with an amazing panorama opening from its shores, and in the warm season a large number of tourists resting violently here.
Rest on Lake Volgo
The bays here are shallow, warm up well and become a rich food base, thanks to which a huge number of all kinds of fish live in this reservoir. A rich catch is provided to fishing enthusiasts at any time of the year. Among the fishermen, the lake is recognized as a bream lake, but here you can catch a pike weighing eight kilograms and a seven-kilo pike perch and many other tasty fish, only asp is rarely caught. In winter, experienced anglers get hold of large burbots. The forest surrounding the Volga will delight tourists with an abundance of berries and mushrooms.
The lake is not only a paradise for a fisherman, but also a great place for outdoor activities. One of the most popular types of recreation, apart from fishing, is windsurfing and surfing. A comfortable and spacious surfing camp has been built here, in which both beginners and experienced athletes are offered a wide range of sports equipment. Experienced instructors will help beginners learn to stand confidently on the board. In the evenings, discos are organized in the camp, and during the day, if it doesn’t feel like water, tourists can play tennis, volleyball or take a steam bath in a small bathhouse nestled on the very shore.
Ride on the water surface on boats, water skis and yachts. Even wind allows watersports enthusiasts to achieve the desired traction in the sails. And masters of water skiing hold the championship of Russia on the lake. Canoe trips are also organized, there are several well-developed routes.
Where to stay
Many tourist bases and boarding houses are built on the picturesque shores of Lake Volgo. The recreation center "Chaika" enjoys great attention of travelers, where you can rent fishing and sports equipment. The economy class includes a complex of cottages called "At the beekeeper", and the hotel "Juniper Forest" was built in the style of a Russian wooden house, from the veranda of which a gorgeous view of the Volgo opens.
How to get to Lake Volgo
Russia, Tver region, Selizharovsky district, the village of Selizharovo.
From the Leningradsky railway station from Moscow to Ostashkov can be reached by train. Buses run from Ostashkov to the village of Selizharovo, you need to get off either in Selishchi or at the turn that leads to the Chaika base.
If you get to the lake by private car, then you need to move along the Novorizhskoye highway and, having reached the turn to Rzhev, turn right and the road will lead to Selizharovo.
