Shirvan Nature Reserve

This was 2 years ago.My husband's geophysical team was doing geophysical work in the area of the reserve. He told us a lot of interesting stuff about this reserve and even brought back a trophy - they found lots of goitered gazelle horns there. So anyway he arranged with the reserve administration that we'd be allowed to fish on the lake. We set off early in the morning. Paid 1 shirvan per person for entry. Had to take a ranger, without him you can't take a single extra step. We drove across the steppe and it felt like we were in a savanna, little herds of gazelles darting around everywhere and it seems.like elephants and giraffes are about to come running from around the bend. In the reserve's canals the water is very clear.and nothing was biting and the lake is all overgrown with reeds from the viewing platform an amazing picture opened up on one side of the lake white swans are sitting on the other pelicans and some other birds. Should definitely have brought binoculars.Well so on the lake there's only one passage and one boat,which doesn't inspire confidence, and even then you can't get in it without the ranger. He has to show you himself where you can fish plus a strong wind picked up and we decided to get out of there to 97 kmOn the way out of the reserve we stopped by the museum very informative about the flora and fauna of the Caspian.So that's where we really as they say had our fill caught pike. Our friends about 15 pike , and us fewer . but those were my first pike.