An article on Hucho fly fishing in 5 Balkan countries during the pandemic period in 2020—German language.
Balkans Huchen Quest – Season 2020-2021
(Top 5 Hucho Fly Fishing Destinations in the Balkans in 4 different countries)
By Stanislav Mankov
Huchen, Danube trout, Danube Salmon, Mladica, Sulec or simply the King has been on my mind for nearly a decade. It was a long journey before I learned how to fish for it properly with a fly and start catching it. I feel like I`m really getting there for the last few years. The last season, 2020-2021, was really complicated for all of us fishing travellers because of the COVID-19 situation. Despite that, I managed to fulfill a dream and fish for the mighty huchen in all the Balkan countries that are worth trying. Those are Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Montenegro. Although I also tried to catch Huchen in Serbia, I do not include it in this list as I only spent a few days there without success.
I decide to call it my “Balkan Hucho Quest“. In this article I`m going to share with you the best places I have visited and had a chance to fish and catch a wild huchen to make a total of 18 fish landed for that season.
I will start chronologically following the time line when I visited those countries and rivers.
Destination 1-Croatia- Rivers Kupa, Kupica & Curak (October-November 2020).
It was my first Hucho trip of the year at the end of October and the beginning of November. We stayed at The River Kupa Lodge in the beautiful so-called “Butterfly Valley“ in a small village called Turke. The lodge is situated about a hundred meters away from the bank of the river Kupa which is a border river between Slovenia and Croatia. We were more than welcomed by our dear host, Zac, who is not just a good fly fisherman but an excellent Chef, too. The license cost us 25 euro per day, and we were lucky that for the first time this year, fishing for Huchen on the river Curak & Kupica was also allowed. Those are small tributaries of the Kupa where, during the trout & grayling season, only dry fly fishing is permitted. During the huchen season, which is from 01.10 to 15.02, only the use of streamers with a minimum length of 18 cm tied on a single barbless hook is allowed.
All the fish that we caught were between 60 and 85 cm. Most were caught in the early morning hours on the river Kupica. We also saw a few giant shadows that must have been fish way over a meter. I was fishing a 9 wt rod with an intermediate sinking tip on the tributaries and a 10 wt rod with fast sinking tip on the main river Kupa. The plan we stuck to, and that gave some good results for us, was fishing the small rivers for a few hours in the morning, then returning back to the main river and continuing our fishing there. At the end of the day we also tried to fish Kupica and Curak again but without any success. It seemed to me that those huchen there were most active during the first hour of daylight.
Sadly our trip had to come to an early end because one of the anglers in the group showed some Covid 19 symptoms and we had to drive on our way back.
Destination 2-Bosnia- River Sana (December 2020).
I promised my friend Paul that I would help him catch his first huchen in Bosnia, and the time has come to make my words come true. We stayed at the Beautiful Hotel Kraljevac in Kljuch, located on the bank of the Sana River in the northwestern part of Bosnia & Herzegovina. The local club manages a stretch of river called Zmajevac, and “barbless hooks“ and “catch and release only“ rules have applied for nearly a decade now. In Bosnia, the season for huchen starts much earlier, from 01.06, and ends on 01.01. The cost of the license is 40 euros. This is the perfect destination where a keen angler can catch what I like to call the “Balkan Grand Slam“. Which is trout, grayling and huchen caught on the same day. The famous river Ribnik is just a few minutes drive away from Sana river. During the summer until the end of September, one can target trout & grayling during the day and try his luck with the Mladica (local name for huchen) in the early morning and late evening hours.
We concentrated on the Hucho fishing because December was not the best time for the other species. We did fish for and caught some grayling as well but noticed that the activity of the two fish matched. In the afternoons, there was a small hatch of olives, and mainly small graylings were rising. That seems to attract the huchen and all the fish I caught were hooked after 15:00 pm. The fish was from 70 to 90 cm. One of the days, it started to snow, and this is considered a prime moment to fish for huchen. It really turned out to be one. I had 3 fish in less than an hour.
I really had to thank my friend Ado Jeginovic for his help and support – showing us the best spots and giving us his best Jokers. I wouldn’t have caught those fish without his help. He is certainly one of the best Bosnian guides & fly fishermen I had the honour to know and call a friend. Paul, however, was not so persistent and did not concentrate on the huchen fishing as much as I did, so he still had no success. We decided that we should try another river. The Queen of Rivers! The one and only Una.
Destination 3-Bosnia- River Una (December 2020).
There are many beautiful rivers in Europe. For me the river Soca certainly is the most picturesque of them. However, as it drains to the Adriatic basin, there is no huchen in it. Therefore the river Una goes first on my list of most breathtaking huchen rivers in the Balkans. It is also one of the few places in Europe where fly fishing for Danube salmon can be practised from a boat. It is actually better to fish from the boat as the river is really big, and there are only a few spots where someone can fish from the bank and execute an effective cast.
We were guided by the legendary Halkic brothers also known as Una Discovery Pro Guides. They most certainly know their way around and Firdus took us with his wooden boat to some of the best places on the River around the town of Bosanska Krupa. Paul finally got his huchen and not just one but two. I also managed to catch three beautiful fish. We spotted a giant, and our friend Ado managed to catch a nice huchen from the bank as well by just having a few casts. The huchen from Una and Krushnica River (which is a tributary of Una) have specific colouration, which is due to a black spot disease or fluke disease. Similar coloration is also observed on fish caught from the river Krka in Slovenia. It has the same limestone character. We only fish 2-days on the mighty Una and caught 5 huchen, but I can’t wait to return back and fish it more in the upcoming season.
Destination 4-Slovenia- River Sava & River Sava Bohinjka (January 2021).
Slovenia is a true fly fishing paradise and the most renowned Balkan destination and for a good reason. Huchen Dreams do come true there, and I have special feelings for this country as it is the place where I started and learned how to fish for the salmonid King. It also gives the perfect example of sustainable fishing tourism that other Balkan countries can only learn from. I have been fishing the rivers of Slovenia every winter for the last 5-6 years and this one was not an exception. I stayed for nearly two weeks there in January doing some guiding and some fishing with friends. I was based in Bohinjska Bistritza in a beautiful guest house that can accommodate up to 10 fishermen. For anything concerning accommodation, licenses, hiring equipment or any fishing information, you can contact my dear friend Zlatko Komic or simply visit his shop, Flyfishers Friend. When Fishing for huchen in most places in Slovenia, someone needs to be accompanied by a local member of the club. The season on most rivers opens at 1.10 and ends at 14.02. A fishing license can cost from 30 to 60 euros a day plus the price for the local member or a guide. It can be quite an expensive experience, so my advice is to make sure you prepare well for it.
Those 10 days were the coldest days in the country for the last 5 years. On the coldest day we fished, the temperature was -16 in the morning and -7 during mid-day. That made the fishing extremely hard. No matter that we manage to catch some really nice fish the first few days. And one more time to prove that some of the best conditions are when it snows. I caught a beautiful huchen during some of the heaviest snowfall I have ever fished in. Some of the guys I fished with also caught some nice fish up to 110cm and lost even bigger ones. The water that is managed by the Club of Sava Radovljica is the best Balkan Huchen Stretch I had the chance to cast at. The river is truly amazing! The past season 4 fish over 125cm were caught. I consider this place should immediately go in the must-have list of anyone who wants to catch a big Danube salmon. Hopefully this coming season I will pass an exam in order to join the Sava Radovljica fishing club which has the reputation of the best Huchen stretch on the Balkans for a good reason as it really is home of Giants.
Destination 5-Montenegro- River Lim (February 2021).
There was just one country left on my list to visit – Montenegro. The season in Montenegro opens at the same time as in Bosnia & Serbia – 1.06. and ends 15.02. Me and my friend Veselin who is another die-hard huchen angler, decided that we should do the last trip of this season there. We stayed in the town of Plav in a place called Holiday Park Aqua Resort, situated on the banks of Plavsko Lake, which is another fly fisherman paradise, and a bunch of species can be caught there on a fly. There is the river beginning its journey from that lake, and there is the river Lucha, which fills the lake. Huchen is present mainly in the river Lim, but sometimes big fish are caught in the lake itself. There are two Fly fishing stretches. Only one is just below the town of Plav, and the other one is further downstream in the town of Berane. The license costs 25 euros a day. We fished both places, and we were very happy to catch some beautiful wild huchen every one of the 4 days we spent fishing. The biggest fish I caught was 95 cm. We noticed that the fish in that region prefer smaller streamers about 15-16cm in length. I think this is certainly an overestimated area which is missing from the map of most Huchen anglers. With this trip, my “Balkan Huchen Quest“ for the past season came to an end, but I am sure it will continue for a lifetime as I am truly obsessed with those wild creatures and the thrill of catching them with a fly rod.
Tackle & Advice
- Rods should be in the 10 to 12 wt range. Yes, you can hook and probably land a fish with an 8-weight rod, but I hope you don`t want to kill the fish. So get a decent 10-12 wt rod to start with as fishing light tackle for Huchen is not an option. The reel needs a good drag. This fish is not such a great fighter but you always need to trust your reel. Actually any decent saltwater set should do great for your Danube salmon trip as well.
- Then, there is this rule that applies to pretty much all fly-fishing situations. Backing needs to be stronger than the line, and the line needs to be stronger than your tippet. The breaking point should be on the fly knot-20 to 30-pound fluorocarbon, or monofilament is fine depending on the size of fish you can expect to catch in the river.
- About the fly lines, I like to carry 4 of them. Floating to be used in very low water conditions, one with 15 to 20 feet intermediate tip for general use, one with a Di 3 tip of the same length and one with the fastest sinking tip possible. So far I have mainly used Airflo Sniper lines as well as my favorite Airflo Streamer Max fly line, and I buy them myself I don`t advertise them to you. I guess all the companies have their version of sink-tip fly lines that will do the job for you. Shooting heads with different sink rates can also be used.
- The leader I prefer to make from two sections of line with different diameter to avoid breaking it on the connection with the fly line. Loop to loop connection to join leader to fly line seems to work best. I prefer a double Bimini twist knot to form my leader loop so I know I`m on the safe side.
- Hooks need to be strong and sharp. Carrying a hook file and sharpening your hooks is essential. Tube flies are always a smart option as you can change the hooks every now and then. Don`t make your flies heavy! You might like to add a few turns of lead on some of them but you don’t want to make a spinning lure after all we are fly fishing not spinning, right?.
- There is a trend that some guys cast ultra-heavy “flies“, and they just use a mono line to do it. Those fishermen a friend of mine calls alibi fly fishermen, and rightly so. What you need is a proper 15 to 30-cm streamer with just enough weight so that you can cast it with the fly line.
- I am not a great fan of the synthetic materials as they stay forever on the river if we break them so Yak hair, Icelandic sheep hair & Nayat hair are one of my favorite materials. Avoid too much flash and go for the natural colors – the Huchen is a wild fish and certainly not a pike.
The Fishing
Fishing for the mighty Huchen during rough winter conditions can be dangerous. For this reason, on most rivers in Slovenia (which, in my opinion, should be an example for the rest of the countries), the anglers must be in pairs. I suggest it is wise to be with your buddy or take a guide anywhere you go fishing for Danube salmon for safety reasons and, of course, to share the experience.
- Make sure you always carry a bag with warm spare clothes, perhaps leave them in the car or take them with you if you plan to fish away from the place where you have parked. I almost went for a swim at the tail of a long pool on Sava river while I was trying to net a huchen for my client. When I netted the fish, I became heavier, and my plastic stripping basket filled with water, and I couldn’t really fight the current. I hold onto the fly line of my friend and, with a lot of effort, manage to get out with just a small amount of water going in my waders. It was great I had those spare clothes in the car then because I just imagined getting wet when the temperature was -14.
- My other recommendation is to wear a supporting belt when fishing, no matter if you have back problems or not it will help you prevent them.
- Practice casting with big flies and sinking lines before your first trip as it is good to cover some distance if the river is big. Casting with 11 to 13 feet double handed rods and shooting heads can also be very effective for some tight space situations. The problem with double handers is they make too much noise and you certainly do not make many friends on the river when using them.
- It took me quite some time to find out that the fly has to be swinged across the river rather then stripped. So this is simple: avoid stripping too much. If the water you are fishing is flowing slowly you can retrieve but just enough so you keep in contact with your fly.
- Now, the most important thing when fishing for Huchen and probably any large predators on a Do not trout strike. Strip strike! I know it is not so easy if you are a trout and grayling angler like myself. For all the saltwater guys, it is nothing new, but for us, it is like having to drive from the other side of the road. So my advice is to go somewhere where there is enough- trout or pike or anything you can catch in numbers using a streamer and practice until you learn to strip strike every time. It is important to learn to do it properly, or you might miss your only take for the trip, and no one ever wants that.
- Once you strip strike into the fish – fight it hard. Huchen is not the strongest fighter so use your whole rod action and bend it to the but. Try to break 20 -30 pound line with just bending the rod you will find it is almost impossible. So do not be afraid of playing the Huchen to the limit of your tackle and in most cases you will land in less than 10 minutes.
Future Thoughts on Season 2021-2022
At the time you read this article I hope I will be chasing my huchen dreams on some of the rivers described above or new ones.
Let us not forget that this is Huchen fishing where guarantees do not exist no matter who tells you whatsoever. Don’t be lured from the many pictures on the internet – Danube salmon fishing is hard work! So enjoy the maximum of it and give your best and you will eventually catch that fish from your dreams, just know that it can take its time.
We are all learning every day and can make mistakes because of over-excitement from the catch and the fight, but one thing is really important. The right handling and release of the fish is more important than everything. Fight them hard, keep them wet, do not lift them and press them if they are really big and heavy fish. Take pictures quickly while the fish is in the water or dripping wet. Respect the Huchen and the surroundings it lives in. I am sure we all hope for a bright future for the Danube salmon, and we should all stay strong against anyone who tries to harm them or their habitats. It depends on us to preserve the Huchen for present and future generations. I wish you all Tight lines and a very successful season! Hope to meet some of you on the water.