The day was clear and sunny with no wind, but up here in the mountains (altitude of some 750 meters) the season had already progressed and parts of the river were already frozen over when I arrived.
In 1930's, when war with Nazi Germany was considered imminent, Czechoslovakia built a defense line on the Vltava. To this day the river is lined with concrete bunkers, now overgrown by forest.
The going was tougher than when I visited here two weeks ago. Instead of the solid hatch of Baetis mayflies I encoundered in mid October there was much thinner hatch of smallish stoneflies. The stoneflies were not numerous enough to keep the grayling rising consistently and the bright sunshine made them easily spooked. Accurate presentation was therefore required, as I could not afford many misses.
Still I was able to connect to a few fish of decent size. They were remarkable for their variance in color, from very light ones to some almost completely dark.
I really enjoy your blog especially your descriptions of the countryside & fish. Here in South Africa we don't have grayling, waters are not cold enough, but we do have rainbow $ brown trout introduced about 120 years ago. Fly fishers fishing for our yellow fish species often use czhech nymphing.I have tied some of your flies and can't wait to try them.
ReplyDeleteThanks, I appreciate your kind comment. I confess I knew only little about freshwater fly fishing in South Africa - so it was interesting to have a look your blog; your rules and regulations are unlike what we have over here, but I suppose the trout are trout all over the globe.
ReplyDeleteI wish you the best of luck with Czech style nymphs!
Tight lines
J.