Stan Mankov is back this month telling us about the EWF show in Europe he attended along with some fishing he did on the way home.
Too much fishing doesn`t leave time for other things in life but somehow fishing is never too much and is life. It is strange but fly fishing fairs and shows might become an important part of fishermen's life. I like them because I see friends there, many talented people and a few geniuses. I also familiarize myself with the newest gear, destinations and services the fly fishing world has to offer. This year I went for first time to the EWF show in Munich, for which I might say is the best FF fair in Europe. I`ll give you a short review and then tell you what happened on the way back.
EWF was organized for the 8th time and there were more than 3500 visitors for the weekend. I was there with my friend and partner Daniel and we were presenting the agency we hve just started called Trutta tours. It all went great. I met many friends from all around and had the pleasure to meet with many new keen fly fishermen. I enjoyed watching some of the greatest casters for a period making magic happen in front of people's eyes. I was pleased to meet with Igor Stancev from Macedonia - certainly one of the most genius fly tiers. All in all it was a great show! I`ll be there next year too.
A show is a show but no show can be better than fishing, we are fishermen after all not showmen. On our way back we decided to go to Bosnia and fish one of my favorite rivers in Europe - Pliva. It is situated in a picturesque valley near the town of Shipovo. A vary peaceful and relaxed place. We had two days to brainwash ourselves fishing. Pliva was high and the nymph fishing was a priority. Small and medium size nymphs from size 18 to 14 were doing a great job. PTN with a few turns of orange behind the bead and gammarus imitations were some of the best flies. Remember the grayling always loves the gammarus.
It was a great day me and my friend Daniel both caught about 30 fish, mainly grayling and some trout. In this tough condition this was more than great. We had two grayling 45 cm and one 46. Most of the fish were over 40 cm. It was only us on the river. I caught a few fish on a dry fly, but only small ones. It was still a bit early.
On the next day our Bosnian friend suggested to take us to another place - river Janja. Absolutely stunning place, a must see. The river divides into many small springs and runs trough the forest. The place we have been to was not a private stretch of river and there were only wild fish to be caught. They wasn`t big like those we caught on Pliva but they were certainly spookier. We had to be very careful and I really enjoyed this. A pair of knee pads is really helpful in such a situation. Again the gammarus was the most effective fly. Our host organized us a great BBQ for lunch. Bosnian people have amazing hospitality.
Two days passed really quick and it was time to go home. Not that some great fishing wasn`t about to happen there as well. The only thing I`ll miss is the beautiful Pliva river, but I know I`ll be back there soon, in the meantime I am planning to go to see my other love - Tara. I`ll share with you my adventures there in the next issue.
Fancy a Trutta tour? Visit their website