Slovenia is a geographically speaking very diverse country. In the small territory, the Alps, the Mediterranean, the pre-Alpine world and the slopes of the Pannonian Basin come into contact. The diversity also reflects in the form of watercourses. The country is mingled with many streams and rivers, in which trout, grayling and other interesting fly fishing fish species are found. In Slovenia, we separate watercourses on the basis of the basins. We know two, the Black Sea and Adriatic. The waters of the first flow into the rivers flowing towards the Danube and then into the Black Sea, while the waters of the latter run towards the Adriatic, a piece of the Mediterranean Sea. In the Black Sea basin, the biggest predatory salmonid fish is huchen, while in the Adriatic there is marble trout. Both species are characteristic for Slovenia and a very desired prey of fly anglers.

As a sport, fly fishing in Slovenia does not have such a tradition as in England. However, we can be proud of the short but rich tradition. Some flies of domestic authors are also known, among them F-Fly (after Mr. Marjan Fratnik), Bravnicar's fly (Behm's fly), and a series of Slovenian sedges (Seria Slovenica) are appreciated the most. Since the Second World War, the Slovene fly fishing school has been known.

In dozens of extremely interesting streams, rivers and many standing waters, fishermen can fly fish practically all year round. The official fly fishing season starts on April 1st (in some places even earlier), and ends by the end of September (somewhere even later). The period is usually due to trout fishing time, which is currently the most popular game fish. Outside of this period, some rivers are interesting for fly fishing, where target fish are grayling, pike and huchen.

The most interesting fly fishing species

Among the most interesting fly fish are marble trout, brown trout, grayling, Adriatic grayling and rainbow trout. A number of white fish also join them, such as chub and barbel, as well as carp, pike, huchen and other species. Read more about the most interesting fishing fish here. Fishermen fish them with all fly fishing techniques, most often with nymphs, dry flies and streamers. On larger rivers, it is possible to use heavy equipment, including two-handed rods, which we can see a lot less than one-handed ones. The most commonly used are floating lines, at higher water levels and in deeper areas, we also recommend sinking. In the summer and at very small flows, anglers use with small and light flies, and they often use the French technique. Authorized fly fishing methods are written on the individual licence. In the case of grayling, the use of barbless hooks is always obligatory, or they must have pressed barbes. Such hooks are prescribed for fishing in all C&R districts.

Tips on where to fly fish

Soča, Sava Bohinjka, Idrijca, Radovna, Unica, Sava and Krka are among the most famous fly fishing rivers in Slovenia. In addition to them, there are dozens of other, less known but also rich waters. These pamper the fishermen again and again with excellent fishing and surprise them with the natural surroundings and beautiful catches. Do not miss out also these rich rivers: Vipava, Rižana, Reka, Ljubljanica, Poljanska Sora, Selška Sora, Sava Dolinka (also the reservoir), the upper Sava, Savinja, Dreta, Meža, Tržiška Bistrica, Kokra, Kamniška Bistrica, Lipnica, Radeščica, Ribnica, Bistrica. Among the standing waters Cerknica lake, Završnica lake, Jasna lake and Črno jezero lake are the most interesting.

For more information on fly fishing in Slovenia, browse the portal (also use the search engine on the first page) where you can also buy fishing licences. You can find interesting fly fishing articles on our blog.