Adventures of fly angler in Poland

On the way back from Wejherowo to Kraków, I stopped near another nice Pomeranian river.  It was very low and clear, so I was able to spot shools of graylings through polarized glasses. Unfortunately, it is very popular kayaking route. Which means, there's huge traffic of kayaks. Every 1-2 minute someone floats down the river and ask: "Got fish?". Many of them were drunk, or shout very loudly, so the atmosphere was a bit nervous. There's a lot of graylings in this river, but mostly they are small.  Also, fishing is very challenging because of low hanging tree branches.  I lost a lot of flies on these trees. I used euro nymphing method with short glass rod Echo Glass 8'6" 4wt. Normally this is my dry fly rod. But I needed shorter rod on this stream, due to tight space and many obstructions. Here's I captured moment of grayling take on the video: Then I found one nice place, where I spotted bigger graylings. Unfortunately, it was extremely hard to cast into....

 I spent 3 days in Kashubian Tricity - an aglomeration of 3 closely spaced towns: Wejherowo, Reda and Rumia.  Reda is a small river which flows through Wejherowo and joins Baltic sea nearby.  The river was running very low and clear. The depth is less than knee-deep in many places, with occasional deep holes up to 1-2 m.   Dominating species in this area are grayling and brown trout.  Once I started, I caught a grayling. Most of catches were very small brown trout, a lot of them. Also I caught perch.  I tried to avoid too much wading, in such small river it spooks fish. Deeper spots near undercut banks are perspective for holding larger trout. Unfortunately, I caught only small fish. It was a hot day by Polish means (+27 C), but most of the river is covered by dense treeline, so it was very pleasant experience. I caught 30 or maybe 40 fish in 3 hours. They all were small. Nothing to brag about from fishing prospective. But I love special atmosphere of ...

My next day I dedicated to the river Rega. My Facebook friend Łukasz contacted me, and suggested that he can show me the river near town Łobez. Rega in Łobez is quite a small river. Water was low and clear. Level at Resko station was 288 cm, flow 4,8 m3/s. I met with Łukasz in the morning, and we had breakfast in his apartment. I also was greeted by his friendly dog. I do love dogs. I hope when I'll get old, I'll have my four-legged fishing buddy, who will accompany me on trips. Rega goes through the city, and surroundings look like city park, with many people walking around. Some trees pose danger for fly fishermen. I lost couple of flies on the trees. Łukasz already got few fish. Trout, graylings, and chub.  I had nothing yet. I used small brown and green nymphs. Finally, I got a fish, a small brown trout.  We walked upstream, fishing all the way. Then we found an excellent grayling spot. I caught a couple of graylings and another small brown tr...

The next day I dedicated to Parsęta river exploration. Parsęta is a famous sea trout river in Pomerania. It has a windy course and takes many smaller tributaries along the way. Fishing for Baltic sea trout is the main attraction there, but upper parts of the river also hold a population of native brown trout and grayling. The first location I chose was the Rościno hydropower plant. The dam blocks passage for anadromous trout further upstream. So, theoretically, there's a concentration of fresh sea-run fish in this area. After 40 minutes of driving, I arrived to the power plant area. The river was very shallow at this time. The level 202 cm (Bardy), flow 17,4 m3/s, temperature 18,8 C. At Rościno 84 cm and 6,9 m3/s. It was a surprise that I can wade and cross river from side to side in this place. I assembled Vision Sisu 6wt 9' fly rod with OPST Smooth integrated skagit line.  Water was turbid, so I attached hot pink streamer, for better visibility. Then I stepped in th...

I have a 2-week long vacation and decided to make a trip to yet unexplored part of Poland - Western Pomerania.  I booked on Airbnb an apartment in the suburbs of Kołobrzeg on the Baltic sea.  The road trip is about 760 km and 7 hours, by Google maps estimation.  But, it took much longer for me, because I planned a few stops to explore small rivers in the Szczecin area. I drove through Katowice, Opole, Wrocław, and Legnica by A4 motorway. This road is very familiar to me, as I was already a few times in the Wrocław area.  But after Legnica, I stepped into unknown territory.  S3 motorway, or European road E65, is quite new, and there are few parts still in construction near towns Lubin and Polkowice. But from Polkowice to Szczecin it's excellent, and traffic is moderate. The road was long. Near 17:00 I arrived to the first small stream in the Szczecin area.  The river looked dark, with brownish turbid water. For such conditions, I always use s...

When I was in Wejherowo, I tried small river Reda, which flows into the Baltic sea. There is some brown trout and grayling population, as well as other "coarse" fish probably (perch, pike). River is very small and mostly shallow. But there's some deep holes, up to 2 m in depth. Despite of recent rain, water was crystal clear, and the bottom is seen almost everywhere. First location I tried near horse riding farm. Farm owners built the fence around the bridge and the river, making access limited. I found a hole and entered inside. The river was very cute, but I didn't see any sign of the fish. I moved 5 km upstream. There is Catch and Release section. It has "no wading" restriction to the end of May, because this section of the river has grayling spawning grounds. Reda has very winding course here, with many deep holes, and shallow riffles.  I've seen some fish in the riffle, probably graylings. I didn't bother with them, instead ...

This year I visited river Łupawa in Pomorze, northern region of Poland, close to Baltic sea. It's not that different from similar rivers in the area, but it got some international recognition after European fly fishing championship in 2016. It was my second visit. First was not very successful from fishing standpoint, but I beloved in this area. It's kind of magic place, and I was happy just to be there. Łupawa is rather small stream, surrounded by forests and marshlands. Forest rivers like this usually challenging for fly fishing. Overhanging branches, fallen trees, abundant logjams, difficult wading.  Fortunately, Łupawa on C&R section is quite easy for wading. Riverbed covered by sand, gravel or cobblestones. Depth in many places is shallow, around knee level, which allows to cross river or navigate around obstacles with ease. Popular fly fishing stretch starts from the bridge in Osiedle rybackie (Fishermen's village), a small settlement near fish farm. Below th...