Silver from Poland and it was really worth of it!

Sunday, 15 August 2010 20:51

The first trainings of my altogether fourth world championship were really hard for all, and we practically had nothing to follow, as the river was too high. In the first days we went practice only under the equalizing reservoir Myczkowce, where there were many other teams, or on the tributaries such as Solinka, Hoczewka and Oslawa, which was not really good and especially it was clear, based on news from Polish people that official trainings and competitions will be with low water. The practice in the lower San, upstream from the tributary of a little river Oslawa, where I did not catch any fish on the first practice day, but the guys did was really important for me, and thus I decided to repeat it the next day. Then, I caught there 3 big graylings and one them had fallen off that was great as almost nobody around caught anything.

Read more: Silver from Poland and it was really worth of it!

For the First Time and Immediately Gold

Sunday, 15 August 2010 20:41

After last year’s difficult nomination competition, I became a member of the Czech A- Team for the first time in my career. This time the World Championship took place in Poland. However, I was not the only newbie. There was also my colleague from our team in Jaroměř - Roman Jörka. The rest of our team were experienced experts such as Martin Drož, Antonin Pešek and Tomáš Adam. The team manager was Martin Musil and the team captain was Tomáš Starýchfojtů.

Before the championship we had a planned training in Poland, however, due to floods we had to cancel it. Even our departure to Poland was complicated by floods, however, even bigger ones. Despite all these problems we started our journey to Poland, and we looked forward to specific fishing experience. The competition water, the San river, was too high to fish in it, thus we had to fish in adjacent smaller rivers and the lake.

Read more: For the First Time and Immediately Gold

Autumn in Warm Vltava – Part 1

Monday, 21 June 2010 17:50

I had an appointment with Václav Liska before lunch at Stögrova Huť, on Saturday October 3th 2009. Despite the fact that we have known each other for several years, and he had published my first book (Stillwater Fishing Basic), this was the first time that we arranged to go fishing together. Václav brought the last proof-reading of the latest Czech-English book on flies (Secret Flies of the Czech and Slovak Fly-Tiers) with which I helped him to prepare for today’s adventures. It was a sunny and very windy day, and the water in the Vltava was very low. We parked our cars near the Soumarský Bridge and walked upstream. Václav chose to start out with a nymph on a French leader, while I would be fishing with a dry fly.

Read more: Autumn in Warm Vltava – Part 1

One hot september on the Warm Vltava

Sunday, 17 January 2010 00:00

During the first week of September I received a phone call from my dear friend Martin. He told me of the fantastic fishing that he had recently experienced downstream of Dobrá village. According to Martin the skies had been overcast and water levels were high, but apparently the grayling were jumping clear out of the water to take mayfly duns. Our telephone conversation had really sparked my interest, so the very next Sunday (September 6, 2009) I set out on a fishing adventure to explore the Upper Vltava River, within the Bohemian Forest, in an area that the Czech people commonly refer to as “The Sumava Mountains”.

Read more: One hot september on the Warm Vltava

Summer Nymphing in Warm Vltava

Thursday, 05 November 2009 00:00

During the middle of June 2009, Jiří Klíma organized an international Czech nymphing course that was held in Rožmberk nad Vltavou. During the same week, I organized trips to the Warm Vltava. The ten “students” that participated in this year’s Czech Nymphing Masterclass came from Belgium, Netherlands, England, Germany, Finland, Canada and Australia. It was a pleasant mix of fly fishers that ranged from 22 to 62 years of age. Their fly fishing knowledge and skills varied greatly, which made it challenging to find the right stretch of river for each member of our group and areas where they would be able to catch good numbers of fish.

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The End of a Season on the Warm Vltava

Wednesday, 26 November 2008 00:00

The end of my 2006 flyfishing season was a bit in vain, but actually the previous couple of years had been pretty much the same. I leave fishing in the cold to the young, and rather take care of my health somewhere warm. That year I also didn't make it to our annual Sumava stag party, since it coincided with All Saint's Day – an occasion when it's necessary to take the family to visit relatives, those both living and dead, for a bit of talk.

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Wet Windfall

Saturday, 22 March 2008 00:00

For me, the last weekend in November was also the last opportunity to say good bye to the Upper Vltava. A problem, however, lay in the fact that I was rather immobile, as something had broken down in the injection pump of my Ford Focus. Luckily, I managed to procure another mode of transportation, and so Milan and I set out for the Sumava Mountains, already covered with quite a good amount of snow. First, we visited the post office in Freyung, Germany, from which I posted a hundred copies of the German version of “Czech Nymph“, addressed to the company Durkop. The postage was just a third of the price I would have paid had I sent it from a post office in the Czech Republic.

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Sad Trout

Saturday, 22 March 2008 00:00

It was a hot day in July when my wife and I arrived at our weekend house near Volary. Another weekend of cleaning and tidying awaited us, one of those that only such old, long-uninhabited buildings may offer their owners. We hadn’t really come here much during the past ten years and so we decided this year to put everything in order. My task this day was to paint the hallway white, and my wife kept busy with constant tidying and cleaning.

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Indian Summer in Sumava Mountains (part V)

Sunday, 09 December 2007 00:00

Part V.: The Last Ringing

The third October weekend attracted me again to the Sumava Mountains, because the weather forecast was still very optimistic. This time, I set out as late as Saturday morning and I didn't regret it. On the way, views of hilly, forested countryside with a touch of light morning mist opened ahead of me. After arrival at my weekend house in Stogerova Hut near Volary, I wanted to pick plums from the two trees in the garden, but there was nothing there. Unknown “helpers” had already managed to harvest them right before me, exactly like the year before. Never mind, climbing trees is not as big a hobby for me as it used to be when I was younger.

Read more: Indian Summer in Sumava Mountains (part V)

Indian Summer in Sumava Mountains (part IV)

Tuesday, 25 September 2007 00:00

Part IV.: A stag party

It was already the first half of October, but the coldness of autumn hadn't yet come, and Indian summer still ruled in the Tepla (Warm) Vltava valley near the village of Dobra and the Soumarsky bridge. For many years we have organized grayling catching expeditions where many friends reunite and throw a stag party, in the Stögerova Hut.

Local anglers are never happy about it, thinking many graylings won't survive, but the truth is different. These are nothing but anglers' tales and sometimes also unpleasant slanders which are so hard to fight. I could tell stories about that, but not today - this is the time for the beautiful countryside and a knightly joust with a fish which will remain in its natural habitat even if the angler wins.

Read more: Indian Summer in Sumava Mountains (part IV)