Fly Fishing tactics on a slow, deep, clear, bushy Waters
Tehnike mušičarenja na sporim, bistrim dubokim rijekama.
Iako postoji više načina prezentacije mušice na ovakvim rijekama, ja ću opisati dva zabačaja koji su meni najbolje funkcionirali. Većinu ovog iskustva sam prikupio u blizini Slunja, na reviru rijeke Slunjčice i na rijeci Krušnici kod Bosanske Krupe. Iako se obalom Slunjčice može hodati bez problema, bacanje mušičarskim priborom može predstavljati problem, pogotovo neiskusnim ribičima, zato su bagremove grane oko Slunjčice okićene tko zna kakvim sve mušicama, jer čak i kada se mamac dobaci do ribe i riba ga odluči pojesti, promašaji su toliko česti da često završe u granama iznad glave. Na Slunjčici sam proveo dvije sezone i ovako sam najbolje lovio.
There are many tehcnics how to cast on a slow, gin clear bushy waters, but i will describe two casts that work the best for me. Most of this experience I gathered near city of Slunj on fly fishing part of Slunjčica river and on Krušnica river in Bosanska Krupa. Since you can easy walk on this rivers and practically fish in a golf shoes, casting is not so simple, specially for the unexperienced ones. That is the reason why are the trees covered in artificial flies on Slunjčica, because even when you manage to cast to the fish perfectly and the fish decide to eat your fly, setting the hook is sometimes so difficult that many of the flies ends in the branches above your head.
Bow Cast - s obzirom na to da se na većem dijelu revira ne može bacati preko glave. Bow cast i roll cast su opcije koje nam preostaju. Iskusniji bacači bi možda izvukli još koji zabac iz rukava, ali mislim da su ovakvi zabačaji sasvim dovoljni da bi se postigla željena prezentacija. Potrebno je relativno malo vježbe da bi se Bow Cast dovoljno savladao da se primjeni u ribolovu. Ja sam koristio štap klase #5 dužine 9 ili 8.6 stopa ili klasu #3 dužine 10 stopa , s predvezima od 0.10 do 0.14. Pokret je prilično jednostavan i čak ne zahtijeva neko posebno znanje mahanja mušičarskom žnjorom. Dovoljno je ispružiti ruku kojom držimo štap, nanišaniti vrhom štapa prema mjestu zabačaja,a u drugu ruku uzmemo muhu i nategnemo je u visini uha i lagano plasiramo. Mušicu nije potrebno prejako natezati. Ako niste nikada pokušavali, predlažem da prvo malo isprobate da se naviknete na potrebnu dužinu predveza, težinu muhe, napetosti predveza itd. Slunjčica je specifična i jako puno ribe se može pronaći odmah uz obalu i nakon savladavanja ovakvog načina bacanja, drugi po meni važnije dio je prilazak vodi. S obzirom na to da su ribe vrlo blizu, kako ćete priči vodi nekada zna biti od presudne važnosti, ponekad čak važnije od muhe koju odlučite prezentirati ribi. Mislim da je jasno da prilazak vodi mora biti čim suptilniji, prvi ili nekoliko prvih zabačaja će pokrenuti ribu ako vas ne primijeti, a ako vas primijeti važno je ne kretati se previše ili mahati štapom bez potrebe jer lipljan često ima naviku vratiti se na mjesto na kojeg ste ga i prvi puta vidjeli.
Bow cast
When you are fishing on this types of water you will fast figure out that overhead cast is just not possible and thrill while the fly line is flying through the air is just not there, but bow and roll cast gets the job done. More experience fishermans will have one or two more casts, but this two will suit you in 90% of situations. Bow Cast is relatively easy cast to handle. You need a little bit practice just to get the feeling in your hand and you are ready to go. I used 9ft #5wt or 10ft #3wt rod with tippets from 0.10mm to 0.14mm. There is no need for conus tippet, because you want your fly to sink as soonest as possible.The cast itself is pretty simple and you dont need to know much about fly casting. It is enough to extend the hand with which we hold the rod, aim the tip of the rod towards the place of throwing, and with the other hand we take the fly and stretch it at the height of the ear creating tension between rod and the fly. It is not necessary to stretch the fly too hard. If you have never tried, I suggest that you first try to get used to the required length of the line, the weight of the fly, the tension between the rod and the fly, etc. Slunjčica is specific and a lot of fish can be found right next to the shore and after mastering this way of throwing, the second more important part in my opinion is the approach to the water. Given that fish are very close, how you will approach the water can sometimes be crucial, sometimes even more important than the fly you choose to present to the fish. I think it is clear that approaching the water must be as subtle as possible, the first or first few throws will start the fish if it does not notice you, and even if she notices you it is important not to move too much or wave the rod unnecessarily, because grayling often have a habit of returning to the place which you saw for the first time.
Sad malo o samo prezentaciji muhe i muhama koje su meni najbolje radile pri ovakvoj vrsti ribolova. Najviše sam lovio na gamaruse od veličine #12 do #18 i fazanke svakakvih veličina ali ipak #14 i #16 su nekako najbolje radile. Dakle, nakon suptilnog prilaženja vodi, doslovno možete odabrati ribu koju ćete loviti, ispružite ruku i plasirate muhu prema željenoj ribi. Čak i ako je promašite ribu, najbolje je pustiti mušicu da tone bez da je pomičemo. Ako je muha odgovarajuće težine i tone odgovarajućom brzinom, najbolje je ostaviti nešto predveza na vodi kako bi sasvim prirodno putovala prema dnu. Nisam siguran što pri propadanju mušice lipljana zainteresira jer se većina riba hrani pri izdizanju mušica prema površini ali 90% svojih lipljana sam ulovio kod propadanja. Bitno je napomenuti da je voda vrlo spora i teško da će vodena struja nanijeti neke insekte. Moja pretpostavka je da se kod propadanja određene muhe kao što je gamarus ili imitacija jednodnevke jednostavno budi instinkt ribe i ako imitacija odgovara jelovniku, riba ne postavlja previše pitanja. Naravno, pod uvjetom da se muha prezentira kako sam iznad opisao. Polemike dal' je ovakav način ribolova može nazvati mušičarenje ostavljam za drugi puta.
Now a little about the presentation of the flies and the flies that worked best for me in this type of fishing. I fished mostly on gammarus from sizes # 12 to # 18 and pheasants tails of all sizes but still # 14 and # 16 somehow worked best. So, after a subtle approach to the water, you can literally choose the fish you are going to catch, reach out and place the fly towards the desired fish. Even if you miss it the fish, it is best to let the fly sink without moving it. If the fly is the right weight and sinks at the right speed, next best thing you can do is just let the fly sink naturally to the bottom. I'm not sure what attracts the fish while the fly is sinking, because most fish feed when the flies rise to the surface, I caught 90% of my grayling this way. It is important to note that the water is very slow and it is unlikely that the water current will bring some insects. My guess is that when fish notice a certain fly, such as gammarus or an imitation of a mayfly, the instinct simply awakens, and if the imitation fits the menu, the fish does not ask too many questions. Of course, if the fly is presented as I described above. Controversy over whether this way of fishing can be called fly fishing I leave for another time.
Fun fact: u nekim slučajevima prekretnica igre je bila ta da muha pri zabačaju ne pljusne jako u vodu, pa ponekad lagano spuštanje mušice i prezentacija slična češkom nimfarenju je odličan način za prevariti koju ribu.
Fun fact: in some cases game changer was that the fly did not splash hard into the water when thrown, so sometimes a slight lowering of the fly and a presentation similar to Czech nymphing is a great way to catch some fish.
Roll Cast težim mušicama.
Sljedeća tehnika ribolova, pri kojoj zabac iznad glave nije opcija, svakako je Roll Cast. Ova tehnika bacanja doskače u situacije kada su ribe van obale i drže se sredine i druge strane rijeke nebitno jesu li dublje ili ne. Jednu i drugu tehniku je moguće izvesti raznim dužinama štapa i predveza, većina ribolovaca najčešće koristi štap dužine 9 stopa klase 5, a i meni je takav štap, konkretno Greys gr60 opremljenog s Greys gts900 rolom i žnjorom klase 5 poslužio i više nego dobro. Zabačaj je naizgled vrlo jednostavan, ali zbog manjka terena gdje ribič može uči u vodu i bacati iz vode, nekim sretnicima bi ovaj način ribolova također mogao predstavljati problem. Takozvano rolanje s obale gdje iznad, ispod i iza vas postoje prepreke nekim ribolovcima je vrlo izazovno pa svakako preporučujem prije prvog izleta na Slunjčicu vježbanje roll cast-a na travi ili vodi bez prepreka kako bi se vještina savladala dovoljno da se sačuvaju živci i koncentracija. Besplatnih tutoriala o tehnikama bacanja ima na pretek, pa mislim da nije potrebno pisati pravilni način izvođenja. Ako nekoga zanima, neće imati problema s pronalaženjem istih. Nakon što odaberemo poziciju ili odaberemo ribu krenemo s bacanjem. Ako uzmemo u obzir da se većina grizeva desi pri podizanju muhe s dna što imitira tranziciju larve. U nekoliko zabačaja (Rolanja) bacamo žnjoru uzvodno, mendamo iliti prebacujemo žnjoru da se stvori lagani luk i pustimo da predvez u dužni od 2.5 metra do 3.5 metra da potone. Nakon što muha dostigne željenu dubinu, lagano je krenemo podizati. Podizanje muhe izvedivo je pomoću štapa ili nabiranjem strune u ruku praveći oblik broja 8. Jedan i drugi način zadovoljavaju za bržu ili sporiju brzinu podizanja. Bitno je naglasiti da se mušica treba svezati s odgovarajućim tungstenom ili dovoljno teškim olovom kako bi potonula u duboku Slunjčicu, no i lakše muhe imaju svojih prednosti. Čak i ako ne vidimo ribu, pri podizanju odgovarajuće muhe, lipljani će se velikom brzinom zaletjeti prema istoj, čak nekada iskočiti van vode pri pokušaju da je čim prije pojede. Razlog velike brzine je zasigurno taj što su mnogi tulari izvrsni plivači pri tranziciji iz larve u odraslog tulara na površini vode, neki čak razvijaju zrak na putu prema površini što im znatno povećava brzinu i šansu da probiju film vode i presvuku košuljicu. Jedini zaključak koji sam izvukao iz ovoga načina ribolova je taj da riba instinktivno reagira pri podizanju određenih muha tulara i zalijeću se na nju vrlo velikom brzinom. Griz je često neprimjetan, ali ako pažljivo promatramo, često se griz dogodi kada se riba naglo zaustavi i izgleda kao da je odustala od naše mušice. U svakom slučaju vrlo dobra tehnika ribolova na ovakvim i sličnim terenima.
The next fishing technique where overhead fishing is not an option is definitely a Roll Cast. This throwing technique jumps into situations where the fish are off shore and in the middle or on the other side of the river, no matter if they are deeper or not. Both techniques can be performed with various lengths of rod and lines, most anglers usually use a rod length of 9 feet #5 weight, and for me such a rod, in this case Greys gr60 equipped with Greys gts900 reel and 5 weight line served more than well. Throwing is seemingly very simple, but due to the lack of terrain where a fisherman can wade into the water and cast out of the water, so-called rollcasting from the shore where there are obstacles above, below and behind you is very challenging for some anglers, so I definitely recommend practicing roll cast on grass or water without obstacles before the first trip to Slunjčica or Krušnica to master the skill enough to preserve nerves and concentration. There are plenty of free tutorials about throwing techniques, so I don't think it's necessary to write the correct way of performing a roll cast. If anyone is interested, they won’t have a problem finding them. Once we pick a position or pick a fish, we start casting. If we consider that most bites occur when lifting a fly from the bottom which mimics the transition of a larva. In a few roll casts we throw the line upstream, mend the line downstream to create a light bow and let the tippet in the length of 2.5 meters to 3.5 meters sink. Once the fly reaches the desired depth, we slowly start to lift it. Lifting the fly is possible by using a rod by just slowly lifting it or by folding the line in the hand, making the shape of the number 8. Both methods satisfy for faster or slower lifting speed. It is important to emphasize that the fly should be tied with a suitable tungsten or heavy enough lead to sink into the deep Slunjčica, but lighter flies also have their advantages. Even if we do not see the fish, when the appropriate fly starts its way to the surface, the grayling will run towards it at high speed, sometimes even jumping out of the water trying to eat it as soon as possible. The reason for the high speed is certainly that many cadis flies are excellent swimmers in the transition from larva to adult cadis on the surface of the water, some even develop air on the way to the surface which significantly increases their speed and chance to break through the water film. The only conclusion I have from this way of fishing is that the fish instinctively react when they pick up certain cadis flies and they pounce on it at a very high speed. The bite is often hard to spot, but if we look closely, the bite often occurs when the fish all of the sudden stops and looks as if it has given up on our fly. In any case, a very good fishing technique on river Slunjčica, Krušnica and simmilar terrains.
Pictures and text: Luka Šimunjak