Poland Fishing

When UK anglers think of the wonderful fly fishing for Trout and Grayling in Poland thoughts immediately go to the super river called the San and who can blame them .

However there are several other rivers in Poland which also give outstanding fly fishing but so far they have been virtually unfished by anglers from the UK so they have never been written about and thus UK anglers do not know of their existence.

One of the jewels in the crown is called the River Dunajec which is one of the longest and most scenic mountain rivers in Poland. Its source is in the Tatra Mountains to the East of Pieniny and about 1700 metres above sea level. 90 kilometers from its source it is joined by the River Pieniny and travels through a breath taking gorge for 8 kilometers before flowing alongside the Beskidy Mountains and eventually joins the River Vistula which flows through Krakow.

In Pieniny is the first transboundary National Park in Europe and the river not far from Kroscienko actually is the border between Poland and Slovakia. The scenery and wildlife are stunning but it is the world class fly fishing which attracts those anglers "in the know".

Unlike the San River, which is usually shallow and wide, the Dunajec River is a fast and in places a wild river with very hard fighting fish used to the strong currents. Normal species encountered are Brown Trout, Grayling and this river is very famous for its monster Huchen which grow to mind blowing sizes. There are also many species of white fish including Chub, Dace and Naze.

in 2008 we were invited by two of Poland`s finest fly fishers to sample the the fishing in Poland. They wanted us to have a brief taste of what Poland had to offer. Initially we were based near Lesko and fished the legendary River San. Awesome fishing to be sure. We just had a few days on the San but the best was kept until last. The San whetted our appetites big time but was just a taster of what was to follow.

We drove for half a day and arrived at a lovely little hill town called Kroscienko and stayed at a very comfortable small hotel. Whilst the Trout and Grayling are not quite as plentiful as in the San (by UK river standards the river holds massive stocks of fish) they make up for it by being larger. In two days fishing on a slowly rising river we lost count of the number of Brown Trout we caught over 1lb. Many fish were closer to 2lb. Likewise with Grayling. It did not take long to connect with the "lady of the stream" and many fish were 18" which by UK standards are fish of a lifetime. This river certainly has loads of potential for personal bests both Brown Trout and Grayling. The river varies from fast runs with many rocks and boulders to smooth glides with mainly large gravel bottoms and we had huge sport using Polish nymphing methods and the dry fly. Most of the fishing was an easy walk from the accommodation.

Our friends would like to show UK anglers the other massive fly fishing potential Poland has to offer and have offered to escort a few small groups of anglers (maximum 7) to fish the River Dunajec. If the fishing happens to be affected by unseasonable conditions there are several good alternatives near by. This is an opportunity not to be missed if you would like to try superb fly fishing at very reasonable prices.

This is an opportunity to take what basically is a masterclass in Polish fly fishing techniques which also work superbly in the UK. You will be shown Polish nymphing which is not the same as Czech nymphing plus dry fly techniques that really work ! Compared with the UK the dry flies used are often minute but totally devastating and usually ensure a rise. Also a lot of dry fly fishing is downstream.

Anglers in the escorted groups would need to be competent casters able to use a variety of presentation casts. The river is not suitable if you are infirm because the current in many places is very powerful and a wading staff is vital. A lot of wading is involved in this powerful river. The water is deeper and more powerful than it appears and it just screams out fish especially if a rise is on and fish are rising everywhere.

Our Polish friends may be running some trips to fish this superb river in 2010 and if so we will post details on here as soon as we have them. However it is likely that the stretch to be fished will be used in the 2010 world fly fishing championships and it is unlikely that any permits will be available until after the Summer event.