My old friend Tim Strong, who had already attended our workshop and also participated World Fly-fishing Championship 2014 representing team Australia, asked me whether it would be possible to spend few days fishing together in the beginning of August. He would like to a little practice before the oncoming Commonwealth games taking part in Canada later in August. So I checked my diary, reorganised my field work to the foregoing week and weekend ( I´m working on a big feasibility study aimed on fish-passes on majority of Czech rivers) and arranged the trip. Tim also asked me whether it would be possible to ask somebody of the top czech competitors for few guided days, so I called my friend Roman Heimlich.
I finished my field work on Thursday morning, went to Prague for two appointments in the afternoon and I was waiting for Tim at the Prague airport at 8pm , it is great, that it is possible to find flight details including exact landing time on internet. Journey to Vyšší Brod took 3 hours and at midnight we were in the hotel, we were staying in Penzion Herbertov, which is great base for fishing in the Vltava river. On the way we visited Český Krumlov, of course.
For morning session we went to one good pool in the Vltava river above Rožmberk, despite of higher flow we get some fish and it was good warm up. I showed to Tim how to start fishing unknown place with streamer, localise fish and next to catch them on nymph. When the raft-traffic increased over the endurable limit we moved to Devil Stones. It was rainy whole day, but we caught a lot of fish and we were practising mainly leading of nymphs and casting and mowing in this very special water. Angler, mainly during competition, must follow plan for the whole beat but also have to make plan for almost every cast as there is always a branch behind you. It is big lecture of concentration, other vice you can catch only squirrels In the evening we were resting, tying nymphs and preparing for Saturday.
We started earlier just above the penzion and Roman joined us during morning and he overtook the care about Tim and we accidentally met also Martin Musil with Johanes Krill from team New Zealand also practising before CW Games , world is small Tim and Roman were fishing side arm of the Vltava river under Vyšší Brod which is a little sheltered against the rafting madness. I had to go home to arrange “housework” as I had been out for 10 days. Fish in fish tank were almost staying behind door I returned in the evening and we met under the Petrol station, we caught few nice fish both on nymphs, wets and dries. Roman focused during his lecture on control of nymph during nymphing and also on the wet fly as it is a little forgotten technique which can bring important fish in every competition. In the evening we were again tying flies, Tim also tested Becherovka, which is one of the “must to taste” things in Czech republic similarly like dumplings.
In the morning I was going to a children´s camp organised by the mother of Honza Vender to have presentation about fish and water life in the Lipno Lake, I had been already teaching at the University, but it was my first lecture for kids, in the begging I gave to everybody sheet of paper and crayons and asked them for a picture of fish and they were listening and drawing whole 75 minutes, hope it was interesting for them, I get many of nice pictures.
Roman and Tim made whole day trip to Šumava mountains to Warm Vltava and we joined them after lunch with Honza and his fishing buddy Flyn. Fishing was not easy because low flow, the best was to down size nymphs to 20. After fishing, Roman went home and we returned to Penzion.
Whole Monday we spent in Vltava close to Penzion, in the morning we went downstream to another nice pool, at lunch time we had to flee before drunk rafts so we went for lunch to penzion Rybářská Bašta for their famous fish soup served with home baked bread. Franta Kůrka, owner of the Penzion and “old otter” came to talk about fishing and when we were leaving I noticed nice smell of relatively rare mushrooms called “syrovinka”.
“Franta, what are you cooking?” “Syrovinky”
“Tim, would you like to taste czech mushrooms?” “Of course”
After great lunch we moved to Penzion Herbertov, where is also a short side-arm of Vltava. I showed Tim my set-up for the “New Zealand Technique” and next we exchanged our rods and Tim disappeared in bush for few hours catching fish after fish, browns, rainbows and coarse fish. In the evening just before dusk, we get also few nice browns on dry flies. If somebody asks, whether it is possible to catch 100 fish a day, it was possible this day.
Last day we were fishing again from early morning, the stretch in front of the penzion looked like botom-less. I hooked rainbow of about 1 kilo and decided to take it for Ludvík, the owner of the Penzion, tippet from fluorocarbon HC 0,10 was strong enough to keep the fish until a brownie took the second fly and broke whole leader, I had no rainbow, no nymphs, no leader, “kurvaaa” :-) We were leaving at lunch time just with first drops of oncoming cold front, during our journey to Prague we visited Hanák Shop in České Budějovice where Tim bought some hooks and leaders and I bought the brand-new hover line for lake fishing developed in cooperation with Luboš Roza.
What a nice few days out spent with great friends full of fishing, fly tying, english and czech language mini-lectures, enjoying scenic toilets, exploring czech design from 60ties, talking jokes (Jesus smoking grass in a mountains cottage, The oldest man in a village, etc.), one of them I can write. The joke originates from an old czech TV show:
An old man is explaining to his friends what is his key for the successful marriage.”Well, immediately after our wedding day, I clarified with my wife that I would decide all important things and she can decide only les important things. And since this day, we have had no any problem. However, nothing important had happened yet ….”
Good luck in Canada