I took my colleague from work Jakub who is starting with fly fishing to one day trip to Warm Vltava. We were in water at about lunch time, as it was nothing hatching, we started with nymphs and caught few graylings. We awaited a massive hatch of olives, but it took only one hour, still we caught some nice fish on dry. It total, we caught about 25 graylings, what a nice day.
Everybody posts pictures with graylings and also I could not resist and I visited our best grayling river Warm Vltava. Mild weather still not lifted olives to hatch and therefore fishing is mainly about nymphing. I started at about lunchtime, nothing was hatching, nothing was rising, so I was going relatively quickly downstream and explored suitable places with team of nymphs, which I was changing relatively often, and I caught a few smaller graylings. At about 2 o’clock I found place where 9 graylings were rising. 5 of them had about 25-28cm, 4 were from range 32-34 cm and one had 38 cm. When I saw two another fishermen fishing downstream from me, I decided to return to car and visit another good pool on the way, where I caught another 3 fish on nymph and the best grayling of the day had 39 cm an took ping Bobeš. On the way home I made pictures of fog in the beautiful Vltava River valley, Autumn is nice but short 
We cancelled autumnal workshop, but I managed and extended weekend with two friends, Andreas from Germany with whom we already went fishing in May, and Dirk from Holland, who is relatively experienced fly fishermen but who would like to improve some nymphing and dry fly skills. Our base was Herbertov, but first two days we spent on smaller rivers, as a canoeists marathon took part in Vltava and discharge in the river was high.
On Friday we met at Warm Vltava at Soumarský most, our aim was to practice nymphing and dry fly. First three hours were hard, there was nothing hatching and fish were not active, so we caught few fish on nymphs, including some decent dace, but it was nothing special. Suddenly, we saw few sailing boats on the surface followed by first circles of rising fish. Fish were everywhere, under one tree we caught maybe 15 fish, both on dry fly and active nymph. Majority of fish were grayling of size about 25-28 cm, but we caught a few fish over 30. In one pool I also caught nice brown. The last two hours made our day, it´s fishing.
Second day I took them to small brook called Polečnice in Český Krumlov, and the aim was to practice fine fishing with light equipment and one fly. I lent my friends my rods size 2, made leaders from 0,10 mm tippet and we used one small nymph size 18. I caught two trouts during demonstration of technique and next we spread to individual pools as river is really small. I thing, that it was very useful for them, as only small adjustments of the nymphing technique brought great results. In the evening, Andreas tied his first own flies 
Sunday we spent in Vltava close to Herbertov and it was really difficult, fish were not cooperating too much. However, if you succeed during hard days, you succeed always, we caught a few fish, Andreas was practising streamer and got two bigger rainbows, Dirk got few rising trouts on dry fly.
We decided to check our favourite river in the end of August, whether the graylings are already active. We caught many coarse fish, mainly bleak, roach, dace, also perch. But we caught also few nice graylings mainly on nymph. In a nice place, I noticed four good graylings staying along an edge about 2 meters downstream from me. So i sent them my favourite nymphs and … nothing happened.
So I changed flies and … again nothing. I tested about 10 patterns and also dries, but I could see not any interest. As the last chance, I took from my fly box a pink squirmy worm, when it fell to water, all graylings became nervous, but, out of the blue, appeared a perch and took the worm just in front of the nose of the first grayling…. The faith disturbed the graylings and they moved away. On the way back to car I saw couple of deer, found some mushrooms, and we also did not forget to go for dinner to the restaurant “U Grobiána” in Lenora. Simply perfect afternoon.
We decided to wet our gear and visit upper part of Warm Vltava, It was nice day in nice place, we caught few graylings, trouts and also on minnow. Honza was fishing only nymphs, I was fishing only upstream dries, I simply like it and I have to practice precise casting in difficult terrain.
I banned wading in Warm Vltava during April and May to protect grayling population during spawning period, but mainly the lower part is occupied also by hordes of coarse fish, which we can catch from bank. There is not so many places, where is possible to cast streamers from bank, but Honza and his four-footed friend Flin know them. It was nice walk, we saw hundreds of fish, mainly chub, roach, ide and asp, and we also caught few, it was nice day.
I love fishing for grayling in the end of winter, Honza and I never miss opportunity to visit lower part of Warm Vltava which is open for fishing also in winter. Vltava has three sources, Warm Vltava, Grassy Vltava and Cold Vltava. In fact, it is very often very short period to manage the trip, it is just after ice melting in river and before masive spring snow melting and rains in mountains. More over, in April and May, fishing is banned here because of spawning time of grayling. In this time, very often you can meet also nice trout, we found out during one of our scientific project, that brown trout descent from all streams after spawning in October to lower parts of river to survive winter. It is never about many takes, but we always catch some nice fish, enjoy one of the first spring days out in the pure nature. And as the manager of the water, I´m always curious whether fish survived winter and in what condition they are before spawning.
There are some discussions whether is ethic to fish for grayling before spawning, I thing, that fishing in winter is safer for fish than fishing in summer. In winter, water is ice cold, full of oxygen, fish does not fight hardly, and all are released with minimal injury. In summer, water temperature is higher, fish fight longer and risk of damage and also consecutive mildewing is higher.
I usually fish in rivers in winter till March, in April and May I focus on lakes and sometimes I visit our trophy water Vltava 24. In this months, all fish except brown trout have spawning time, water is usually higher and muddy and still cold, I don´t like it. I always return to rivers in the end of May when first sedge is hatching.
Fifteen years ago, we had problem with decline of catches of grayling. I established minimal size limit for grayling of 40 cm to support natural reproduction of fish in rivers. And it is absolutely without doubts, that this is the best method of management. In rivers, where are conditions suitable for natural reproduction, the grayling population restored quickly, I don´t need some serious research to prove the results, I go fishing there . However, I organised also scientific project aimed on the dynamic of fish stock in the Warm Vltava above Lipno lake, if I find a time, I would make an article about it.
But I can write few articles about my personal “scientific” surveys with fly fishing rod in hand during last autumn, I´m going to start from the latest visits. One sunny November day, I was there with Jiří. We were walking trough the meadows and “ananas fields”, it was really exhausting, but fishing was worth to withstand it. When we arrived to river, I saw few rising fish, Jiří decided to fish dry fly whole day and disappeared downstream. After few cats with dry fly I recognised that it is not the right recipe. So I tried few casts with squirmy worm, again without any effect. So I finally moved to nymphing with small nymphs size 16 with pink, golden or orange beads and fish started to cooperate. I caught 14 fish, three browns, four graylings of size +-38 cm and the rest were smaller graylings of about 30 cm. What a nice day.
In October, I visited graylings few times with Honza and GoPro camera, I´m going to learn how to edit movies this weekend.
Mild December weather was encouraging us to go fishing and we did not resits and made a trip to the non-salmonid section of Warm Vltava last weekend. It is not necessary to talk to much, pictures speaks themselves, simply perfect day.
I visited Warm Vltava few times during October and November, not so many times as I would imagine, but it was fine. Extremely low flow caused situation that also bigger graylings had to move from deep pools to rifles as in the pools was almost still-water. Therefore it was caught many nice fish in size 36 – 42 cm this year, mainly in the easiest places for fishing just under the riffles in the mouths of pools. It was again proved my great idea to increase the size limit of grayling in all our waters to 40 cm, otherwise majority of this fish would be dead. Moreover, it was caught many fish in size 28 – 33 cm so we have enough mature fish for future reproduction. The best method how to manage native fish populations is simply let them without management
First day I was with Honza Vender in Dobra, fish were rising from lunch time, so I was fishing only on dries. Olive Shutlecock size 18 and fluorocarbon HC 0,10 was the ideal choice. I was casting only on bigger fish and I caught about 30 graylings, what a great day. On the way home I visited my favourite secret place in forest and I found few mushrooms, the only mushrooms found this season which was almost without rain.
Another day I was fishing a little downstream under confluence of Warm Vltava with Cold Vltava, I started with nymphs and the orange tag jig size 18 worked well, I caught also few nice browns. Fish were not rising intensively this day and all occasionally rising fish I got on nymph. I found two holes where are nesting kingfishers, you can recognise it easily by the two “tracks”
In the beginning of November, I was fishing more downstream at Chlum, I was fishing dry fly – nymph method and dry fly. I had to go to HC 0,08 mm tipped as fish were very shy this bright day. In the middle of the river I found excrements from mouse . Have you ever noticed beautiful rainbow colours on the tail of grayling?
Winter will be long
