Posted: Mon 04/12/10 5:58 pm Post subject: Austria & Italy / Slovenia Grayling: Where, Best Times?
Would be interested in some thoughts and ideas on where and when. Would like to visit above countries for a grayling expedition. I would be driving a rental car and probably would fly in to Klagenfurt in Austria. I would like to fish near there and then head through Italy. In the middle of the whole deal I will take a break from fishing for a few days down in Piran area of Slovenia. Then a few more days of fishing in Slovenia before heading back to Klagenfurt and back home to the states. I am shooting for September of 2011. Which rivers would you do or recommend and why? I am NOT INTERESTED IN ANYTHING BESIDES GRAYLING. I have all that at home. This is a pure GRAYLING trip. Give me your ideas and suggestions. I would be ever so grateful. In turn I can help you with southern U.S trout fishing if the need should ever ris.
You might want to check this webpage in English.
This hotel specialices in flyfishing and covering the corners of Austria and Slowenia you are interested in. Have not been there myself (yet) but one hears good reports.
http://www.alpe-adria-fischerei.at/index_en.php
Cheers
Patrick, a flyfisher from Switzerland, currently living in Panama
You might want to consider the region around Salzburg, lots of the most beautifull rivers full of Grayling, not cheap but pure C&R and you can hire some very experienced english-speaking guides.
I would especially recommend the river "Goiserer Traun", a beauty.
Give the guys at Hurch Flyfishing a call, they should be able to give you all the details in English, although the Webpage is not in English, but if you check out the pictures of the rivers that might give you a good impression:
http://www.hurch.eu/index.php/contact --> for the phone nr
http://www.hurch.eu/gallerie/main.php?g2_itemId=770--> for pictures of the Goiserer Traun
Thanks for the link, it looks nicej. The problem is the decide if I should stay at Hotel in Austria further west of klagenfurt with a package deal for a few days. Then I can move on down to Slovenia. I have promised a familoy member who is a not fishing that we will go down to the Piran area for some beach visits also. I'm also leery of paying a lot for fishing for mostly rainbows. My research show that a lot of rainbows are stocked in these rivers. Do you know of some stretches of rivers where the Grayling dominates. I know Unica in Slovenia should be a given but what about Italy or Austria? It looks like there are so much waters with rainbows. Nothing against rainbows but living in the states I sure don't need to travel to Europe for them. Thanks for your help.
There are rainbows in these rivers but many times they reproduce naturally so not all are stocked fish. Also the brown trout fishing is worth the trip.
Especially in Austria, in Slovenia I heard some rumours of heavy rainbow stocking..
I cannot comment on the Klagenfurt aerea too much firsthand although the Moell and Drau river are famous for their grayling.
The Goiserer Traun near Salzburg is a dream of a grayling river, I would say that it does not get much better than that as far as numbers and size of Grayling are concerned.
Thanks again for your comments. I'm also under the impression that there are a lot of rainbows stocked in Slovenian rivers. I guess I would concentrate on Austria and maybe do one of the chalk streams in Slovenia. I'm interested in visiting Slovenia more for the scenery than anything. One last question. Do you have any experience or any information on river Gail in Austria? I found a Hotel Post in Kötschach-Mauten area with reasonable fly fishing packages. Anyhow, thanks for your suggestions. I'm not planning this trip until next year so I'll have plenty of time. Just wanted to begin my research early so to speak.
I am sure you will enjoy the Slovenian landscape and rivers no matter what.
The Hotel Post is a good bet to fish for Grayling in Autumn I have read some reports in German, I am not sure about the quality of the Grayling population as they have different rivers and also the Gail further up seems more a trout river, but surely worth a try.
I still would opt for the Pension Wutte because he can lead you to the best bets on both Slovenia and Austria or at least you can fish the Austrian Rivers while you are staying there and get firsthand information for heading into Slovenia after.
I am missing this kind of fishing, although Panama is also a good place to flyfish in Saltwater.
Have fun with your planning.
I am just back to Austria after my fishing trip in Slovenia. Tennswede, Klagenfurt is the capital city of Corinthia. The whole region is full of waters including rivers full of Grayling. If I may say, you are going to a Grayling Paradise but only early spring and autumn because of snowmelt.
Flyfisherdreamer, Milan Wutte unfortunately provides only with fixed packages. He only has three types of packages with fixed itinerary in advance, therefore you cannot choose every day where you want to fish. But, from Klagenfurt, in case you rent a car there, it will take you only 1.5 hrs of drive to get to Hotel Sonne. This hotel is located at Lienz in East Tirol and has excellent fly fishing waters.
Trust me, the rivers called Grosse Drau and Kleine Drau provide with excellent fishing for monster graylings. in Kleine Drau I had 12 graylings in one day all between 38 - 50cm and in Grosse Drau I had many but two of 51cm. In addition, river Moell is also great. There are huge trouts and graylings there as well. But, the Drau rivers are well known for Grayling and most of the fish in those stretches is Grayling (around 70%)
As for Slovenia, as I mentioned, I am just back from there and will post a story soon. In Slovenia you also find the special type of grayling called the Adriatic Grayling which you can fish at Soca river. In addition, rivers full of grayling in Slovenia are also Idrijca (especially the trophy part which we could not fish now because of spawning), the Upper part of Sava river and definitely the no 1, UNEC. Unec is full of huge graylings and it is a very challneging Chalk Stream. check www.lustrik.com for more information. You can contact me by e-mail or phone as well,
valentin.muhaxheri@osce.org and +43 650 702 64 68
I will be fishing Slovenian waters again mid June while between 27 May to 5 June I will be in the area where you intend to go, just 40 minutes drives to the region of Salzburg
Thank you all for the tips. I guess the question is still out then, Which place to go for grayling. As I have stated before, I'm leery of rainbow waters. I have plenty of rainbow fishing here in Tennessee. I would like to spend most of my money and time on grayling. The problem as I see it, if I go to far up in Austria it will be a drag to make it down to Piran. I have other family members with me on this trip, hence I have to do other things also. I prefer to not spend it all on the roads. I have pretty much ruled out Italy. Now we have to decide. Austria or Slovenia. It looks like the pricing is about the same. If someone can convince me that there will be less grayling in one of the two countries it would be easier to pick one.
I would choose Slovenia, and the river Soca.
I had some amazing grayling fishing there last year, and the surroundings are beyond beautiful
Kind regards
Flydude
Done any grayling fishing in Denmark? I've seen some nice pictures from Omme and Konge Å.
Have you fished Unec?, I probably will select Slovenia as my destination. I just want to get to the best quality of grayling fishing. Wouldn't be fun to spend $75 dollars on a daily license and only catch bows.
Posted: Mon 05/03/10 5:08 am Post subject: Grayling fishing in Denmark
I'm afraid this chapter is all over. It used to really good, but today it is hard to catch a Grayling over 30 cm.
Pollution from farming, overfishing, the population of a bird called Skarven, has increased seriously (eats a kilo fish a day), plus a lack of political action against these factors - has changed this situation dramatically over the last few years - very sad.
Best river right now for Grayling fishing is Grinsted Å, but still it isn't very big graylings you catch.
Soca in Slovenia gave us a lot of Graylings in sizes from 40-45 cm. - and even a few around the magic 50 cm. - so that is where I would travel to if I were you.
I'm actually going there end of may, and again end of july this season.
Kind regards
Flydude
Last edited by Flydude on Thu 05/06/10 5:40 am; edited 1 time in total
apart from the rivers Kleine and Grosse Drau there are no pure Grayling waters in that part of Austria. Of course, should you wish to go to other regions, we have many excellent grayling waters, Salza, Steyr, Traun, Salzach, etc.
Flydude, nice reports. I agree with the flydude about the Slovenian waters, especially Soca. However, it is very painful to fish these waters on weekend days because of the high number of fisherman in the water. I am going back to Soca this June but never again on a weekend. I mean, beside the fisherman from Ex-yugoslavia, there are many italians and locals in the water. It is really crowded and often you have to walk a lot to find a free nice spot. If you decide to go to Slovenia, then don't miss the chalk stream called Unec. It is a very challenging water but full of huge graylings
Flydude, once I had guests from Denmark from this forum (Peter Husted). Should you decide to visit Austria again let me know, we can meet for a day or two at any water
You are so absolutely right about the crowded weekends but I'm afraid it is the reality these days.
But the scenery is absolutely fantastic in Slovenia with the turquoise rivers and quiet nature.
Austria is absolutely also one of my favorite places, and I would be very happy to meet up with you and do some serious fishing down there
So let me get this straight. You seem to go to Slovenia fairly regularly, do you mainly go for the scenery or for the quality of fishing? I mean, if the rivers are real crowded and it is the same type of fishing as in Austria, what is the attraction? I'm really trying to figure out which country will be best. At one time I was thinking about doing both in one trip, but eliminated that due to my need for maximizing fishing time versus driving time. I would be happy in either country I guess. My fishing will be done on mostly weekdays and when I go it will be early September. So far I have flydude voting for Slovenia, which do you vote for Valentin, if we consider the criteria, grayling, and my need to visit Piran area due to family members going with me and they are not fishing.
HI Tennswede
Have you had a chance to look at the links I recommended ?? They show the difference between Austria and Slovenia quite well.
Both places are fantastic, so it is a hard choice anyway.
One of the reasons I go to Slovenia, is that know some people down there and they show me the remote places, private beats = no people :O)
Austria does not have the same fishing pressure, no doubt about that, but the scenery in Slovenia is absolutely outstanding - have a look for you self - check these links.
Link to photos from fishing in Lienz :http://pool32mag.blogspot.com/2010/01/austria-fly-fishing-in-postcard.html
Link from hotel Wutte and fishing in Slovenia:
http://pool32mag.blogspot.com/2010/01/hotel-wutte-i-austria-best-from-two.html
PS. also check out the e-mag on this blog, there is a long photo essay from Hotel Wutte and fishing in Slovenia
Yes I have perused your links and many others all over Austria and Slovenia. I'm not sure about the difference though. You say it's very obvious but I don't see that much besides what I already suspected. Less crowds in Austria, but both countries have rainbows stocked in the touristy spots. I guess I just have to concentrate on the less touristy areas in Slovenia. From what I can tell, you would choose Slovenia over Austria correct?
Fish1,
Yes I know of the marbles. However, I'm after grayling. Crazy I know, but that's what this trip is about. I have pretty much narrowed it down to these rivers in Slovenia, Unec, Sava Dolinka, Zolska Sora, Soca, Idrijca. Any other I need to do? Remember grayling is the focus and I try not to fish rainbow infested waters. Thank you all again for all the help.
Tennswede
If you really want graylings and only graylings, then there is one place you should consider - Finland. I know it is something completely different, but you will find some of the best grayling fishing in the world up there.
Check out this link :http://www.graylingland.com/57
Ok and Zolska Sora does not exist
and neither do any private flyfishing river parts in Slovenia
there are Selska sora and Poljanska sora and very few "members only" parts of the rivers otherwise the rest are all accessible with the license of course....
F
Last edited by Fish1 on Wed 05/05/10 6:24 am; edited 1 time in total
well, difficult question for me to answer. I am originally from ex-Yugoslavia so I know Slovenia very well. Now, it happened that I moved to Austria where I started my first flysfishing steps. I am emotionally connected to both countries but I fish more in Austria since I live here. As for the scenery, both are very beautiful and attractive. When it comes to fishing for Grayling, Austria has its own rivers as well but I enjoy Slovenia a lot. In Slovenia, beside the regular grayling you can find/catch the Adriatic Grayling as well. Since you will be fishing during weekdays, my vote goes to Slovenia. As indicated earlier, Soca is full of huge grayling and I suggest you consider two stretches, Soca river belonging to Tolmin Fishing Association (52 EUR is the price of daily license and you can fish a long part of Soca, one part of Idrijca and all the tributaries). However, my favourite part of Soca is the Upper Soca which is close to the Italian border. The license is to be obtained from the Slovenian Fishing Research Institute. Just note that the fishes are not as big as in the part managed by Tolmin. As Fish1 also mentioned, you should try the chalk stream called UNEC. This is also full of huge graylings and not so far from Piran.
September is great time to be there.
I'm sorry if I somehow came across the wrong way. Not my intention, I of course meant selska sora around Ziri. I have not said that I expected private waters. I am fully aware of the license and ownership of rivers and lakes in Europe as I am a native born Swede. This brings me to Flydude,
Flydude,
I am half Swedish and half Finnish. Mom was born in Finland dad in Sweden. I was born in Sweden and moved to the U.S.A. in 1994. I have been to Finland many times and fished once in the southern part. As you know, mosquitoes are a pain in Finland as well as Sweden. Also, you never know which kind of weather you are going to get in Scandinavia. I have horror stories from snowing in June in Sweden and so on. I am interested in a somewhat warmer destination and I'm taking my mom with me. She is flying from Sweden to join me on this trip. I agree though, If it was only for grayling and I was solo, I would go to either northern Sweden or Finland/Norway. However, this is a different agenda.
Valentin,
Thanks for your information, I am very excited to visit Slovenia. I can't wait.
Many thanks for everyones input and I have settled on Slovenia.
Ha,Ha - I loved your comment - those small bloodsucking devils are also killing me, somehow they just LOVE my blood, and it really kills some of the pleasure, doesn't it??
I think Fish 1 came up with a very precise and honest explanation regarding Slovenia, you should stick to his advise.
PS. TenneSWEDE - now I understand !!! - a fellow Viking
Hehehehe Tennswede the fact is that you already know more about our rivers than most of the people coming here...but anyway if you'll fish around town of Ziri that would mean Poljanska Sora...
Nevermind they are not far apart even for Slovenian standards...
(and BTW you also have rainbows there...)
I'd also suggest using the "grayling approach" on the river you'll choose - like dry fly fishing during the day, open shallower riffles, nymphing at short distances...etc and you'll systematically avoid high numbers of trout
That is my hint...
Usually I do exactly the opposite to avoid grayling. (never really liked the buggers...)
and few more facts - I personally wouldn't expect fish over 50cm. Every fish over 50 IS over the magical treshold and is considered a trophy here. BTW I work in the fishing research field, we also monitor rivers with electrofishing! and I have never seen alive specimen over 52 cm. Many of the grayling lovers have one wish and one wish only - that is to get a fish over 50 cm. I have probably released 4-5 fish in that size in my life and I've been seriously flyfishing here for 23 years...ok also the truth is that my target species are trout.
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but I'm afraid it is the reality these days.
