Euro nymphing works in Montenegro, and the rivers I guide suit it: the Tara, the Lim, the Ljuča and the Ćehotina are grayling rivers with brown trout beside them, fished wading, catch and release, with barbless hooks and a landing net. I have fished competitions for more than ten years, and I teach the nymph on a guided day or in competition training. This article says what euro nymphing is, what each river asks of it, and how to learn it here.

What euro nymphing is

Euro nymphing is nymph fishing with the line held off the water. You fish one or two weighted nymphs on a long, thin leader, cast a short line upstream, and keep the leader tight from the rod tip to the flies as they drift back. There is no floating indicator. A coloured section of leader, the sighter, shows you the depth and the drift, and you feel the take through the rod. Rods are long and light, about 9 to 11 feet for a 2- to 4-weight line. The weight of the fly carries the cast, not the fly line, and because the line never lies on the water the fly sinks fast and drifts at the speed of the current near the bottom. That is the general method, as any standard reference describes it (Orvis, “What is European-style nymphing”). The leader in numbers is in how long a leader, sighter and tippet should be, and how thin it can go in micro leaders in millimetres.

It is called euro nymphing because it came out of European competition fishing, where the FIPS-Mouche rules shape the rig: one rod of 7 ft 6 in to 12 ft, a leader no longer than twice the rod, weight hidden in the dressing or in one visible bead of 4 mm at most, and up to three flies, as each event allows (the rules, article by article, are in FIPS-Mouche rules explained). None of that is my secret. It is the craft every competition angler learns, and it works on any river where fish hold near the bottom in broken water. What a guide adds is the river: where the fish are today, how deep, and how to get a nymph to them without being seen.

Euro nymphing on the Tara

The Tara is the river of Kolašin and Mojkovac, and the longest river in Montenegro (World Bank, 2016). My three stretches of it are Kolašin, the water inside Biogradska Gora National Park, and Mojkovac. Grayling mostly, then brown trout. When no fish are rising, a nymph fished close is the usual way to reach grayling. Which stretch, how deep and which fly, I decide on the day, by the water. The river has its own guide: fly fishing the Tara.

Euro nymphing on the Lim

The Lim begins at Plav, where it leaves Plav Lake, and I guide it there, at Andrijevica and at Berane. Grayling mainly, with brown trout. The Lim is the river I name first for a first day in Montenegro, and it has easy access. If you want to learn, tell me, and we do it on your day. At Plav the Lim shares a day with the Ljuča and Plav Lake.

Euro nymphing on the Ljuča

The Ljuča feeds Plav Lake. It holds the biggest grayling of the waters I guide, and it is hard dry-fly water: a tactical river with big rewards. As on any grayling river, a grayling that refuses a dry fly may take a nymph drifted deep, and the other way round.

Euro nymphing on the Ćehotina

The Ćehotina, near Pljevlja, is a wild euro-nymphing river. That is my own short description of it. Grayling mainly, with brown trout. It is a day of its own, away from the other rivers, and how you get there is arranged with me when you write.

Learning it on a guided day

I take anglers new to fly fishing and anglers who nymph already. On a guided day I teach euro nymphing if you want it: the leader, the cast, the drift, the strike. Bring your own nymphing rod if you have one. If not, a euro nymph kit can be rented on request by anglers fishing with me, and modern competition rods and reels at an additional charge; if rented gear breaks, you pay for it. See gear rental.

The day is from 190 EUR, and the permits and lunch are in it. If you stay in a town by the waters, I drive you on the fishing day; pickup from further away is by arrangement. The prices are on Trips.

Competition training: rigging by FIPS-Mouche rules

Training is for anglers who compete or want to start, and for teams. You do not need to have competed. It covers what you want to work on, and these are the parts I name:

tactical dry-fly rigging by FIPS-Mouche rules;
the best leaders for euro nymphing and for dry flies;
the best rods;
how to approach the water, and what to cover first;
how to read water;
when to choose which tactic: a dry fly, one nymph or two, or a dry-dropper.

Sessions are fished against the clock, as in a competition. Rental gear and photos can be added. What it costs is on competition training.

The rules on these rivers

The fly fishing zones are catch and release, and I fish barbless hooks and a landing net everywhere. Weighted nymphs are fished as usual; euro nymphing as I fish it is under no ban. Every permit is inside my price, and how permits work is in fishing permits in Montenegro. In the fly fishing zones you can fish all year, when the water level allows. The best months for grayling and brown trout are June to October. The whole country, water by water, is in fly fishing in Montenegro: the complete guide.

Questions

Is euro nymphing allowed in Montenegro?

As I fish it, yes: weighted nymphs are fished as usual in the fly fishing zones, and I fish it under no ban. The zones are catch and release, with barbless hooks.

Which river in Montenegro is best for euro nymphing?

The Ćehotina is the one I call a wild euro-nymphing river. The Lim is the river I name first for a first day. The Ljuča is hard dry-fly water with the biggest grayling. The rivers are compared in grayling fishing in Montenegro.

Can I learn euro nymphing with a guide in Montenegro?

Yes. I teach it on a guided day if you want it, and in competition training for anglers who compete or want to start.

What rod should I bring for euro nymphing here?

Your own nymphing rod, if you have one. If you have none, ask for the euro nymph kit when you request your dates.

Tell me your dates, and whether you want to learn the nymph or sharpen it, and I will choose the river. Request your dates.

Euro nymphing in Montenegro: the Tara, the Lim, the Ljuča and the Ćehotina