Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro lie along the same side of the Adriatic, and all three are trout and grayling countries. Slovenia is known for the Soča and its marble trout; Bosnia for the Una, the Ribnik, the Pliva and the Neretva. Montenegro is the one least written about, and it is the one I guide: the north of the country, listed on Where I fish. I will be fair to the other two first. Then I will make Montenegro’s case in my own words: it is small, the rivers are about an hour’s drive from each other, there are lakes on the way, and the coast is about two hours from the Tara, so a day on the river and a day in the sea fit one trip.

Slovenia: the Soča and the marble trout

Slovenia’s tourist board says fly fishing there has a history of more than a hundred years, and calls the Soča the queen of the fishing rivers of the Adriatic catchment. On the Soča, fly fishing is the only method permitted. For the country the board lists marble trout, river trout, grayling, rainbow trout and Danube salmon. The marble trout is the one you cannot get at home: the Soča valley’s tourist office describes it as native to the Adriatic basin, and the Soča is the river it is known for.

The tourist board counts more than 500 fishing districts in the country; in the Soča valley two bodies manage the water, the Fisheries Research Institute of Slovenia and the Angling Club of Tolmin. I quote no prices for Slovenia; ask there.

If a marble trout on the Soča is the picture in your head, go to Slovenia. Nothing I guide replaces it.

Bosnia: the Una, the Ribnik, the Pliva and the Neretva

Bosnia’s name among fly anglers rests on a handful of rivers, and what follows is what one Bosnian guide’s river page states about them. The Una: big grayling, brown trout, a few large rainbow trout, and huchen. The Ribnik: grayling and brown trout, with big brown trout caught often. The Pliva: trout and grayling. The Neretva: softmouth trout, marble trout, brown trout, rainbow trout and grayling.

So Bosnia has marble trout too, on the Neretva, and the softmouth trout beside it. If you want a river with a reputation, Bosnia has several. I quote no Bosnian prices or rules either; ask a guide there.

Montenegro: small, close together, and the sea about two hours from the Tara

Here is what I can say for my own country.

Grayling is the main fish. On every river I guide, the Tara, the Lim, the Ljuča and the Ćehotina, grayling come first and brown trout second. The Ljuča holds the biggest grayling of them, and it is hard dry-fly water. The Ćehotina is a wild euro-nymphing river. Huchen live in the Tara and the Lim. How the rivers differ is in grayling fishing in Montenegro.

The rivers are close. Montenegro is small. The rivers I guide are about an hour’s drive from each other, by my reckoning, so in a week you fish the Tara one day and the Lim and the Ljuča the next without moving far. There are lakes on the way: Biogradsko Lake beside the Tara, Plav Lake beside the Lim and the Ljuča, and Black Lake at Žabljak, all fished from 1 May to 1 October. The Tara and Biogradsko Lake make one day; Plav Lake, the Ljuča and the Lim make another.

The coast is near. From the Tara, the coast is about two hours’ drive, again my figure, not a measured one. So a trip here does not have to be all fishing: a day on the river, then down to the sea to rest and swim, and back up for the grayling.

One person arranges it all. I arrange every permit, lunch is in the price, and when you stay in a town by the waters I drive you to the water and back. You bring your rod. A day costs from 190 EUR, permits and lunch included: see Trips. No deposit is asked for, and I reply within one day.

The rules are simple. The fly fishing zones are catch and release, and I fish barbless hooks and a landing net everywhere. 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.

Who should choose which

A marble trout on the Soča: Slovenia.
Rivers with a long reputation and much written about them: Slovenia or Bosnia.
Grayling as the main fish, several rivers about an hour’s drive apart, lakes along the way, and the sea in the same week: Montenegro.
One guide who arranges the permits and lunch, and drives you on the fishing day when you stay in a town by the waters: that is what I offer here.

None of the three is the wrong choice. The honest difference is that the first two are known and Montenegro is not yet, and that Montenegro is small enough that one trip can hold the mountains and the coast.

A trip of several days here

On a trip of three days or more I guide you every day, on a different water if you like, and the base moves with you: Kolašin for the Tara and Biogradsko Lake, Plav for the Lim, the Ljuča and the lake, and a day for the Ćehotina or Black Lake on its own. Lodging is yours to choose. See multi-day trips, and the whole country on one page in fly fishing in Montenegro: the complete guide.

Questions

Is Montenegro good for fly fishing?

Yes, for grayling above all, with brown trout in every river and lake, char in Biogradsko Lake and Black Lake, and huchen in the Tara and the Lim.

Montenegro or Slovenia for grayling?

Both have grayling. Montenegro’s rivers have grayling as the main fish, and the Ljuča holds the biggest of the waters I guide. Slovenia has the marble trout beside its grayling, which the waters I guide do not.

Can I combine fly fishing with a beach holiday in Montenegro?

Yes. The coast is about two hours’ drive from the Tara, by my figure, so a fishing day and a day by the sea fit the same trip. Pickup from the coast is by arrangement with me; it is not part of the price.

Can I fish all three countries on one trip?

I guide in Montenegro only. If you drive across the Balkans, I am your guide for the Montenegrin days, and I will tell you which waters to give them to.

Tell me your dates and what you want from the trip, and I will tell you which of my waters I would choose. Request your dates.

Montenegro, Slovenia or Bosnia for a fly fishing trip?