Plav: the town, how to get there, and the fishing

Fishing in Plav is three waters from one town. The Ljuča comes down the valley from Gusinje and enters Plav Lake; the Lim leaves the lake at the other end and runs north past the town. Stay in Plav and you have a river for the biggest grayling I know, a lake with its own trout, fished from a boat, and the river where I fish for huchen more than anywhere else. No other town on this site puts that much in one day. This page is the town, the drive, and the fishing from here.

About Plav

Plav is a small town at the head of the Lim valley, on the shore of the lake it is named after, with the Prokletije behind it on the Albanian side. The Plav tourist organisation puts the lake at 907 m and calls it the largest glacial lake in Montenegro: about 2 km² of water, three metres deep on average and nine at most. The mountains above it keep their snow until June. The municipality counted 9,050 people in the 2023 census.

The town is on the lake’s north-eastern shore, and the Lim leaves the lake close to it. The old town stands on its hill, with the Old Mosque, also called the Imperial Mosque, of 1471 inside the old ramparts, and the Redžepagić Tower, which the tourist organisation calls the oldest residential and defensive building in the Plav–Gusinje region. The Holy Trinity Monastery is at Brezojevice, just outside the town. The town has the everyday services a visitor needs. Gusinje, the town at the top of the valley under the mountains, is a short drive up the Ljuča.

Prokletije National Park was founded in 2009 across the Plav and Gusinje municipalities. Its highest peak, Zla Kolata at 2,534 m, is the highest point in Montenegro by the park’s own account. I do not guide inside the park; I fish the valley below it.

Getting to Plav

Plav is the farthest of the six towns from the airports, and the drive is the mountain kind. From Podgorica the road goes up the motorway to Mateševo, over the pass to Andrijevica, and then up the Lim valley to the lake.

Figures from the OSRM route planner on OpenStreetMap data, read on 13 October 2026, for the route through Andrijevica inside Montenegro, rounded. A planner left to itself will offer a shorter road to Plav through Albania; it crosses two borders, and I do not recommend it with a hire car. Mountain roads and summer traffic between the coast and Podgorica change these times.

There is no railway to Plav.

Fishing from Plav

Three waters, each with its own page: the Lim, the Ljuča and Plav Lake. This page is how they sit together from the town.

The Lim at Plav

The Lim flows out of the lake at Plav, and the top of the river is where I fish it most. Grayling mainly, brown trout, and huchen. The runs suit a euro nymphing rig and the glides a dry fly, and I carry both set up. For a single day on a first visit I usually suggest the Lim and the Ljuča together, from Plav.

Huchen: of all the waters I guide, the Lim at Plav is the one I fish for huchen most, then the Lim at Berane, then the Tara. Big streamers, a #8 rod, barbless, in the mornings. In the fly fishing zones huchen are fished catch and release all year. Write to me if huchen is your reason to come and I will say what I think of your dates. The fish itself: huchen in Montenegro.

The Ljuča

The Ljuča is the short river that feeds the lake. It holds the biggest grayling of all the waters I guide, and it is the hardest of them: clear water, careful fish, hard dry-fly conditions. A tactical river with big rewards. Brown trout live in it, and huchen too, rare and hard to catch. I guide it at Plav, on the lower river near the lake. If you are new to fly fishing I give you the Lim first; if you fish competitions, the Ljuča is where I take you for the hardest part of competition training.

Plav Lake

The lake is the one water I guide from a boat. Two trout are on my list for it: brown trout and Blatnjača, the lake’s own trout, which you tell from a brown trout by black spots and no red dots. Huchen live in the lake as well, and I guide for them. Pike live in the lake; I do not fish for pike. The lake is fished from 1 May to 1 October, every day, and not after that. Lines do the work on still water, floating to sinking; I carry them. Every Blatnjača goes back, as every fish does. What is on record about the lake’s trout, from a 1957 paper onward: Blatnjača, the trout of Plav Lake.

One day on all three

From Plav, one day can hold the lake from the boat, the Ljuča and the Lim: the boat in the quiet of the morning, the Ljuča for grayling in the middle of the day, the Lim below the lake toward evening, or whichever order the water suggests. It works from 1 May to 1 October, while the lake is open. Outside those dates the two rivers carry the day; in the fly fishing zones they are fished all year, when the water level allows, and June to October are the best months for grayling and brown trout.

Permits, price, what is in a day

The Lim, the Ljuča and the lake are fished on the local clubs’ permits, and the boat goes with the lake. I arrange all of it; permits, the boat and lunch are in the price. A guided day is 190 EUR for one angler and 60 EUR more for a second; up to four anglers, with a group price for three or four when you ask. If you stay in Plav or Gusinje, I drive you between the waters on the fishing day and that is in the price. Pickup from Podgorica, an airport or the coast is arranged with me when you write. Catch and release, barbless hooks, landing net, on every water. I reply within one day; there is no deposit, and cancelling costs nothing. How permits work in Montenegro is in the Journal.

A day off the water

Plav is the best of the six towns for someone who comes with you and does not fish, because the lake is right there.

• Swimming and boats. In high summer the lake is warm enough to swim in, the tourist organisation says, and there are pedal boats and kayaks on the shore.
• The old town. The Old Mosque of 1471 on its hill, the Redžepagić Tower, the Redžepagić Mosque of 1774 and the monastery at Brezojevice are all within a short walk or drive.
• Up the mountain. Visitor lake, at 1,820 m above the town, is known for its floating island of grass. Hrid Lake, the “lake of happiness” by the park’s own words, lies at about 1,970 m some 18 km from Plav. The Peaks of the Balkans trail, 192 km through Montenegro, Albania and Kosovo, starts here.
• Gusinje. At the top of the valley, with Ali Pasha’s springs where the Vruja rises clear out of the ground, and one street with a mosque, an Orthodox church and a Catholic church on it. It is on the Ljuča page.
• Events. The Lim Regatta and Blueberry Days are the town’s own; the tourist organisation also lists a kayak day on the Ljuča and a triathlon.

Questions

Is there fishing at Plav?

Yes, three kinds of it: the Lim for grayling, brown trout and huchen; the Ljuča for the biggest grayling I guide; and Plav Lake from a boat for brown trout and Blatnjača, from 1 May to 1 October.

Do I need a permit to fish at Plav?

Yes, one for each water, from the local clubs. I arrange every one, and they are in the price of the day.

How far is Plav from Podgorica Airport?

About 115 km and 2 hours 40 minutes through Andrijevica, by the OSRM planner read in October 2026. The shorter road a planner shows runs through Albania; I would not take it with a hire car.

Can I fish the lake and the rivers on the same day?

Yes. From Plav one day can hold the lake, the Ljuča and the Lim, from 1 May to 1 October. It is the day I suggest for a first visit.

Can my family swim in Plav Lake while I fish?

In summer, yes, by the tourist organisation’s own page; the beach and the boats are at the town. We fish from the boat away from the swimmers.

Plan from here

The waters: the Lim, the Ljuča, Plav Lake. When to come: Fish and seasons. How a day works: Plan your trip. For a week on the lake and the two rivers, with the Tara within a drive, see multi-day trips. Down the Lim are Andrijevica and Berane.

Tell me your dates and I will put the lake and the rivers together for you. Request your dates.