Fly fishing Biogradsko Lake

Fly fishing Biogradsko Lake: what to expect

Biogradsko Lake lies at 1,094 m in the middle of the old forest of Biogradska Gora National Park, the park’s own pages say, in centuries-old beech forest. It is a small lake: about 23 hectares and 12 m at its deepest, by the park. The water is clear, and the beech on the banks gives it its green.

Two fish are in it: brown trout and lake char. Char live in no river I guide; the lakes are where you find them, this one and Black Lake.

We fish from the bank. There are no boats on the national park lakes, so the day is on foot, around the shore, reading the water from the edge: a floating line with a team of nymphs or a dry fly where fish are moving, a slow intermediate line where they are not. I carry the lines; you carry your rod. The park lets us fish between 8:00 and 17:00, and we use all of it if you want.

Catch and release only, barbless hooks, a landing net. Every fish goes back.

When to come

I fish Biogradsko Lake from 1 May to 1 October, every day, from 8:00 to 17:00, and not after that. It is a mountain lake, so the water is cold through the early part of those dates and the fish are higher in the water; later, with the lake warmer, the char go deeper and the slower lines earn their keep. The dates, the hours and the park permit on one page: fishing Biogradsko Lake. Which fish, which month, on every water I guide: Fish and seasons.

The Tara and the lake in one day

The lake is near Kolašin, and so is the Tara. One day can hold both: the river in the morning, the lake in the afternoon, or the other way round. The Tara gives you grayling and brown trout in moving water; the lake gives you char and brown trout in still water. If you have one day near Kolašin and want both kinds of fishing, this is the day.

Visiting Biogradska Gora National Park

Biogradska Gora is one of the three oldest national parks in the country, founded in 1952, and its forest was a reserve long before that, set aside by the ruler in 1885. The primeval forest around the lake is the reason it is protected.

For a half day off the water, or for a partner who does not fish:

• The lake path. An easy 3.3 km loop round Biogradsko Lake, in less than an hour, by the park. It is the one thing everyone does, and it is worth it.
• The high trails. Six marked trails climb from the lake to the park’s glacial lakes and peaks: Bendovac at 1,774 m, Zekova Glava at 2,117 m and Crna Glava, the highest, at 2,139 m. The lakes above are Pešića, Ursulovačka and Šiška.
• Staying in the park. The park has twelve bungalows on the lake shore and tent sites by the visitor centre, booked through the park. A night here means an early start on the water with no drive.

Visiting Kolašin

Kolašin, at 954 m on the right bank of the Tara, is the town for both the lake and the river. The national tourist board lists the katuns of Bjelasica and Sinjajevina, the summer pastures above the town, fishing and kayaking on the Tara, and the local lisnati cheese, the layered one, as the things to come for; the two ski centres are 9 km from the town. The Tara page has more on visiting Kolašin.

Getting there

If you stay in Kolašin, Mojkovac or the park, I collect you there and drive you to the water and back on your fishing day; that is in the price. If you are staying further away, on the coast or in Podgorica, or arriving at an airport, tell me when you write and we arrange the pickup.

The town, and the drive to it: Kolašin.

Permits

Biogradsko Lake is inside a national park, so the day needs the park’s fishing permit as well as the usual one. I get both, and both are in my price. How a day works: Plan your trip.

Questions anglers ask about Biogradsko Lake

Is it hard fishing? It is still-water fishing from the bank, which is its own craft. The char can be slow to find. Bring patience and I bring the lines.

Can my partner come along? Yes. The path round the lake, the bungalows and the visitor centre are all beside the water, so a non-fishing partner has a good day here without going far from you.

Can I fly a drone over the lake? No. There are no drones in the national parks. Photographs on the day are another matter; ask me.

Which trip is this? A single day on the lake, or on the lake and the Tara together; or part of a multi-day trip from Kolašin.

Sources

• National Parks of Montenegro, Biogradska Gora: active holidays and the park’s education page. The lake’s height, surface and depth; the forest and the 1885 reserve; the path, the trails, the peaks, the lakes, the bungalows.
• National Parks of Montenegro, Durmitor education page. The three parks founded in 1952.
• National Tourist Organisation of Montenegro, Charming mountain towns. Kolašin’s height, the katuns, the cheese, the ski centres.