Fly fishing the Lim River

Fly fishing the Lim: what to expect

The Lim is a grayling river with brown trout in it, and huchen live here too. I guide for all three; for huchen, tell me when you write and I will be straight with you about your dates. Where and how I fish for them: huchen in Montenegro; the rod, line and streamers they ask for: huchen tackle. How it compares with the other rivers for grayling, nymph or dry fly: grayling fishing in Montenegro.

It is a bigger river than the Ljuča and a different one on each of its three sections. At Plav it has just left the lake, with a mean flow of about 18 cubic metres a second there by the World Bank’s 2016 study of the Drina basin. Downstream it cuts gorges where it meets limestone and runs wide and easy through the basins in between, the same study says. That gives us pocket water and long runs on one day, and broad riffles and glides on another.

We fish it wading. The runs suit a euro nymphing rig, and the glides, when grayling are rising, suit a dry fly or a dry-dropper. I carry both set up, and I change what you fish as the water changes. If you want to learn euro nymphing, the Lim is a good river to learn it on, and I teach it on your day.

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

Where the Lim is fished: Plav, Andrijevica, Berane

Plav is the top of the river, where the Lim flows out of Plav Lake. From Plav one day can hold the lake, the Ljuča and the Lim, and that is the day I suggest most often for a first visit.

Andrijevica is the middle section. The town stands on the Lim under the Komovi, and the Zlorečica joins the river here.

Berane is the lowest of the three. The river runs through the town, and the banks are easy to reach. The national tourist board lists fly fishing on the Lim as one of the things Berane is known for.

All three sections have easy access from the road. If you want a wilder, quieter stretch, ask me.

When to come

In the fly fishing zones you can fish the Lim all year, when the water level allows. The best months are June to October. The river runs highest in April and May, with snowmelt and spring rain, and lowest in August and September, by the World Bank study; the figures by month are in Snowmelt to summer low: the Tara and the Lim through the year. Outside the best months, write to me and I will tell you what the river is doing before you book anything.

Which fish, which month, on every water: Fish and seasons.

Visiting Plav

Plav is a small town at the head of the Lim valley, beside the lake it is named after, with the Prokletije behind it. The Plav tourist organisation puts the lake at 907 m and calls it the largest glacial lake in Montenegro; the mountains above it keep their snow until June.

For a half day off the water:

• The old town. The Old Mosque, also called the Imperial Mosque, of 1471 stands on its hill inside the old ramparts. The Redžepagić Tower is the oldest residential and defensive building in the Plav–Gusinje region. The Holy Trinity Monastery is at Brezojevice, just outside the town.
• Prokletije National Park. Founded in 2009 across the Plav and Gusinje municipalities, with the country’s highest peak, Zla Kolata, at 2,534 m. The Peaks of the Balkans trail, 192 km through Montenegro, Albania and Kosovo, starts from here.
• For a partner who does not fish: the lake itself, with pedal boats and kayaks, and Visitor lake above the town at 1,820 m, known for its floating island of grass. The town’s events include the Lim Regatta and Blueberry Days.

Visiting Andrijevica

Andrijevica is the smallest of the three towns, on the Lim under the Komovi, whose three peaks stand over 2,400 m. It is a walkers’ and climbers’ town: the national tourist board lists guided mountaineering on the Komovi, eco-katuns in the summer pastures, and the Church of St. Ilija at Carine, at 1,800 m, as the things to see. The local plate is trout with lemon and kačamak, a thick porridge of potato and maize.

Visiting Berane

Berane is the largest town on this part of the Lim, in the broad Berane basin. Its oldest monument is the medieval Đurđevi Stupovi Monastery, and the Polimski Museum in the town centre is the regional museum of the upper Lim. The Lokve ski centre is near the town. As the largest town of the three, Berane is a practical base for the lower river.

Getting there

If you stay in Plav, Andrijevica or Berane, 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 three towns, and the drive to each: Plav, Andrijevica and Berane.

Permits

The Lim is fished on a fishing permit, the same on all three sections, and it is in my price. You carry nothing but your gear. Flies: I sell the patterns for this river; ask when you write. How a day works, from the request to the river: Plan your trip.

Questions anglers ask about the Lim

Is the Lim good for a first day? Yes. For a single day on a first visit I suggest the Lim and the Ljuča together, from Plav. The Tara is the other choice.

Can I fish the lake and the river on the same day? Yes. From Plav one day can hold Plav Lake from a boat, the Ljuča and the Lim, from 1 May to 1 October, when the lake is fished.

What rod should I bring? Bring your essential fly fishing gear; a euro nymphing rod is the one I would pack first. If something is missing I can lend rods, a euro nymph kit, waders and boots on request.

How is a day priced? One price for the day, one angler, with a second angler at a lower rate; permits and lunch are in it, and I drive you when you stay in a town by the waters. See single-day guiding, or multi-day trips for a week on the Lim, the Ljuča and the lake.

Sources

• World Bank / COWI (2016). Support to Water Resources Management in the Drina River Basin: Montenegro, IWRM Study and Plan, Background Paper, Volume 1. The river’s course, its basins and gorges, its tributaries, the flow at Plav, and its high and low water.
• Tourist Organisation of Plav, Plav’s Lake and the tourist offer. The lake’s height, the Old Mosque, the tower, the monastery, Visitor lake, the trail and the events.
• National Parks of Montenegro, Prokletije education page. The park’s year, its municipalities and Zla Kolata.
• National Tourist Organisation of Montenegro, Charming mountain towns. Andrijevica, Berane and Plav: the Komovi, the church at Carine, the monastery, the museum, the ski centre, the food.