Lake Louise in Banff CANADA National Park

 

Moraca River in Podgorica, MONTENEGRO 2

Fly Fishing the West

Vol. 101, Issue 1

10 SEPT 2012

Moraca River in Podgorica, MONTENEGRO  

Where:  Moraca River in Podgorica, MONTENEGRO (What I call White Crane Run, just above Millennium Bridge)

Context: Second time fishing in Montenegro

When:  6:30am - 8:30am

What:  fly rod—nymphing (bouncing rig) and streamer (Tyson tied)

Flows: low water, similar to the Provo river

Air Temp:  75 F clear

Water Temp:  not too cold but cool and clear

Fish:  3 strikes, landed one brown

Wildlife:  white cranes

Started where the water meandering down stream, then takes a dogleg right down into a “chute” of white water (Upper Rapids) then tailing out back to a smooth flat flow. When I arived the sun was barely up. I tried nymphing (bouncing rig) starting out but after only several casts it hung up on the bottom and I lost the sinker line. So I switched to a size 6 one-inch long yellow streamer with little hackle. It looked just like an aquatic bug I found in the stream in July. I  immediately had two strikes. Both were when the fly hit the water in choppy water in the rapids chute. In both cases the fly was not down or swinging at all. The first strike was heavy and was on for about 5 seconds then off. The second hit in the same spot was just a strike, on for several seconds. About 5 minutes later I caught  a 10” BROWN on the size 6 yellow streamer with a small weight about 18" above the fly, retrieving it almost coming dead upstream near the bank. I fished there another hour trying a black streamer, brown streamer, and a red ant with no luck. I worked downstream to a second rapids (Lower) and had one good strike. 

Other Miscellaneous Information/Observations:

1. The weather was sunny and warming up, but pleasant in the early morning, i.e., in the 70’s degrees.
2. The Moraca River in Podgorica is a beautiful river that runs clear in the fall. It comes straight out of the nearby mountains to the east and is the confluence of the Tora and Zeta rivers, all undammed, it is a high flow, wild stream that can change rapidly if it rains. In Podgorica it can rain hard for hours.
3. Non-resident Montenegro fishing license was $35 euro (about US$50) for a 1-year license I bought at a store in Podgorica called Megafish.

Animals: saw several white cranes on the river just above where I was fishing.

Moraca River in Podgorica, MONTENEGRO 1

Fly Fishing the West

Vol. 100, Issue 1

12 July 2012

Moraca River in Podgorica, MONTENEGRO 

 

Where: Moraca River, in Podgorica, MONTENEGRO, below the Millennium Bridge about ½ mile.
When: 5:15am - 7:45am
What: nymphing w/ flashback midge, silver spider, and streamer fishing with the zebra midge and yellow bodied streamer.
River Flow: river way down

Fish: 2 landed 

World's Record: for smallest fish caught, length of fly was bigger than the fish itself. 

I tried nymphing with the flashback and the silver spider with no luck in the best place (above Millennium Bridge). I then tried the brown streamer with no luck. I moved downstream and saw some black bugs (terrestrials) crawling on the rocks (looked like about the size of the zebra midge (size 10) so I put that on. I then caught the first fish (about 4" long) on the second cast. The fish is called a ‘common bleak’and looks a bit like the European version of a Columbia River squawfish (pikeminnow)or mountain whitefish. It is edible but bony.
As I unhooked him I saw a long, yellow centipede-looking insect swimming around some rocks so I tried a yellow streamer and hooked the second fish, about two inches long. I will re-rig for the rapids above Millennium Bridge to fish next time then go through the fly box to see if I can raise a trout. 

Other Miscellaneous Information/Observations:

1. The weather was sunny and warming up, but pleasant in the early morning, i.e., in the 70’s degrees.
2. The Moraca River in Podgorica is a beautiful river that runs clear in the fall. It comes straight out of the nearby mountains to the east and is the confluence of the Tora and Zeta rivers, all undammed, it is a high flow, wild stream that can change rapidly if it rains. In Podgorica it can rain hard for hours.
3. Non-resident Montenegro fishing license was $35 euro (about US$50) for a 1-year license I bought at a store in Podgorica called Megafish.
4. Animals: saw none today but I saw a brown and yellow tortoise (about 8" long) on the other side of the river a few days earlier. There are a lot of these tortoises throughout Montenegro.