My Former Eldoradoes - secrets of the masters EPILOGUE

My Former Eldoradoes - Secrets of the Masters

EPILOGUE

          I added the following remarks at the end of April 2006 as some supplement to the somewhat earlier material entitled „My Former Eldoradoes - Secrets of the Masters” recently presented on this Forum. Its original idea was to fulfill the wish of the editors of Angler News to „expand the topic somewhat”. Unfortunately, this text, too, was not to the liking of some gentlemen from Warsaw.

      Looking back from the perspective of the past years, I am sad to conclude that many of the problems, which I once naively hoped would improve, have only gotten worse, in many cases there has been further, (probably inevitable) degradation of our former mountain river, while what I feared most has proliferated, that is, the creation of a thicket of regulations, about the sensibility of some of which I have very serious concerns. I have no intention of elaborating on this topic, but to my opponents on this issue I will only say that I have earned the full right to speak out on the subject of angling regulations with many years of work and struggle in the field of the creation of relevant regulations - and at the levels, both at the district and the PZW Board of Directors. After all - it used to be me that some „activists” knocked on my forehead when I trumpeted the introduction of some sensible protection for the perch despised by „big anglers” in the 1970s. And what do we finally have those 18 cm. And who fought for the fact that during the so-called selection fishing on the mountain Dunajec, beautiful barbel, which have been and will be a kind of wealth of the upper and middle reaches of the Dunajec, should not be bagged and murdered? And what? My talking has finally led to an end to the semi-legal activities of various so-called „fishing circles” from villages near the Dunajec, the names of which, out of pity for their residents, I will not mention, and who, before my eyes, in late autumn, near Macelowa Gora, on the famous banya there, scraped dozens of flocks of magnificent barbel into their nets, assembled for wintering. That finally someone understood that it is not some „fishing circles” that are responsible for bringing order to the environment of the Dunajec River, but nature. It is enough just not to disturb her! But I do not want to bore you anymore, let's go to the text from April 2006.

      Since the Dunajec River in the area from the compensation reservoir in Sromowce Wyżne to the border of the Pieniny National Park appears as a section with a clearly degraded character, (it used to be mountainous!), so - after a long reflection - I do not recommend it to anglers, and for many reasons that I will not discuss here. However, it is still popular as a trout and speck fishery, today, I think, only with momentum, and the effects of this pressure are already visible.

So I suggest visiting this river, but well below Kroscienko, which waters have had time to recover a bit after flowing several kilometers, especially the Pieniny Gorge, not yet moved by the paws of river regulators. Of course, it is already possible to fish just below the mouth of the Grajcarek, because the places look attractive, but access to them is hampered, either by retaining walls or - to put it mildly - by absurd prohibitions on moving on the left bank of the river. Our Polish reality still suffers from an absurd mental commune, (that's what I call the Byzantine thinking of how to make life difficult for people gratuitously), which tells us to prohibit fellow anglers from moving along the left bank of the river (and fishing there), because just along it runs the border of the Pieniny National Park. Those who know this section will rightly say that wading on the right side is often impossible. On the other hand, local tractors and various other vehicles can drive along that side, polluting the Park with exhaust fumes and making noise! There is more similar nonsense - I refer you to the well-known List of Mountain Waters. To the authors of similar concepts, I point out yet another opportunity to show their ingenuity. After all, in Kąty the border of PPN (on quite a long section) runs by road! And along the current of the Dunajec River - the state border! So what should anglers do there? Close their access, forbid them! But let cars and other carts continue to go there, because in Sromowce Niżne just yet to build an airport!

Well, then, since we no longer want to annoy ourselves with idiotic obstructions, and on top of that, having just over our heads the constant car traffic on the busy highway to Szczawnica, we go a little lower, where it is still a little quieter and more charming. I mean the section starting below the retaining wall at the level of the hamlet of Króllowo. From there it's not far to Kłodne, famous for its wild reefs, (there's a wood yard there, hence the name). Here the Dunajec begins to break through the rocks past beautiful hills, whose right-bank beeches steeply descend to the water itself. The riverbed there is typically trout-like, varied with gutters and large rock blocks. Wading is possible in places, but rather from the left side, as it is easier. Fishing from the right bank is difficult (slippery!), but it is worth to venture there, because in the very varied water you can approach a nice trout. I do not mention grayling, so as not to tempt before June, because we must - for now - leave these fish alone. This not very long stretch, the most attractive from the mouth of the right-bank Klodne brook, ends with a deep rocky (headwater) banya opposite the right-bank buildings squeezed under the slope of the mountain. Further on, the Dunajec flows along a wider riverbed, boring in places and varied by insanely slippery rocky reefs - and so we arrive, (wading rather from the right side), to the first suspension bridge in Tylmanowa (Buciorówka hamlet). The nice-looking current below the bridge and further not-so-varied pulls we can safely let go. Long gone are the days when this current was descended with beautiful trout, and a little below - in autumn with magnificent grayling. Noteworthy is the inlet of the Dunajec into the flume opposite the mouth of the right-bank Kliniec stream. Slightly higher and in the gutter itself - numerous trout, well, and thick barbel, which we try to reach with a large, heavy nymph. Lower down - a few kilometers, which we can let go of, because the times are long gone when the following there equal pulls and fawns were known grayling fisheries. The river begins to be trout-interesting so somewhere at the level of the church in Tylmanowa, but recently access to it has become very difficult, and this is for the simple reason that the gentlemen of retaining walls - as usual - forgot to make, even primitive, descents for anglers. This is also a kind of popular „commune” on the Dunajec River.

Going further (left side) we have interesting, but in places difficult to wade sections, until finally we come to a retaining wall a little above the mouth of the Ochotnica River. The places are beautiful, but terribly difficult, because from the left the wall and the immediately deep current, and from the right there are slipped pyramidal reefs and deep gaps between them. Wading the right side of this beautiful place is a punishment for sins! For this, the whole section, (called the Aquarium by anglers), tempts with stands of thick trout, grayling and steelhead, although it is a rather spinning place. And lower down you don't need to push yourself with a fly rod, although beautiful spots can be found as far as Nowy Sącz, (for example, Marszowice, Golkowice).

      So what kind of equipment should a fly fisher who wants to tackle a fairly large river make? I will say what one would need for now, excluding grayling equipment, and this is for two reasons: First - grayling is almost non-existent there, and second - it now has a protective umbrella; maybe the stock will recover to its 1970s state?

      For a wet fly rod - let's say - 8 feet (about 2.40 m.) is enough, slow action, for line No. 5 or 6.

      To dry - also approx. 2.40 m., fast action, line also 5 or 6.

      For nymphing, however, longer (e.g., 10 feet » 3 m.), slow action, if we are trying on barbel, then line 6 or 7, because for thicker fish thicker equipment.

I would recommend 2-piece rods, as they work better, although they are somewhat cumbersome to transport. Often offered as practical multi-piece sets that fit, for example, in a briefcase, I would leave only to the occasional „angler” on a business trip.

      Lines - to begin with - only floating (floating) we choose in the least bright colors. We have time for lines with more complicated properties, (e.g. sinking, with a sinking end, intermediate, shooting head, etc.) when we practice on a floating one.

      The reel must be matched by weight to the rod! In a knowledgeable fly fisherman, there is no concept of a light or heavy reel! This storage for the line should have such a weight that the whole set fits well in the hand, that is, its center of gravity must fall on the handle slightly above the grip of the fishing hand. Hence - a heavy fly - a heavier reel, a light one - a correspondingly lighter one.

      Leaders - it is difficult here to briefly discuss their variety in numerous applications. The length of the leader should be in the order of the length of the rod, and the thickness of the last section of the line - depending on the angler's intention, and, of course, on skill. Horse leaders are commercially available, both sinking and floating, so you can choose from them. For beginner fly fishermen, I recommend thicker lines (from 0.18 mm upwards); this will allow them to lose fewer flies on various hooks. 

      In the selection of flies, I recommend moderation and prudence. Too generously filled boxes are used to show their contents to colleagues, while we fish with only a few types, (when we are sensible). Back to the selection: In accordance with numerous suggestions, in my recently published book „Artificial Flies”, (available on the market), I have included many comments on their applications, which will undoubtedly be a certain signpost for beginners, (and perhaps not only), fly fishers.

Having the intention to stock up on fly tying equipment, we should buy it, (and nowadays there is a lot to choose from!), with the help of an experienced fly fisherman, as it is impossible for me to put any universal guidelines here. The same remark, by the way, applies to other ancillary equipment of a fly fisherman, which - to begin with - does not have to take up the entire car, including the trunk!

As we gain experience we increase our resources, but remember, in moderation!

The conditions for catching a fish are not the quantities and not the prices of various equipment, but, first, that the fish is where we happen to be fishing, and second, that we firmly believe in our skills and the fly.

Krakow, April 24, 2006

Wojciech Węglarski

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