Where in Europe would you expect to find incredible fishing, Alpine scenery and mosques? The answer is Bosnia, which is rapidly emerging as one of the world’s top destinations for fly fishing. But the country has way more than that: it is also a brilliant destination for food, and a wonderful place to be amongst serene and untouched nature.
One of the reasons Bosnia is so good for fishing is because the country never experienced industrialised agriculture. In other words, the use of pesticides, so prevalent in many places, simply did not happen. The upshot is that the country’s insect life is massively abundant, something that the native trout and grayling benefit from hugely.
Over recent years, many British anglers in particular have headed to Bosnia in search of trophy size fish, crystal clear waters, and gorgeous scenery.
Abundant nature: a fly fishing trip to Bosnia
Steffan taking a break from all the hard work
We flew from Heathrow to Zagreb in Croatia and then headed east for three hours. In Croatia, the motorways are brand new and there is evidence of plenty of fresh construction. But when you cross the River Sava, which signifies the border with Bosnia, it’s fair to say that everything changes and the pace of life slows down.
In Bosnia you can still see children being taken to and from school in a one horsepower vehicle, otherwise known as a horse and cart. Bosnians approach life at an unhurried pace.
Even though it was so many years ago, evidence of the war is still easy to spot. The Bosnian War took place between 1992 and 1995. It followed the breakup of Yugoslavia and was characterised by bitter fighting between Serbs, Bosnians and Croats and included the indiscriminate shelling of cities and towns, as well as ethnic cleansing. I’m happy to say that other than wrecked buildings, I detected no trace of animosity.
The Bosnian plum brandy is delicious, if rather dangerous…
Bosnia feels more like Tolkien’s Shire than anywhere else I have ever visited. What is slightly surreal is that each village contains Catholic and Russian Orthodox churches, alongside mosques complete with minarets. The sound of the Muezzin calling people to prayer as you are tackling up is certainly unusual.
The landscape is vaguely Alpine but on a smaller scale. It reminded me of a European equivalent of the Lake District, a world dotted with orchards and small farms where you can see crops being picked by hand and farmers wielding scythes.
While there, we fished two rivers, the Pliva and the Ribnik. Both would be familiar sights for those many people who fish the chalkstreams of southern England. They are so clear that it’s often impossible to gauge depth and are full of ranunculus, the aquatic plant that is a well known indicator of water quality.
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The fish are plentiful and often huge by UK standards. Having caught a grayling that would be the catch of a lifetime in the UK, my guide promptly pointed out an even larger one about 10 yards away.
There are plenty of fish, and they are by no means as wary of the bait as they are in rivers like Test or Itchen in Hampshire, but they are incredibly picky. Having arrived with fly boxes full of ‘small’ UK flies, we were told by our Bosnian fishing guides that they were nowhere near tiny enough. For those of a technical disposition, we were mostly fishing with flies of size 22 and smaller.
Steffan with one of his catches
We were slightly unlucky with the weather as it had rained heavily the week before. But nevertheless the water level mostly dropped during the time we were there, allowing lots of dry fly fishing to be had. Those who are used to fishing in the UK, and in particular in the Home Counties, will be used to the notion of catching fish using dry flies cast upstream.
But in Bosnia, the view is by using that method you are casting your line and leader over the heads of the feeding fish. So we were all encouraged to use the Bosnian tactic of first casting across the river, then putting a big upstream mend into the line, and finally allowing the fly to drift gently over the quarry. This is the sort of thing that would give many river keepers and gillies on British rivers heart attacks. But it must be said that it’s very effective.
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Alongside the fishing, we enjoyed traditional Bosnian food and drink including exquisite breads filled with spiced meat, beers and the local moonshine, made with peaches.
Bosnian cuisine is an interesting mix of Greek, Italian, and Turkish, with many recipes derived from the Ottoman era. The cuisine uses spice but in moderate quantities. The national dish is cavapi, which is essentially a kebab mix of lamb and beef served with onions alongside or sometimes inside Bosnian pita bread.
Other local specialties include spinach pie, cheese pie, stuffed peppers, butter bean soup, and cured meats and cheeses. There’s also a whole range of sweets that are similar to Middle Eastern baklava.
We tended to drink local beer rather than Bosnian wine, though I must say that the Bosnian plum brandy, Rakija, is delicious, if dangerous.
Nevertheless, each day we would rise for breakfast at about 8am and fish through till dusk, normally about 6:30pm. We were all so consumed by the excellent fishing that lunch was something we barely thought about, although our guides did occasionally bring us vittles on the riverbank that were so good that angling simply had to take a pause.
My fellow fly fishermen were a delight and included a number of City professionals like myself as well as a former university vice-chancellor and an engineer. But even had I been here alone, Bosnia is beautiful and abundant enough to satiate any determined fly fisher – I shall be returning at the first opportunity.
Book a Bosnia fishing holiday
Trips with Aardvark Mcleod cost from £1,000 per person per week and run from May. You can book at aardvarkmcleod.com or call 01980 84738