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Lateral view of a Male Baetis (Baetidae) (Blue-Winged Olive) Mayfly Dun from Mystery Creek #43 in New York
Blue-winged Olives
Baetis

Tiny Baetis mayflies are perhaps the most commonly encountered and imitated by anglers on all American trout streams due to their great abundance, widespread distribution, and trout-friendly emergence habits.

Lateral view of a Psychodidae True Fly Larva from Mystery Creek #308 in Washington
This wild-looking little thing completely puzzled me. At first I was thinking beetle or month larva, until I got a look at the pictures on the computer screen. I made a couple of incorrect guesses before entomologist Greg Courtney pointed me in the right direction with Psychodidae. He suggested a possible genus of Thornburghiella, but could not rule out some other members of the tribe Pericomini.
27" brown trout, my largest ever. It was the sub-dominant fish in its pool. After this, I hooked the bigger one, but I couldn't land it.
Troutnut is a project started in 2003 by salmonid ecologist Jason "Troutnut" Neuswanger to help anglers and fly tyers unabashedly embrace the entomological side of the sport. Learn more about Troutnut or support the project for an enhanced experience here.

Report at a Glance

General RegionSlovenia
Specific LocationKupa River
Dates FishedJune 2017
Time of DayFrom sunset to sundown and sometime even after
Fish CaughtMostly Grayling and a few brown trout
Conditions & HatchesReasonably low fresh water, very sunny with sometime as much as 18 different flies hatching at the same time.

Details and Discussion

Slocum
Slocum's profile picture
France

Posts: 9
Slocum on Jul 5, 2017July 5th, 2017, 7:37 pm EDT
Early june, we've travelled 18 hours from France to fish in the Kupa river, at the border of Slovenia and Croatia. A well preserved and beautiful fresh river in the middle of low mountains covered by conifers and boradleaf.

Here are some pictures of my trip, also including a bunch of reptiles & amphibians, as I'm very interested in them. Almost no brown trout pics, we caught just a few and we weren't able to take pics of them except one.

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Kupa river, with its beautiful surrounding :

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We fished mostly with dry fly but a few grayling were caught on nymph, like this one :

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A juvenile Natrix tessellata, a semi aquatic non venomous snake feeding on fish, tadpoles and small amphibians. The equivalent of your garter snake or your water snake.

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The day after we went to the source of the river, in the Risnjac National park in Croatia.

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Buying local flies :

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Natrix natrix persa shed :

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Back to Slovenia :

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Now the main reptiles/amphibians chapter.

Zootoca vivipara :

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Common toad, Bufo bufo :

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Lacerta agilis :

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Amplexus of Bombina variegata :

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Bufo bufo, again :

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Tadpoles feeding on dead toad. No waste in energy in the Wild :

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Juvenile Natrix tessellata :

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Bombina variegata again :

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An adult specimen of Natrix tessellata :

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Sorry for this little interlude. Back to the river and fly fishing :

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There were some Huchens too. Some of us did saw some following a grayling they catch, but to fish them at this time of year wasn't allowed and we didn't have the appropriate rod and line anyway.

Hope you liked that short report of a very good trip ! Go there if you can, it's beautiful.
Troutnut
Troutnut's profile picture
Administrator
Bellevue, WA

Posts: 2758
Troutnut on Jul 5, 2017July 5th, 2017, 8:23 pm EDT
Awesome report and pictures, thanks for posting! I love Slovenia and would highly recommend it to anyone. The whole country is a great experience, including the fishing.
Jason Neuswanger, Ph.D.
Troutnut and salmonid ecologist
Slocum
Slocum's profile picture
France

Posts: 9
Slocum on Jul 6, 2017July 6th, 2017, 3:37 am EDT
Thanks Jason ! This is a great Country for sure. Awesome landscape, and a great variety of fauna and flora. I just regret that we weren't able to visit the Risnjac National park a whole day. My comrades wanted to fish, fish, fish...
Jmd123
Jmd123's profile picture
Oscoda, MI

Posts: 2474
Jmd123 on Jul 6, 2017July 6th, 2017, 6:58 am EDT
Beautiful! Love the reptiles and amphibians! Different species but pretty much the same things we see here, except here in Michigan lizards are rare. (The most common is the five-lined skink, the juveniles of which have lovely electric-blue tails.) But all lovely creatures...and spectacular scenery! Thanks for sharing.

Jonathon
No matter how big the one you just caught is, there's always a bigger one out there somewhere...
Partsman
Partsman's profile picture
bancroft michigan

Posts: 321
Partsman on Jul 6, 2017July 6th, 2017, 11:24 am EDT
Thanks for sharing your wonderful European flyfishing! Beautiful pictures, I love the rivers and mountains, and the cabin was very relaxing to look at. It looks like the kind of place I would love to visit and enjoy some good wine and food and fishing.
Mike.
Martinlf
Martinlf's profile picture
Moderator
Palmyra PA

Posts: 3047
Martinlf on Jul 6, 2017July 6th, 2017, 2:46 pm EDT
Fascinating. Thanks so much for sharing!
"He spread them a yard and a half. 'And every one that got away is this big.'"

--Fred Chappell
Slocum
Slocum's profile picture
France

Posts: 9
Slocum on Aug 12, 2017August 12th, 2017, 8:05 pm EDT
You're welcome ;)
Cibolaj
Croatia

Posts: 2
Cibolaj on Feb 4, 2018February 4th, 2018, 1:17 am EST
https://youtu.be/c3Tm6lqcCZM


Kupa at winter... Just.. wow
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Fish1
Ljubljana, Slovenia

Posts: 2
Fish1 on Feb 21, 2018February 21st, 2018, 6:21 pm EST
KUPA is the name if you enter the river from Croatian sice of the border. From our side ( Slovenian) the name is KOLPA! Just to meke things clear.. :-)

F

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