A General introduction about the river Váh.
We talk about trout water. We talk about fish above 60cm (Salmo trutta fario, Oncorhynchus mykiss, Thymallus thymallus, Hucho hucho). About fish in sizes, you may not have caught or even seen before. Brownies, Rainbows, and Graylings in sizes you have seen in documentary videos but never had on the line, maybe not even in your dreams. We talk about the cold beer afterward and we talk about the Slovak culinary and hospitality. From beginning at simple accommodation where all the basic fishermen requirements are met and pleasured with some heartful extras done by real persons with real passion, ending up in high-quality accommodation with wellness and extras for your personal satisfaction at non-fishing time. This is about your decision.
The fishing section of river Váh which we are talking about begins at the Besenova dam and ends in Ruzomberok. Anyway, the river continues its journey somehow until it ends up together with the Danube (Donau/Dunaj) which makes this especially interesting somehow. We may return to this point of interest later in the story because of its presence of the Huchen. Besides this its water quality is wealth enough to contain Bullheads and Crayfish.
The amount of insects during an intense hatch is really impressive. Dark swarms of mass hatching insects of all kinds will introduce you to what it is about to experience a real hatch. The amount of larvas and Freshwater Shrimps is just amazing, you can turnaround any stone and find early stadiums of Stoneflys and Shrimps and other larvas that you understand why this rivers fish is so difficult to fish. They have low food pressure because there is a lot of naturals to feed. The stomachs of these fishes are known to be full of stonefly nymphs and freshwater shrimps, the muscles are colored orange from the high amount if shrimps were eaten. The amount of small fish is low since there is a lot of pressure from big fish.
When you look at the details and may have a look at the spots on google maps you may explore that places are difficult. There is quite a lot of water but the fish have their territories. Please do your self a favor and be careful. The water level may change during the day. Since it is regulated by energy production request they may open that thing. The water level can rise within one hour to a level where cute spots at 50cm will bring you in trouble at 80cm or more which means that a route you have waded with water up to the vest might not be passable later at all. I can tell you stories about that…
In most cases, it is about the way back to save time when the water level raises or you need to take a break. Be careful, take your time, plan the wading route carefully. Take your wading stock with you. Don’t blindly follow or wade through the water. Keep always at least one stable foot in position. Move only if you are sure and have tested that the next stand is a stable one. So many times there are stories about fishermen who got a swim because the lost stability, stepped in a hole or stepped on loose material which started rolling underweight.
Do not underestimate the power of this river. It will exhaust you faster then you consider. I recommend you to get in touch with a local for a talk about the current situation and recommendations or hire a guide at least for one day, or even more if you like so. You find good people in the local environment.
I do strongly recommend a visit to local store Thymallus in Ruzomberok and get some Nymphs and information about the current hatch. Same recommendation for Esox store in Liptovský Mikulás, get in touch with the owner and ask for some of his genuine dry flies, wets, and nymphs. His inventions returned me a couple of outstanding bites and fights which I will never forget. We might get back to this later again.
Summary:
Váh: Advanced and Expert Fishermen
Váh č. 19b 3-4701-4-4 P* CHAP*³
Váh č. 19a 3-4700-4-0 P*
Váh č. 18c 3-4691-6-4 Li*² CHAP *³
Accommodation: Contact us. Several Option for every Budget
Licenses: Local bar, Thymallus Ruzomberok, Esox L. Mikulás we can help you
Guiding: talk to a local or contact us, we can help you
P* Trout water regulations
Li*² Grayling water regulations
CHAP*³ Catch & Release
