YORKSHIRE DALES FLY FISHING

ESCORTED FLY FISHING HOLIDAYS TO THE SAN RIVER, POLAND

FLY FISHING ON THE SAN RIVER, POLAND

The San River in South East Poland offers probably the best mixed brown trout and grayling fishing in Europe. The number of fish in the San River is breathtaking, especially grayling. In addition to trout and grayling there are Huchen (also know as taimen or Danube salmon) in the river. Huchen are predatory fish; big, powerful members of the salmon family which feed on coarse fish, trout and grayling. It is possible to fish for huchen on an escorted trip; the local Polish guides know exactly where to look.

But it is the Grayling and brown trout that draw anglers from across Europe to the San River. The habitat is perfect for these game fish, supporting awesome numbers of grayling and trout, feeding on massive hatches of ephemerids throughout the main fishing season from May to October.

The San River, flows out of the Bieszczady National Park in the Carpathian mountains of South East Poland, close to the Border with the Ukraine. The San River forms part of a vast system, eventually joining with the Vistula River and flowing north through central Poland. This area is one of the last wilderness regions of Europe, still home to wild boar, wolves, bears, lynx, beaver, martins and otter, as well as many rare birds. The San flows through heavily wooded country, damned where it flows out of the National Park at two large lakes (Solina and Mycskowce) and then drops in a powerful, 100m-wide swathe through forest and meadowland, and through the market towns of Lesko, Zagorz, Sanok and Dobra. Although the San is a wide river, you can wade the water from bank to bank, among colossal shoals of grayling and blizzard hatches of ephemerids that simply take the breath away.

With assistance from my friends in Poland, I have access to many miles of the San and tributaries in the Carpathian Mountains. Many places rarely see an angler and we continue to discover new areas that may never have seen another angler. Imaging fishing amongst awesome numbers of trout and grayling, your nymph or dry fly may well be the first artificial fly those fish have ever seen!

The countryside is beautiful being heavily forested hills and mountains, while the river valley itself is either forested or worked with sustainable, small scale agriculture, reminiscent of much of Europe in the 1950s and 1960s. Except during times of heavy flood, the water flows very clear, indicative of the pristine nature of the country which the River San drains. The abundance and diversity of invertebrates is astonishing, thus healthily supporting the vast fish population.

ACCOMMODATION

There are a number of lodges that we can use in the Lesko area surrounding the San River. The favoured lodge, due to re-open in spring 2008 following a complete renovation, is the Riverside Lodge. As the name suggests it is situated right on the banks of the San River, making it is possible to don waders and fish for the day starting out from the lodge after breakfast.

We can also use a lodge in the tiny village of Berezka, set amongst spruce trees in spacious open grounds, which includes an outdoor, covered, barbecue area with an open fire. This lodge as also recently undergone complete renovation. The lodge at Berezka is close to the fishing on the San River.

We also have access to another lodge in Bazyl, which provides unsurpassed full board accommodation close to the town of Lesko and only a very short distance from the fishing on the San.

ESCORTED TRIPS TO THE SAN RIVER

Fly fishing is at its best on the San River from May to the end of October. I escort groups of anglers to the San during this period 2 or 3 times a year. All trips are inclusive of all transport, accommodation in one of the above lodges, food and drinks (not alcohol), and guided fly fishing. Breakfast and evening meal are taken in the lodge (or outside BBQ) and lunch is provided on the river bank. Groups of 4 to 5 experienced anglers provide a good angler to guide ratio. Guide price for 7 nights in the lodge and 6 days fishing is £995 per person.

To join a trip, or to put together a group of your own, please contact me for further details. Flights are not included but are available reasonably priced from Stansted and Birmingham to Rzeszow with Ryanair.