Stories

The stories from Warm Vltava river

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The end of my 2006 flyfishing season was a bit in vain, but actually the previous couple of years had been pretty much the same. I leave fishing in the cold to the young, and rather take care of my health somewhere warm. That year I also didn't make it to our annual Sumava stag party, since it coincided with All Saint's Day – an occasion when it's necessary to take the family to visit relatives, those both living and dead, for a bit of talk.

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It was a hot day in July when my wife and I arrived at our weekend house near Volary. Another weekend of cleaning and tidying awaited us, one of those that only such old, long-uninhabited buildings may offer their owners. We hadn’t really come here much during the past ten years and so we decided this year to put everything in order. My task this day was to paint the hallway white, and my wife kept busy with constant tidying and cleaning.

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For me, the last weekend in November was also the last opportunity to say good bye to the Upper Vltava. A problem, however, lay in the fact that I was rather immobile, as something had broken down in the injection pump of my Ford Focus. Luckily, I managed to procure another mode of transportation, and so Milan and I set out for the Sumava Mountains, already covered with quite a good amount of snow. First, we visited the post office in Freyung, Germany, from which I posted a hundred copies of the German version of “Czech Nymph“, addressed to the company Durkop. The postage was just a third of the price I would have paid had I sent it from a post office in the Czech Republic.

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Part V.: The Last Ringing

The third October weekend attracted me again to the Sumava Mountains, because the weather forecast was still very optimistic. This time, I set out as late as Saturday morning and I didn't regret it. On the way, views of hilly, forested countryside with a touch of light morning mist opened ahead of me. After arrival at my weekend house in Stogerova Hut near Volary, I wanted to pick plums from the two trees in the garden, but there was nothing there. Unknown “helpers” had already managed to harvest them right before me, exactly like the year before. Never mind, climbing trees is not as big a hobby for me as it used to be when I was younger.

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Part IV.: A stag party

It was already the first half of October, but the coldness of autumn hadn't yet come, and Indian summer still ruled in the Tepla (Warm) Vltava valley near the village of Dobra and the Soumarsky bridge. For many years we have organized grayling catching expeditions where many friends reunite and throw a stag party, in the Stögerova Hut.

Local anglers are never happy about it, thinking many graylings won't survive, but the truth is different. These are nothing but anglers' tales and sometimes also unpleasant slanders which are so hard to fight. I could tell stories about that, but not today - this is the time for the beautiful countryside and a knightly joust with a fish which will remain in its natural habitat even if the angler wins.

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Part III.: Short fishing trip

It was Thursday, 7th October and nice weather of late Indian summer pushed me to consider a short trip to the river. After lunch I made my decision and before one o’clock I was driving from Ceske Budejovice direction Sumava mountains. I was in hurry and drove through the Prachatice town but it was a mistake. There was a detour there, badly marked on small country roads. I had to pass the Libin hill and returned to the Prachatice road close to Libinske Sedlo. In a while I crossed the pontoon bridge over the Blanice river. Residuals of stony bridge turned down by floods were still there. Beautiful parkway with nice old trees along the road to Volary was broken down to make space for a new wide road. I had to admit that final result of the road constructor’s work was not so bad.

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Part II.: Black viper

The day after my trip to Sumava mountains I went to the shop of Hanak brothers in Ceske Budejovice. And I was lucky this time. Joseph offered me a small black Redington reel with the poetic name “Red Fly”. This was the one which I wanted. That evening at home I wound on a light green floating Sage line, size 2 and I modified the extension as well. Now I was ready and I wanted to go to try my new reel on the Warm Vltava river.

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Part I.: Getting familiarised after one year

October 2004 was a month which I will remember for long time. The Month which extended the summer and invited me, ten times with my fly-fishing rod to Dobra world under the Stozec Mountain in South Bohemia. To call the Stozec a mountain is maybe too much, it is just such a higher hill with top about one thousand meters above the sea level. Anyway - when I watch him from my old cottage in Stogerova Hut, it is a lovely and pleasant view. Early in the morning a mist was going up and Stozec looked like it was wearing a white scarf. It went away quite quickly and a golden, sunny autumn day was revealed. Dark green spruces on the top of the hill, contrasted the sky-blue sky above the Sumava hills, together with light green meadows and brown sedges fields on Vltava river banks.

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Poster

It was almost the end of June and the weather on this particular Saturday was finally good. I was driving to my old cottage near to Volary with two aims. First I wanted to watch the spring-round of the Czech second fly-fishing league and second I wanted to mow the grass around the cottage. I had not taken much care of this place during the last five years. I used it mainly as a place just for the fall grayling expeditions. This was the June duty visit to remove the overgrown grass.

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In October, four years ago, I was walking in South Bohemia along the river, Warm Vltava and below Dobra village. I found an inconspicuous but deep little pool, below the shallow current. It was about five o’clock p.m., at the time when grayling were usually ignoring our dry flies. They stopped picking up almost an hour ago and, that’s why I changed my bottom fly but it was not much better.