This part of the season at trout rivers in Croatia was marked by unstable weather and the fact that fish are cautious and suspicious of the offered flies - most like because they have probably been caught several times since the beginning of the season. (In the meantime weather become stable and hot like in the summer)
Frequent changes in air temperature, rains, variations in the water level of the river and presence of many anglers, affect the mood and behavior of trout. In this part of the year trout activity should move to the surface, but cold days (like this Saturday two weeks ago) and temperatures of 13 degrees nailed the fish to the bottom.
My plan to fish with small nymphs and dry flies quickly fell through. Although I had a few fish, and one big rainbow trout, my total catch of the day was much worse than my friends Sasa and Ivica, who were using "heavy weapons" strategies and were persistent in fishing with streamers near the bottom. Of course a sinking fly line was instrumental to their success, especially for Sasa who had some really beautiful trout.
The most successful moment of the day in outsmarting with this big rainbow trout occurred when after changing all possible nymph imitations, I took a red imitation of a bloodworm from my fly box. This "fly" is a little unusual for trout, but this year it gave me some nice fish, probably because other anglers rarely use blood worm imitations.
