Czech republic – 28-06-2014

Czech republic – 28-06-2014

Our last fishing day would be spent at the Úpa river (German: Aupa) .
We had been at the Úpa before but then it was in flooding stage and unfishable.
As we drove to our destination Slatina nad upou I found the landscape a bit flat.
Even more alarming was when we actually crossed the Úpa and I saw that it was a
straight channel with concrete banks left and right.
Luckily it all changed when we entered Slatina nad upou as the road was winding down
in to a gorge.
There was a carpark at a dirt road and gathering from all the people on mountainbikes
it seemed like a well frequented tourist destination.
A look at the water instantly revealed fish so hopes where high for this water.

One of the passers by (a lady) asked us in English if we where about to fish and if we had the
proper licenses – off course we had.
When we asked the rethorical question if the fishing was any good she had too think for a long
time and just mentioned “fishing good, small fish”.


Úpa river

Getting in to the river was actually a struggle for me, not only because I still had trouble with my knee
but the water was actually deep at the bank and dotted with some big boulders.
One of my buddies was almost going for a swim as he got into the river at a deep outside bend.
I eventually made it to the adjecent shallow bank and tossed segdes at rising fish.


Úpa river, brown trout and brook trout

As one of my so called “friends” had entered the river not that far stream upwards from me it made
no sense to walk in his footsteps so I opted to fish the deep waters I had just passed with a streamer.
I was amazed at the number of trout that came out of nowhere to chase the streamer but as it
often happens with streamer fishing none of the fish got hooked properly.
When I spotted some rising fish near a weir I changed back to the dry fly but again no solid takers.
Allthough the skies where filled with clouds and some droplets of rain fell the predicted downpour
luckily did not happen, it was hot though.
The heat combined with my sore knee eventually got to me so I carefully tried to cross the deep water
to get onto the bank and hop on the roadside bench for a rest.

After I had regained my posture I figured sitting all day on a bench was not the reason to come out
here so I crawled up the mountain via the dirt road to reach a section of the river upstream.
I passed by some of my friends and entered the water via a meadow.
The river was wide and shallow here, not a sign of rising fish anywhere.
Eventually I found one of my friends sitting on  a rock, his face expression just spelled “struggle”.


Úpa river.

Allthough the first section of the river seemed pretty decent to me the other guys where I guess a bit
dissappointed by the results they achieved at this location.
It did not take long before the radio call came in that the guys wanted to move to another location.
As I had overdone it with my little mountain venture I opted to get out of my waders and rest for a while.
We would not fish another section of the Úpa but would head back to Peklo to fish the Metuje.
Back at the gorge in Peklo to guys disembarked into the river while my buddy and I followed the
road to the end where the restaurant was located.
Instead of getting in the river for a couple of hours and sweatting it out it seemed more sensible to get
a cold beer at the terrace of the restaurant – and so we did.

IMG 3411IMG 3410
The restaurant at Peklo, ote the top entry of the menu – no they do not serve plastic explosives – its an energy drink 🙂

A relic from the past, a trabant – East German export product.

At the end of the day we would again head to Nové Město nad Metují for dinner but a piece of Apfelstrudel with a Vídeňská káva (Viennese coffee)
as appetizer was more than welcome.
To kill the time we checked out the little Olešenka stream than ran into the Metuje at Peklo, A small brook with very clear water and off course with a few trout.


Olešenka brook.

After sunset we joined up with the other guys whom had fished the Metuje downstream but only caught a few small brown trout.
The excellent diner in Nové Město was again a very pleasing end of the day.


Nové Město nad Metují, at restaurant Dům č. 14.

So this was the last day of fishing trip to the Czech republic.
I was apprehensive to go on this trip as I had not much faith in the fishing and allthough the numerous references to small fish have come true it was better than I had expected.
To me this was more a fact finding mission than a fishing trip especially with some of my friends whom seem more intent to go sightseeing than fishing.
With all these factors plus my immobility due to a sore knee I think I have barely scratched the potential of fishing down there but at least I got a broad impression of the region I fished.

I would I go there again, yes I would – beautifull rivers and a beautifull country.


Heading home.

All I have left to say is to thank our hosts at Pension Novy Hradek for the excellent service
and information they provided, highly recommended.

Comments are closed.