Fishing the Alps, with Miha Ivanc

The Orvis Fly-Fishing Podcast

I frequently get questions from listeners traveling to Europe, curious about fly fishing opportunities in Italy, France, Austria, and Switzerland. I've never fished there and don't have any answers, so I reached out to Miha Ivanc [40:52] of Kyrka River Lodge in Slovenia, who has fished all through the Alps. In the podcast you'll learn where to fish, what species to expect (like their native marbled trout), how to fish for them, and where to get permission to fish. It should be an eye-opener to most of us. In the Fly Box this week, we have some particularly interesting questions, including:

• Can I use flies for ice fishing?
• I mostly fish lakes and am having problems on streams. With long casts I get drag and with shorter casts I worry about spooking fish. What should I do?
• Can I work downstream with a streamer and then work back up through the same water with a dry dropper?
• Is there a risk in tippet material breaking down in sunlight when it is on a tippet holder exposed to the sun?
• I see people catching trout on worms but I can't seem to fool them on flies. What am I doing wrong and do you have any tips?
• Is it legal to raise jungle cock for feathers in the US, and is anyone doing it?
• A listener corrects me on a statement I made regarding using molted feathers from songbirds to tie flies.
• Do you have any tips for traveling to Chile to fish at Magic Waters?
• If I see water striders and small baitfish in a pool, does that mean there won't be any larger trout there?
• How much life can I expect from a leader I made myself?
• Can I tell the difference between wild and hatchery trout by looking at them?
• I can't seem to catch more than two trout from any one pool. What am I doing wrong?