Trouts don't live in ugly places..flyfishing extreme (part 1)

Well, ever since I created this blog, I wanted to do show people Romania's beautiful rivers and landscapes (and that includes romanians too, that don't really know or care about how they should take care of their environment, protect the trout and practice catch and release, with some exceptions), so here is something truly unique...

This could probably be a dream come true for the hardcore fly fisherman looking for some truly unique experiences..I look forward to find out this river's secrets and share it with others, fishing friends or entuziasts if there are any..and I'm sure there are some..

Can't quite find the words to say how amazing this place really is...I wish this could be my "office" every day of the season...

This river valley is so damn beautiful and steep, fishing those holes for some big ones can be dangerous...but that makes it more unique and I now realize that it's not fish I'm after...

I'll tell you, those fish are not easy to catch, they might be the most spookiest trouts I've seen so far..I'll let you judge if they are the most beautiful or not..

It might sound crazy fishin' up there with regular boots..Korkers Bite shoes or something similar with me and definitely some climbing rope would be more appropiate:)..This is untouched water and if the river will stay low and the bears won't eat me on my second trip lol:) hopefully it will be even better..

This time I managed to scratch a rod and a new pair of waders (Cloudveil makes such a damn tough wading pant) on a four meter downfall..so it's all good (maybe after part 2), so stay focused and throw some tightloops until then!

I'll let the pics speak for themselves..

Beautiful, steep and dangerous..

Five Rivers FTXL..the allround performer..

Hi folks,
This is a project built in mind for dutch guy, a great character and a good fishing buddy that I guided last summer on romanian rivers, expert dry fly fisherman. Peter wanted an allround performer, a pretty fast action rod, so I selected the fairly new FTXL9044 from the Dan Craft line. Allthough this blank is advertised as extra fast action, to me it feels like a mod-fast to fast action, very fishable, having great feel in close, very good recovery speed and great lifting power on the butt section. Quite some nice features I can say. You can notice the minimalist build on this one, no thread contrasts, just a simple, nice and clean build, all Peter's choices. The guides are slightly oversized but light wire on the first two sections to avoid sloppy tip and to maintain recovery speed. This rod loads and shoots well at all distances, has great feeling with a 4wt. line in close or at distance and good reserve even with a 5wt...

Peter, if you're reading this please post a comment..and sorry for the long wait..
Tightloops!!

Small stream addiction..

It's been some time that I wanted to take some cool shots on a magic trout stream in the Carpathians mountains..I ventured in the wilderness on a deadly rod without a 4x4 car and had a very short solitary fishing session on the way back from work..found and "captured" this piece of heaven through my lens, luckily still unspoiled from human civilization...I wanted to share a bit of my small stream flyfishing addiction..many of us disregard the beauty of fishing small streams..and like all small things in life, they really make a difference..I can only hope, if someone will find this place, it will still be the same on my next visit.

To me, in these gin clear waters it's not the size of the trout that really matters. It's maybe their breathtaking colours.. I actually don't know what it is, but when I'm casting a seven foot one weight rod and a size 14 elk hair caddis and watch it float like it is floating on air until a trout makes it disappear..well I don't think there is something more graceful and peaceful than that and truly believe that this the purest form of flyfishing...cristal clear streams, spooky wild trouts and perfect fly presentations, three of the most important things that make the game..give it a try, you'll know what I'm talking about.

No fish was harmed or killed during this photo/fishing session..
Protect your trout waters!!

Latest build..Dan Craft FTL 8'0" 6pc. 3wt.

Here is a recently finished rod for a friend who wanted me to build him a multipiece back up dry fly rod..after casting this one, this too has become another of my favourite rods for dry fly fishing..this is the first time that I'm building an DC FTL blank and this one it might be one of Dan's best action for dry flies (just like the good old Signature III or Signature IV series) and I am amazed of how light, crisp and smooth it feels in the hand, good power reserve for those longer casts, good accuracy, no secondary vibrations every time I make a cast, either short or long..to me, it feels just like a regular 2 or 4 piece rod and even smoother..and most important of all is that it really "paints" the fly on the water..meaning that the transfer of energy is very fluid, a quality that many graphite rods don't have..

Blank: Dan Craft FTL803-6
Guides: Light wire snakes
Seat: Struble D2 Aluminium/Cocobolo
Cork: Custom cigar grip
Thread: Chinese red silk
Rod's action: med-fast


Despite the multiple ferrules, this rod is featherlight and casts amazing..it's a great tool for sneaking up on remote creeks or lakes and casting dries to spooky wild trouts..




If you wanna pack light and head up to the high mountains, or fish a remote backcountry creek, then this might be the rod for you!


Thankx for stopping by everyone!!

Nymphing the "mooving" run..

Well the opening of the trout season has caught me with my camera wrapped around my neck..didn't get to fish much but caught some great shots&colours on the fast moving water, fishin' with a good friend..thanx for stopping by!!

The Loch rod..

Blank: Dan Craft's Five Rivers FT1006-4
Handle: Struble Full Wells
Seat: Struble U15HG Gray Anodized Aluminium
Guides: AmTak Titanium strippers with H&H Tich single foot guides
Thread: Black with double silver trimmings
Rod tube: Landmark cordura pvc
Rod cloth: handmade

9wt.."The gun"

Here is a heck of a 9wt. that I've recently finished for a guy who's after big pikes in the Danube Delta..until I'll receive some fishy pictures from him with the rod in action, you can take a good look on this rod's esthetics..possibly the most handsome handle and fighting butt I've built so far. The rod is equiped with ceramic guides, from butt to tip (two oversized double foot guides for better distance shooting), the latest in light weight and durability. The line truly flows through these guides and big distances are at home with this ultra fast action rod.
Thankx for looking everyone!!

Blank: Dan Craft Five Rivers FT 909-4
Guides: Alps Polished Titanium ceramic single foot guides/oversized stripping guides
Reel seat: Struble U18HG (with tapered grooves for retaining the hook)
Handle: Custom turned premium cork/fight.butt with rubberized ends, "burnt" accents and copano burl
Thread: Gudebrod charcoal nylon wraps with gunsmoke metallic tippings