Trout Fishing in Slovenia

A complete guide about Slovenia Trout fishing: Discover the most popular rivers and trout species in Slovenia, including the legendary Marble Trout.
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Slovenia trout fishing — experience the paradise in the Alps

If you are a fan of trout fishing and want to experience a new place, Slovenia is the perfect location. This small country has many rivers and lakes that provide an excellent backdrop for catching trout. Trout fishing in Slovenia is most prevalent in spring, summer and autumn when the weather is warmest.

Marble trout
Trout Fishing in Slovenia

Trout species in Slovenia

There are many different species of trout living in Slovenian waters, but they all have one thing in common: they’re beautiful and always an exciting catch!

Marble Trout

The Marble Trout is probably the most famous species among Slovenian anglers. It lives in the Soča River and its tributaries, which flow through western Slovenia into Italy. It was almost extinct due to overfishing, but now there are many efforts to protect this beautiful fish and make sure that it will live long enough to be caught by fishermen again.

The marble trout has a beautiful color, which makes it one of the most attractive freshwater fish in Slovenia. For example, its back is dark brown or olive green with lighter sides and belly, while its head has yellowish spots and stripes that run from eye to tail on both sides.

You can enjoy Marble Trout fishing from April 1st to the 30th of September.

Small marble trout from Soča river
Small marble trout from Soča river

Brown Trout

Brown trout are native to Slovenia and can be found in most of our rivers and lakes. This classic fly-fishing species is also an excellent table fish that has been introduced to many areas around the world where it did not originate.

It has a yellow-brown, dark grey, olive green or copper red body, which is sprinkled with spots of red, or sometimes black or white colour. It can be found mostly in the upper or middle reaches of streams, with the largest found in Karst waters.

The fishing season runs from March to September.

brown trout
Brown Trout

Rainbow Trout

The rainbow trout is a beautiful fish. Their rainbow flank makes it easily distinguishable from other species. It is also very adaptable and can be found in many different kinds of water. The largest ones can reach a size of 90 cm and weigh up to 10 kg.

While it isn’t very picky and catches onto a bait quite a lot, it is also very brave and doesn’t give up so easily after. This makes it a popular species for anglers looking for an exciting fight.

The fishing season starts in March (in April for Soča) and lasts until the end of November.

rainbow trout
Rainbow Trout

Best rivers for trout fishing in Slovenia

Trouts are one of the most widespread species of fish in Slovenian rivers. Especially the Brown Trout, which you can find in almost any moving body of water here. 

While the same cannot be said for the Marble Trout, it’s still hard to pick the wrong river if you just want to go trout fishing in Slovenia.

Soča River

Soča is not just the best river for trout fishing in Slovenia — it’s also the most iconic Slovenian river in general. With its emerald colour of the water and amazing alpine surroundings, it is a top destination both for fishers and other explorers of Slovenia.

And it is also the only river in Slovenia (along with its tributaries) where you can catch the elusive Marble Trout. Every aspiring angler can go Marble Trout fly fishing on the Soča River and catch some of the most magnificent fish in Slovenia waters.

The season opens in April and can be enjoyed along the 50 kilometres of cascades and pools, excluding the hardly accessible but beautiful gorges.

River Soca
Soča River

Sava Bohinjka

Flowing from Lake Bohinj, the biggest lake in Slovenia, is Sava Bohinjka. This river later converges with Sava Dolinka to make the longest Slovenian river, Sava.

But before that happens, Sava Bohinjka is a paradise for fly fishers as one of the most stocked rivers in Slovenia. Besides the Grayling, the Brown and Rainbow Trout are the most common fish species in the river. Just set yourself on one of the easily reachable sandbanks and enjoy your day of fly-fishing on Sava Bohinjka.

Sava Bohinjka
Sava Bohinjka

Idrijca River

If you want to get away from the summer crowds of Soča River but still try catching the iconic Marble Trout, Idrijca River is the best choice. As a tributary of Soča, it is just as good or even better destination for Marble Trout fishing in Slovenia than the former.

Its green pools are rich with food, making the Marble Trouts here grow to record sizes. Still, they are less prevalent than their cousins, the Brown and Rainbow Trout.

It is also possible to go fly fishing on Idrijca in early spring when Soča is still too cold from all the snowmelt of the surrounding Julian Alps.

Idrijca River
Idrijca River

Savinja River

Hiding in the northeast of the country is the Savinja River. A largely undiscovered but extremely rich in fish, it flows from its source at the 90-metre Rinka waterfall in the panoramic Logar Valley to the confluence into the Sava River.

Because of its abundance of oxygen and food, various fish species have found their home here. The most common here are the Brown Trout and Grayling, joined downstream by the Rainbow Trout and some giant Huchen.

Some of the most popular spots to enjoy fly fishing on Savinja are near the town of Ljubno ob Savinji, where every fisher can find a peaceful spot for themself.

Savinja River
Savinja River

Best fishing flies to use for trout fishing in Slovenia

There are four main fishing techniques to trick the Trout into biting. They depend on what kind of fishing fly you are using. Although they differ, you can opt for either of them and still enjoy a decent chance of catching a trout!

The choice of technique mainly hinges on your preference and experience in fly fishing. Our guide will advise you on the matter and ensure that your angling trip will be successful.

Dry fly fishing

Dry fly fishing is a technique where an angler uses a bait that rests on the river’s water surface and does not submerge. Dry flies represent small aquatic insects like sedge flies or insects that fall in the river or get carried there by the wind, such as grasshoppers or caterpillars.

They have to be maneuvered by the angler so that the bait mimics how real flies would flow in the current. It is the only way to convince the Trout to break the water surface and bite on your hook.

Wet fly fishing

Wet fly fishing uses flies floating just below the water surface as bait. They are equipped with a weighted component so that they submerge. Wet flies imitate various aquatic insects when they are swimming to the surface.

Albeit less thrilling to watch, it is less complicated to get the knack off for beginners, and even experienced anglers are not against using this technique to guarantee a rich payoff. 

Nymphing

Nymphing is the most recent fly fishing technique. In this approach, artificial flies resemble aquatic larvae. They work when submerged to the or near the bottom of the river to hook a trout. 

The angler has to know the fishing spot well, as the nature of the river in that section determines how far below the surface the nymph must go.

Stream fishing

Streamers are the most sizable flies used in fly fishing. They resemble baitfish and leeches, food for predatory fish. Depending on their weight, they can either sink deep under the river surface or naturally drift with the current.

The anglers use the tactic in which they steer the fly to make it seem like it is fleeing to trigger the larger fish into pursuing it.

Trout fishing gear

Watching experienced anglers with all their fishing equipment can be overwhelming if you are still at the beginning of your fishing career, but in reality, you only need the essentials. These include a fishing rod, waders and boots to stay dry, a landing net, and a package of flies to lure the fish.

Fishing gear
Fishing gear

Having these crucial pieces of gear means you will not be hindered in any way while trout fishing in Slovenia.

To make things easier, we rent out all the abovementioned articles, which you can check out here.

Trout fishing season

The Trout fishing season lasts from the beginning of April to the end of September in Slovenia, with each of the two months presenting one of the two peaks of the season. The summer months in between are appropriate too, but the waterfronts get busier with tourists and the temperatures tend to rise.
We wrote about it more extensively in our fly fishing season section.

Join us on a fly fishing trip!

Of course, Trouts and especially Marble Trouts are some of the most popular fly fishing species. Along with other fly fishing species (like the Grayling or Huchen), they can be also found in other Slovenian rivers.

Find out all about them by checking out other equally interesting fly fishing trips in Slovenia. Don’t hesitate, fly fishing guides are fully booked quite early into the season.

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Benjamin Silberberg
Verified Customer
Absolutely incredible. Started the day on the Soca and quickly moved on to the Tolminka. After a hike, Branko found us a hole filled with more than fifteen 40-80cm rainbow and marble trout. Sight fishing at its best. Fished that spot the whole day as it was such madness and no need to move. The feeling of watching a trout take my dry fly in crystal clear water then hooking and landing it is amazing. The fishing won't always be so hot, but i highly recommended you call these guys now as it was the highlight of my trip to Europe.
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Chris X
Verified Customer
Very friendly guides! Very helpful and accommodating. 3 days of fly fishing at beautiful locations throughout Slovenia. Fishing was fantastic and wrist couldn’t take anymore from large Brown and Rainbows Trout. Guides knew water and knew proper technique to trigger strikes from pressured fish. Service helped arrange rental car and lodging. None better!!!
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Phillip Hensley
Verified Customer
I went fishing on the Soca River with the help of Fishing Guides Slovenia during early July 2021 and had the experience of a lifetime. The whole day went perfect, the fishing was simply fantastic and the scenery of the Soca River made the whole trip worth it. My guide, Ziga, was a expert when it came to fishing and knew exactly what to do to catch fish all day long, as well as a very nice person. Mitja, the gentlemen who helped set up the fishing trip, was extremely kind and helpful throughout the process of getting everything in order and made sure the day went smoothly. I will definitely be back to fish more with these guys and I highly recommend the same to anybody interested in catching big Slovenian fish.
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Karl
Verified Customer
My second time in Slovenia Fly Fishing and another absolutely incredible experience. Organisation and communication with Mitja was perfect and guiding with Žiga absolutely aweseome. I caught countless of beautiful rainbows, browns, greyling and...Marmorata. 5 stars for this great experience. Tight lines - Karl.
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Jan Daniel Wolters
Verified Customer
Fly fishing in Slovenia with guides Žiga and Timotej has been a absolute delight. These guy’s know what they are talking about. They will spot the fish and can tell you how to catch it, be it dry, nymph, streamer or French nymping and can assist you with everything you need. Great catches on some of Europe’s most beautiful rivers and excellent company. Highly recommended!
To make your fly fishing trip the best ever, our local guides will lead you to prime fishing areas where you’ll be able to catch your dream trophy fish.
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