River San

The river

The San rises in the Bieszczady mountains near the Ukrainian border, and the upper 100 km runs through a national park and some of the wildest country in central Europe. There are several dams on the middle river, but above Sanok the San is largely free-flowing, with a strong wild grayling population and good brown trout. It is one of the last places in the region where you can catch 40 grayling in a day on dry flies.

On this river

The upstream nymph drift

On the San the standard grayling method is a long upstream drift with two tungsten nymphs on a 5-metre leader and a highly visible indicator. Grayling take on the drop, not on the lift, so keep the rod tip following the indicator and strike downstream rather than upstream.

Evening dry fly for grayling

From June the olives and caddis bring grayling to the surface in the last two hours of light, and they rise more confidently than trout. Use a single #16 Klinkhamer or a small CDC emerger, cast across and let it drag very slightly — a subtly dragging fly often out-fishes a perfect dead drift for grayling.

Wading a big mountain river

The San's bed is made of rounded Carpathian cobbles, which move underfoot. Wear studded soles rather than rubber, use a staff in anything above knee depth, and cross only where you can see the bottom. Most accidents on this river happen on the walk back in the dark, so plan your exit before you start fishing.