We closed the season on the Djetinja River with plenty of fun and good food. Andrey and his wife, anglers originally from Novosibirsk, came to visit me. They now live in Belgrade, but they still missed the grayling of their home rivers. We decided to combine pleasure with research: go fishing and find out whether Serbian grayling really are better than Siberian ones. Spoiler—the debate is still unresolved.
Grandma Cana at the Center of the Universe
As usual, we stayed with our dear Grandma Cana. Her house stands above the river in the village of Stapari, where mornings begin with the smell of fresh bread and evenings end with a generous bowl of pasulj bean stew and a glass of homemade plum rakija. Andrey’s wife immediately fell in love with village life: gathering mushrooms in the forest, enjoying the sauna and seemingly forgetting about her husband for a while as he battled the current and the fish’s moods.
Day One: Testing the Water
The river had dropped by 20–30 centimeters after a long dry spell in Serbia, so the fish were lazy and cautious. Andrey did not give up. On the first day he landed a small grayling and a little trout. “We’re off the mark!” he said. I kept quiet—my own tackle was still saying nothing, very loudly.
That evening, Cana served an Užice-style dinner: soup, pasulj with smoked meat and, of course, rakija. After the second glass, it became clear that even if the fish refused to bite the next day, our spirits were guaranteed to remain high.
Day Two: Leader Drama
Andrey decided to demonstrate the true Siberian school and tied on a nymph the size of a sparrow. Amazingly, a huge grayling responded. Our hearts stopped—but the fine 0.10 mm leader decided that the day’s drama should end in the fish’s favor. The grayling escaped victorious and is probably still telling its friends at the underwater bar how it outwitted two tourists.
I had slightly better luck, persuading a 30-centimeter grayling and a bonus small trout. Modest, but satisfying.
The season closing was a success: fish caught, rakija drunk and pasulj eaten. The Siberian nymph was tested, while our leaders were declared too thin. Most importantly, we came away with great memories to keep us warm until next season.
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