One of the oldest fishermen in our country is a 66-year-old Nazif Suzi Fetahović from Travnik. He started fishing when he was just a little boy, and bit by bit he involved in sport fishing professionally in 1983. For more than three decades, he holds a stick and a hook, during that time he made a great contribution to the popularization of this sport, the opening of fishing events, which each year attract 500 to 800 foreign fishermen to Bosnia and Herzegovina.
BETTER THAN SLOVENIA
He also writes for fishing journals and has more than 120 articles and he has recorded 130 shows. Currently he has his own production “Ekstra Travnik”, and he is working on a show related to fishing tourism in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the offer, our beautiful rivers, he teaches fly-fishing to young people… He is negotiating with several television stations and the first series should be broadcasted soon.
Our magazine talks about this sport, the potential of fishing in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the LTG company the only one on the territory of the former Yugoslavia, and wider in Europe, which is engaged and invested great efforts and money in the development of fishing and ecological tourism in general…
– Bosnia and Herzegovina is becoming one of the greatest in fly-fishing, not only in Europe, but in the whole world. In protected areas, and we have from 18 to 20 of those in our country, of which five are eminent, there are from 500 to 800 foreign fishermen. They stay in Bosnia for five to ten days. At present, Bosnia and Herzegovina is ahead of Slovenia which was one of the leading fly fishing destinations in the region and Europe – says Fetahović.
The first protected fishing spot was opened by the Bihać society on the river Klokot, the other one which no longer exists was on the river Lašva in Travnik.
– LTG company is one of the best in the world when it comes to fish fund, accommodation, food … This Company helped fishermen from all over the world to come to Bosnia and Herzegovina, and this is also supported by rural farms that have their own houses beside the river. They turned them into a tourist accommodation with domestic food. Fishermen are coming from America, even South Africa, not to mention those from Europe, who find our country to be right next door. On Ribnik and Pliva now local fishermen cannot get a fishing permit, because the key months are May, June, and July, then in August there are fewer guests because it is the time of vacations. After a month of break, September, October, and November are again a hit – he explained.
The company LTG has two camps that are representative, one in Gornji Ribnik on the river Ribnik and the other at the source of Pliva. Their accommodation capacity is 300 beds.
STUDY FOR TREBIŽAT
– The rooms are wonderful. Rooms, huts, apartments, and presidential suites are offered. I had the opportunity to stay in one presidential suite and I can tell you that I did not asleep in a more beautiful and well-arranged place – Nazif said.
He says he is currently writing a study for the river Trebižat in Herzegovina, he was asked to help with fish stocking tips.
What I’m constantly saying is that people should stop making mistakes, save the rivers, and not put fish that has not grown in that water. Slovenia thus polluted its rivers with the Californian trout. For example, fish are also different in rivers in the Danube basin and rivers that gravitate towards the Adriatic basin, and there should never be a mix of gene fish that are from one or the other basin – says this fisherman.