Angling around Sofia

bnr.bg, Gergana Mancheva, Iva Letnikova

Town folklore abounds in anecdotes about passionate anglers. One such story tells of such a man who asked a doctor to put his hand in plaster, so that he can tell his friends that he had broken it while pulling out a 50 kilogram fish from the lake.

Anglers are a special kind of people because they share a common passion, which looks even strange to others, who look for fish only at the market. In the distant past fishing was the only living for some. Anglers have never been well off. They were every day risking their life when coming into the open sea with their small and hardly reliable boats. Nowadays fishing can become a prestigious sport for people of means.

The numerous visitors to the two specialized annual expositions on hunting and fishing taking place in the National Palace of Culture and the Inter Expo Center, both in Sofia are a proof to that end. Besides, opportunities for fishing around the capital Sofia are growing from one year to the next. Some owners of recreation sites offer to their visitors the possibility to fish in small ponds, paying extra for their accommodation. More exciting, however, remain the large dams and lakes, where the expectation to catch anything on the cord makes up most of the fun. There exist good fishing opportunities at Iskar Dam, Pancharevo Lake and the ponds near the villages of Dolni Bogrov, Svetovrachane and Negovan.

“Some 10 years ago I was learning how to fish at Pancharevo Lake and there was a lot of fish there. Now you must be a true expert in order to know at what point fish could be found there”, says Kamen, one of the many zealous anglers in Sofia. He is an electric technician and his other hobby besides fishing is reading. Not just reading in general, but the books of Hemingway, because he shares the opinion that every day away from hunting or fishing is a day lost to one’s life.

“There is Rudd and Perch and many other kinds. People know where and they catch quite a lot,” Kamen explains. “Last year experts planted the Pancharevo Lake with Carp. The trouble is that poachers come and catch them before they are full-grown. They fish at all times because there is no control here. Now is the period when the fish is throwing its caviar and if anglers have no feeling of responsibility, things won’t go the right way. Otherwise, the lake is beautiful and it is nice to sit there and enjoy nature. Yet pollution along the banks is terrible, coming especially from people who come here for the mineral water center. As to anglers, they are usually people who come here from childhood and love the place. You can see people of all ages coming to fish here. Women too.

For many people fishing is more than a hobby; it is a way of life. It is special to me. My work is so organized that even during the week I can find time for fishing. Each fisherman is a kind of his own – some like to chat while sitting by the Lake others – on the contrary; still others come to drink alcohol and much less to for the fishing. I prefer to be alone and to sit where there are no people. The only thing I think about is whether I would catch a lot.

It’s like gambling – you think of what each move should be in order to win the game. You can use different bait, or even do some bottom fishing for larger species. It’s all a matter of expertise. Many people think that it is enough to cast the cord and the next thing is to get the frying pan ready and heated. But things stand differently. There is special know-how. I am here even after rainfalls, even though I know that it is harder to fish in muddy water. But it’s like an instinct for me – the lake seems to be calling me”, Kamen, an ardent angler from Sofia concludes.