Spawning:
It spawns from November to March usually in December and January in fast and gravelly water. Fish can swim upstream even over dams to find the right spawning spot. The female digs the spawning hole in which she lays 1000-300 eggs (4-5 mm in diameter) on 1 kg of her boy weight. Artificial trout farming is very popular. Farming in creek basins is more popular than farming in artificial pools because of the bigger loses. Fish in the artificial pools are more sensitive to diseases and parasites and develop cannibalism.

Habitat:
Brown trout can be found in cool, oxygen rich upper streams of the all European rivers. It was inserted in various rivers on all continents. It can also be founds in affluxes into the Mediterranean see where it developed characteristics distinguished for that habitat. Trout can live in alpine streams as well as in lowland streams as long as they are saturated with oxygen. The level of oxygen depends on the water temperature and strength of the current which is bigger if there are river dams. The biggest fish can be found right above and under the dams. In the districts of the Association the brown trout can be found mostly in the upper stream of the Cerkniščica Creek. It swims also in the outfall of the Stržen Creek and in the upper stream of Rak Creek. The trout doesn’t live in Lake Cerknica.

Fishing technique:
It is one of the most popular fish for the fishermen mostly for fly fishing. They are solitary animals which stay hidden in the shelter for most of the time except when bursting out for prey. It likes to hunt for insects and thus during the insect season the fly fishing is most successful. We flyfish with dry fly, underwater fly or nymph depends on the weather conditions and the layer of the water the fish is swimming at that time. The choice of bait is very important. We use the dry fly when the fish is picking up insects from the water and swims right under the surface. If there is no success we should change the bait to nymph and throw it into water and star to pulling it towards the surface. This way we attract the fish that is swimming in the middle layer of the water. If the fish is hunting towards the bottom we should use underwater fly, preferably a bigger one with a heavier streamer. We led the bait vertically from the bottom towards the surface. Experienced fisherman will take a good look around to find out what kind of insects are flying around and will choose the bait accordingly. After a worm day in the late afternoon even big specimen are eager to snap the artificial sedge. When fishing for bigger trout in deeper waters with overgrown banks and have no success with artificial fly we use spinning.
The growing demands for protecting the brown trout are anticipating from fishermen not to use triples when spinning or even better use only barbless hooks. With harming the youngsters we are decreasing the trout population.
Even though that at Lake Cerknica is permitted to spin fish with a spinner bigger than no. 3 the numbers or flyfishers are climbing every year. When one experiences the joy of fighting and catching the trout on the fly the fisherman made it himself that one will never use the spinner again. And right so!

The trout’s flesh is very tasty, of high quality and with almost no fish bones as with all salmonids. You can find some recipes in our special column Recipes.

Spawning:
It spawns from November to March with the main season from December to January. The female lays up to 1 million tiny eggs to the sandy bottom or water vegetation.

Habitat: 
Burbit lives in lakes and running waters in middle and northern Europe. It prefers clean water and habitat that offers shelter during the day. It’s an extremely tough animal which hunts on other fish at night. In our districts Burbit can be found in Lake Cerknica, Rak Creek and in the lower stream of the Cerkniščica Creek. Its population is declining due to pollution and more and more frequent dry seasons.

Fishing technique: 
It has become endangered in our waters and as such forbidden for fishing.

Spawning:
It spawns from April to June in shallow waters with preferably gravely bottom where the female lays their sticky eggs. When that is not possible they lay them on water vegetation.

Habitat:
Chub can be found all over Europe except Ireland, Denmark and Mediterranean island. It can be found in still as well as in running waters in all layers of depths. While offspring live in groups older fish are solitary. It is quite common in Slovenia and also in the waters of Cerknica Fishing Association. Since it prefers clear waters rather than muddy it can be found in the riverbanks and pools of the upper areas of the Lake Cerknica in Cerkniščica Creek and Lake Bloke. Specially big and cautious fish can be found in Rak Creek.

Fishing technique: 
Chub is herbivore as well as carnivore and as such very convenient for sports fishing. It swims in all layers of the water and thus it can be caught with any sort of fishing rod. We can choose flyfishing, trolling, float fishing or bottom fishing. The most popular baits beside the dry fly and spoon bait are sore cherries (and any other similar fruit like plum or grapes during the fruit season), bread, pastry and animal intestines in the winter. You can catch it on the dry fly all year round. When fishing for chub one must be very cautious in movement and fishing gear since the fish is very shy and easy to spoke. If you use the bait without any weight and buoy you have great chances to catch it because they alarm the fish. When the fish bites the bait you feel several short pulls and then sudden unwinding of the line when the fish swims away and that is when we stretch the line. It is recommended to feed the fish with the chosen bait a few days prior to fishing so the fish get use to the smell. When the fish feels that it is caught it starts to resist and looks for shelter. As soon as you get its mouth above the water and it grasps for air it surrenders.
Dr Tomo Korošec beautifully and picturesque described chub as a fish suitable for dry flying and the technique used at Lake Cerknica in his book Flyfishing. The book was issued in two reproductions by the publisher Kmečki glas, Ljubljana.
Dr. Tomo Korošec je izredno lepo in slikovito opisal klena kot muharsko ribo in muharjenje nanj na Cerkniškem jezeru v knjigi Muharjenje, ki jo je v dveh ponatisih izdala ČZD Kemčki glas iz Ljubljane.

Chub is not very popular on the menu. Although his flesh is quite tasty it has a lot of fish bones that divers people from preparing it as a dish. But with the right preparation it can be beautiful to eat. You can find some recipes in our special column Recipes.

Spawning:
It spawns in May and June. The female lays huge amount of very small and sticky eggs into water vegetation. Tenchs spawning can be very loud and vivid since they gather into big groups and chase each other between the vegetation with big splashes on the water surface.

Habitat:
Tench can be found all over Europe except in Dalmatia, Albania, Peloponnese, Mediterranean islands (except Sicily) and high North. Tench can be found also in England and Ireland. Even though it prefers wormer, still or slow running waters with muddy bottom and vast vegetation Tench can be found in colder waters in the northern Europe. The fish is very tough and persistent and swims mostly on the bottom. It can survive in water with very small amounts of oxygen. It can even hibernate over the winter in silt. It is quite common in Slovenia. It lives is big numbers in Lake Cerknica and it is one of the most important fish in the lake. It can be found also in Rak Creek and in the lower stream of Cerkniščica Creek

Fishing technique:
Tench is very popular fish for sports fishing because of its prudence and fighting when caught which is similar to carp. We can bottom fish or float fish. We can use various baits like cheese, bread, pastry, hard-boiled corn mush, corn and potato. Tench absorbs the bait very slowly. When the buoy starts to sink under the water it means that the fish swallowed the bait and then it is time to pull the line. As mentioned he is a fears fighter, jumps out of the water and tries to escape in the vegetation and under the branches. The fisherman must be quite cunning and skilled to pull the fish out of the water.

Tench’s flesh is firm and tasty and it doesn’t have to mush bones. That is why it is still very popular as a local dish. It can be prepared on various ways. The best way to prepare this fish is to fry it in big amount of boiling oil together with its skin which turns crispy and for the gourmet it is the best part. You can find some recipes in our special column Recipes.

Spawning:
It spawns in February, March and April depending on the water temperature. The female can lay even 50.000 eggs per 1 kg of her weight. It lays her eggs on water grass and other vegetation. That is why the spawn season is successful if the water level is high enough to cover the grassy areas and if the lake is note frozen. The young fish stay in grassy areas which offer them some shelter from predators.

Habitat: 
The Pike can be found all over Europe except of Southern Spain and Italy. The most densely populated area in Slovenia is Danube basil. It can be found in all waters except for Soča basil, rivers as Rižana and Reka and in Lake Bohinj. In the district of Cerknica Fishing Association you can find Pike in Lake Cerknica, Rak Creek and in the lower stream of Cerkniščica Creek. This fish likes still waters and slow running waters and can also coupe with lower temperatures and as such it can be found in trout areas also.

Fishing technique:
We fish for pike with spinning with spinners and wobblers (artificial fish) in various materials and colours. When fishing in clearer water we use bait of darker colour while in muddy water we use lighter even fluorescent bait. It is believed that baits with red tassel are more efficient. Nowadays fly fishing has become very popular. We use special fly fishing rod with possible reddish spin fly and steel wire leader since pike has sharp teeth and can bite trough the line. The fish swims in all water layers. If you lead the bait by the vegetation where it guards for prey pike will usually burst from the hidden place for the bait. When taking out the hook from the fish’s mouth we should be vary careful because of its sharp teeth.

Pikes flesh is juicy and tasty although quite bony. In the past fish were important parts of the diet for the people leaving close to the lake. There are still few recipes preserved. You can find them in our special column Recipes.