Sports

Fly Fishing

Not a lot of people know this ...... the 2004 World Fly Fishing Championships were held in Slovakia and won by Slovakia. In other words, there is high quality fly fishing available. Let us help you to enjoy some of it. No, there are not the hundreds of lochs which we have in Scotland but there is fly fishing for trout and grayling and we can put you on to it.

And in Scotland ...... Just another day wild brown trout fishing in the Grampians

Loch Beanie (or Loch Bainnie) is a small hill loch about 0.75 km long by 0.25 km wide. It lies east-west, some 2km east of Invereddrie farm, which in turn is 1 km off the A93 between Spittal of Glenshee and Rattray. To get to it, you park at Invereddrie and then walk up the track to the loch. It’s a gentle climb, barely 60 or 70m. But, it’s a nuisance if you get up to the loch and find you’ve left the net back in the car at Invereddrie …….. To the north of the loch is Craigenloch Hill and to the south is Duchtay Hill, both over 700m.

This is not a loch for people who want stocked bronies or rainbows and feel disappointed if they haven’t got a dozen by lunch time. Two brace is fair going here, around the half-pound to a pound mark. The loch has a good head of wild brownies, but they’re not the easiest fish to catch. Or perhaps it’s the divers which live on the loch, or the osprey which comes up from Blair Atholl which keeps them down.

You can bank fish or, my preference, take the boat and row up to the head and let the wind drift you down the loch. Dry or wet work well, with the usual ghillie’s answer “something small and black” doing well. Pennel, Blae and Black, Zulu (blue for me) Bronze Herl but at times the Grouse and Claret has done well.

What I like about this kind of fishing is the solitude. There’s acres of wild land around you, and not a soul to be seen. In places like this, who cares if one does or does catch a fish? Of course, if you take pride in being smarter than a creature with a brain the size of a pea you should feel that you should be able to fool it but how could you call the day lost if all you’ve had is a day in a boat with a good friend, seen an osprey, seen divers and felt glad to be alive?

The loch is on Invercauld Estates. Permits are Ł10 per person with the boat being on a 1st come 1st served basis.
 

Hunting in Slovakia 

As with many countries in Central Europe, hunting is very popular.

It is very well regulated and it’s noticeable that participants cross all social boundaries. The traditions are part of the cullture and make for a thoroughly enjoyable event.

If you’re interested, contact us.

Ice Hockey

Celtic found out that football is played in Slovakia, but the national sport is ice-hockey.

Most cities have a team, and indeed Slovakia won the world championships in 2002. Now, that was a night to remember!

Košice opened a new ice-hockey stadium in February 2006. The opening of the arena was a very exciting event and since then the arena has simply gone from strength to strength. 

Mountaineering

There are miles and miles of trails in the Tatras mountains. Some of these need only normal common-sense but others require guides and full mountaineering equipment.

There are dozens of chalets, mountain hotels and tourist hotels and penzions. For some, particularly on the popular routes, pre-booking is essential.

We have good contacts with the "Horská Sluzba" Mountain Service and we would be pleased to help you to arrange a trip.

Skiing

Let's be honest. There aren't ski resorts in Slovakia which compare to the Alps but there is a very large number of small areas. To put it very simply, Slovak ski areas are small and not linked to each other, an exception being Chopok North and South which have recently been linked. The nature of the Tatra Mountains doesn't lend itself to the massive ski areas of other parts of Europe.

Personally, we look for a few essentials - good snow, good service, a good restaurant and not too many skiers. We know of resorts which have one but not the other, some which have all of the essentials and some which have none. Now that Poprad airport is expanding, it's easier to get to know but remember that Slovakia really isn't a very large country. Whether you fly into Košice in the East or Bratislava in the West, it's not too far to the resorts.

There's an interesting ski report for Jasna which you can find in the links. Also, links to the other Ski resorts in Slovakia