Fishing on Lake Como Italy Before I get into all of this, I just want to say this information is totally free for you so you can get out and enjoy fishing on your holiday to Lake Como. That is the main reason why I made this article.
Tippet Diameter X to mm
The X tippet system is not used in Italy, this chart will help you convert to mm for the sake of this blog article and if you need to buy tippet in a store.
Now let's get into fishing talk: So you are planning your family holiday to lake Como Italy. When the wife mentions "lake" immediately your mind switches from "yes dear" to "ooooh" you then start researching can I fish on lake Como and a bunch of blogs come up saying No it's impossible and your dreams of integrating the family holiday and your fishing dreams ultimately fall apart. Well I am here to tell you that YOU CAN FISH ON LAKE COMO SO BRING YOUR ROD! I have been fishing the lake and the rivers that feed into it for 15 years. For those of you lucky enough to be renting one of those wonderful lakefront villas with their own beach...... Well you are in for a fun time my friend! Also if by chance you are already here, welcome to Lake Como on behalf of all the fishing community and get ready to have some fun fishing my friend. Probably one of the only places in the world you can fish in front of aristocratic villas and the homes of movie stars without being shot. this blog article will also help you understand what fish species can be found on lake Como & how to fish on lake Como. a sort of Lake Como fishing report. There is plenty of great fishing in the lake if you know what and where. Also, these are great tips for any kind of fishing style from course to spinning so here you are, my list of top fish to go after but before that let's look at regulations & licenses. Lake Como Fishing Regulations To fish in lake Como you need a simple day license that can be bought for €10 in the local fish store near you. You can also opt for the 1-year license for €24 by going to the post office and asking for the fishing license form, filling it in and paying. The regulations will be given to you but no one has translated them into English..... Except for me :) I did these a while ago so some small regulations may change in the future but i do tend to keep them up to date as much as possible so you don't get caught out: Lake Como Fishing regulations Renting Fishing Gear/Tackle or boat hire on lake Como
For tackle rental there are two shops that I would happily put my name behind, because I know how serious they are.
Fishing Tackle Stores on Lake Como
1.North of the Lake: Bargelini's (Punto Luce) in Gravedona (Norberto the owner is a great friend of mine and a truly gifted angler) He hand prepares all the ledgering rigs for whitefish like carp and bream, a sport of which he is immensely knowledgable. His mother Prepares all the sabiki rigs for perch fishing at ties all the flies. And his farther is possibly the most expert fisherman on Lake Como when it comes to the historical techniques, They all speak English and are great people
2. South of the Lake: Ropino's, Ropino is an Italian National Champion for predator fishing. You want to rent predator gear from him. He will set you on the right path and put you in that lucky right place.
Boat Hire on lake Como
Boat hire can be expensive but there are plenty of rental service all around the lake. I have not added any because it really depends where you are. A quick google search will get you on a boat rental service near you, but these guys will deliver the boat to you
Kayak Rental
I know of only one company on the center lake that rent kayaks but the prices are fair check them out here
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Catching Baitfish with a scubidou
A fishing technique practiced on the Lario in the summer months is with the scoubidou. These are 5 hook rig, on the stem of which a small piece of colored plastic tube is fixed, these rigs can be self-built or easily found at fishing shops. When bleak fishing was not regulated and did not involve today's restrictions, with these rigs you could catch several kilos of the tiny fish in a few hours. Even in the past, however, as nowadays, the scoubidou was used to capture predators such as perch, trout, chub, etc. and it is precisely this exclusive use that it is still allowed to use on the Lario.
Making a rig is very simple.
The rod should be medium-soft action casting rod, about 4 - 4.5 meters long. fishing from the shore while enough from 3 - 3.5 mt. for the boat, with at least 100 mt. of 0.18 wire, then you need stoppers or stops for sliding float, some plastic beads drilled in the center of 3-4 mm. in diameter, a couple of floats of those with a pierced core where you can slide the wire, from 15 - 20 gr., some swivels with carabiner, some rigs (scoubidou) and finally some weights of the terminal type with ring , with a capacity lower than that of the float by at least 4 or 5 gr.
To make the frame we proceed with this sequence, (see details in the drawing). Once the rod has been prepared, we put a stopper for the float on the line of the reel (we can also make the classic knot with wool), then we insert a perforated bead, this will prevent the stopper or knot from getting stuck in the float hole, we insert the float sliding and underneath we tie a swivel with carabiner to which we will attach the rigs with lead at the bottom. At this point, we adjust the stopper so as to stop the float at about 3-4 meters. from the lead and we are ready to go fishing. Obviously the fishing depth can vary according to the depth of where the fish are stationed. The fishing technique is very simple, just locate the school of bleaks and throw the rig in the middle, wait for them to stick to it and leave it all in the fishing, occasionally making small lures with the rod, moving the float to attract predators with the glitter of bleak hooked to tiny hooks. When the predator bites, you will see the big float make some movements, you can lie down on the water in case of eaten from the bottom up, or it will move sideways if the fish remains at the same height as the fishing line, otherwise it will sink decisively in case of violent eating. In any situation we give a light hook set to avoid tearing the delicate and small hook from the mouth of the fish and we begin the recovery without forcing, a landing net will secure the prey in our hands. Sometimes it can happen to lose the fish, the reason is very simple, fishing with hooks of n ° 16, 18 or 20 breaking or unhooking are the order of the day.
If the activity of the predators is good, certainly the fun will not be lacking and I recommend, ...................... respect for the regulations and minimum measures.
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Chub fishing
The Chub is a stocky fish with a large rounded head. Its body is long and cylindrical in shape and is covered in large greenish-brown scales which are edged with narrow bands of black across the back, paling to golden on the flanks and even paler on the belly. The tail is dark brown or black, the dorsal fin is a greyish-green in colour and all the other fins being are orange-red. The dorsal fin has 3 spines and 7-9 soft rays while the anal fin has 3 spines and 7-10 rays. The vertebrae count is 42-48. It can grow to 60 cm standard length but most fish are around 30 cm.
So there are loads of them in the Lake and they patrol the shorelines constantly you can fish them all year round.
Fly fishing for chub on lake Como
A Bread fly in the tourist season, or small size 18 caddis in the evening or early morning. A baitfish streamer in the offseason or late season towards October. Early morning and late evening they tend to rise and eat off the surface, a great fly is a caddis as we have a great caddis hatch in the summer grey to brown colour variations. Also terrestrial patterns work great. during the day mid-water wet flys or a squirmy wormy/ Sanjuan worm will work wonders off the bottom. they will also chase small baitfish streamers The lake has plenty of lakefront walks, some you are allowed to fish from other not so keep an eye out for signposts that stay no fishing during tourist season. Stay away from them. It is general common sense. You don't want to hook a fellow tourist on a backcast. Great lakefront areas to fish are in the Towns of Como, Lecco, Colico, Tremezzo, Lenno, Laglio, Bellagio. Just walked along the lakefront spot some chub and go for it.
tips:
1.Fish towards the evening or early morning just as the light south wind pickups (like clockwork) this will help hide your fly line to the clever chub
2. go near restaurants or where you see lots of ducks swarming, tourists will throw bread the ducks arrive and the chub follow the ducks.
Fishing for chub on lake Como with a spinning rod
If you are just going to bring a spinning rod then these simple techniques will get you catching chub fast.
bread ball
So just size 12 hook and a nice big ball of wet bread is going to land you this fish in the summer. Remember to press the hook in and use the smallest line possible. 0.16mm fluorocarbon leader should do the trick.
The Deadly Minnow
Through out the whole summer and all the way to the fall, Chub thrive on bait fish. a 12g Fiiish minnow is going to get you all sorts of fish. from chub and perch, to Zander, pike and trout. If I where to bring one lure to lake Como it would be the black minnow 12g head and lots of silicone bodies.
Lake Como traditional fishing methods for Chub
The Sabiki style rig Method
A fishing technique practiced in some lakes of northern Italy is that of the chub with the rig by triggering and feeding on maggots.
It is not known who invented this technique, but it was certainly born to overcome the chub's mistrust in the face of the baits presented to him, allowing you to catch even large specimens without using capillary terminals, with which you would have a safe break.
To practice this technique you need a casting rod of at least 4 meters. long with tip action, not too stiff (lake trout rods for low weights can be fine), we combine this with a reel with 0.15 / 0.16 monofilament spool, then you need a sliding float of the traditional or English type , with a capacity of at least 5/6 gr. better if with an elongated pen-like conformation and to conclude the 5-hook rig with relative calibration lead.
Fishing action:
Once everything is ready, we can bait the hooks with a dangling maggot, pinned under the skin from the thickest part, then we launch offshore but always within range of the slingshot and once the float is fishing we begin to bait on it, with frequent slings but with a few maggots, in order to create a continuous descent of baits near the rig, in this way the chubs will enter the pasture and with all that good things that rain down on them, they will enter into food competition with each other and voracity will make them also swallow the bait on the hooks. So pay attention to the float because the bite can manifest itself in two ways, or a dry sinking or a fast ascent of the float, in any case strike instantly, because the chub will be greedy but not stupid.
The rig:
The rig for this fishing can be found already ready, but if we wanted to make them, we will need hooks of the n ° 16/18 with short or medium shank burnished or nickel, and of the monofilament of 0.14 / 0.15 neutral, an important thing, the armrest of the the hook must not exceed 4/5 mm. of length.
Now let's make the fishing line:
Once the rod has been prepared with the wire in the rings, we put the float on it and then we tie a small swivel with a carabiner to which we are going to fix the rig, and at the bottom of it the lead to calibrate the float, generally used lead ends, those with the ring on one side only, but a bulk consisting of large AA or SSG type shot grouped together can also work. After these operations we must make the stopper knot for the float, giving an adequate fishing depth according to the period, in winter we will fish a little deeply, while in the summer a little more afloat, however always at least 6/7 mt. below the surface of the water by calculating from the lead.In case you want to use the rubber stopper, remember to insert it on the line before the float.
Fishing with the Comascan Sailor (Velettone)
In the past, when the first casting rods were made of bamboo or fiberglass, fishing, as indeed nowadays, required particular precautions to be able to face the most disparate situations and it was in that period that some fishermen from Lake Como, had the idea of fishing chub afloat, but at a certain distance from the shore and with very light lines to overcome their distrust, so "probably" he invented the technique called "fishing with the Como velettone".
But what did this technique consist of?
Practically the weight of a floating lead in the shape and size of a small chicken egg was exploited, made of heavy wood (ebony, rosewood, etc.) with a through hole in the center as if it were a pear lead, this served as ballast for launch, but the actual float was a small peacock feather, sometimes brightly coloured to be visible at some distance from shore. The mounting was very simple, you put the wooden egg on the line of the reel, then you put a small peacock feather of 7 - 8 cm. fixed with two or three rubber rings on the wire, a swivel was tied and the terminal of about 150 cm was attached to this. with the hook proportionate to the bait used.
But how did you fish?
Very simple, throwing everything off by holding slightly before the line touches the water to spread it out, once in the water you gave a sharp tap with the tip of the rod backwards and due to the kickback, the pen came off the weight in wood just enough to remain clearly visible in the water and since there was no lead between it on the hook, it was practically fished afloat or just below the surface of the water. If eaten, the rocket pen could be seen starting, as the line was free to run through the "floating wooden lead". With this technique there were many fish that at certain times of the year they eat afloat, and nowadays it is still used (with different floats with the same principle) to catch trout with live in the middle of shoals. 'bleaks.
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Fishing with gatoss or gatossa
On the Lario in various periods of the year, depending on the availability of the baits, but especially in spring, fishing is practiced with gatoss or gatossa. It is a larva similar to a large brown honey worm, which can be found in perennial rivulets located in wooded areas. This larva is born from the "Tipula maxima", a kind of large harmless mosquito that lays its eggs in water in mud or in leaf deposits in the places described above. On the lake, fishing with this bait aims at catching chub, but other fish species are also involved, including perch, rudd, barbel, etc. It is a delicate bait, both for conservation and for baiting, it is generally used in English fishing with light lines and long and thin terminals in order to give maximum naturalness to the presentation of the bait. The trigger is performed at the skin's edge, with hooks of variable number depending on the bait, from n ° 12 to 18 rigorously bronzed with a fine thread and a slightly wide belly, so as not to damage the bait, which, if it points too deep it bursts like a balloon full of water. The ideal places to use the gatoss are the mouths of small rivers or streams in the lake, with a gently sloping seabed, but it may not necessarily be profitable in other points. As mentioned before, the trigger is a bit delicate, it is necessary to pass the hook under the skin near the crest that protrudes at one end, being careful not to compress it with the fingers, otherwise the larva will empty and die. No baiting is required for this fishing, since gatoss is a natural nourishment that the fish finds, but the best times to use it can be after a period of rain, thanks to the turbidity of the water course that flows into the lake.
Fishing for Perch
The European perch (P. fluviatilis) is found in Europe and Asia. This species is typically greenish in color with dark vertical bars on its sides with a red or orange coloring in the tips of its fins. The European perch has been successfully introduced in New Zealand and Australia, where it is known as the redfin perch or English perch. In Australia, larger specimens have been bred, but the species rarely grows heavier than 2.7 kg (6 lb).
Fly Fishing for Perch on Lake Como Italy Perch rarely get sizeable but you can find big perch, the lake has really deep banks so right near the shoreline in the summer with a sinking line you will catch them, small midge or buzzer patters on a clothesline work all year round. But in the winter they tend to migrate to deeper water and it becomes near impossible to fly fish for them. The lake has plenty of lakefront walks, some you are allowed to fish from other not so keep an eye out for signposts that stay no fishing during tourist season. Stay away from them. It's general comen sense. You don't want to hook a fellow tourist on a backcast. Great lakefront areas to fish are in the towns of Como, Lecco, Colico, Tremezzo, Lenno, Laglio, Bellagio. Through out the whole summer and all the way to the fall, Perch thrive on bait fish small size 12 streamers with natural bait fish patterns will land you some great Perch.
Drop-shot fishing For Perch on Lake Como
To make the rigs for this fishing technique you need a neutral 0.20-0.22 monofilament, hooks with eyelet of variable size from n ° 6 to n ° 2 according to the size of the bait, swivels with and without carabiner and elongated leads of various weights ranging from 8 to 25 gr.
In the photos on the side you can see the position of the hook tied directly to the beam by executing the "palomar" knot visible in the video below and the trigger of the silicone bait.
Drop shot ...... a technique I had heard of mainly used for bass fishing but I had never practiced it, at least until now. It all comes from the suggestion of a forum visitor, who tells me that he caught perch in the nearby Ceresio with the aforementioned technique, so my curiosity takes off and I start to read up on the web to deepen the subject ....... no sooner said than done!!
From my point of view it is a very interesting fishing system for the possibility of using silicone baits, a valid alternative to live, which is not always easy to find for fishing for perch. The baits used can be worms, grubs or sickles, small shads, etc. all very soft lures and with a nice movement.
The mounting is very simple, it consists of a main beam about 1 meter long. of monofilament of 0.20-0.22 on which about halfway, we tie with the appropriate "palomar" knot a black or burnished eyelet hook of variable size based on the bait and the size of the fish we are going to undermine, then on the head and at the bottom of the beam we respectively fix a swivel with carabiner to connect the line to the rod and to the terminal lead. At this point the line shows a terminal lead and a hook at about 40 cm. away with the tip pointing up completely adhering to the beam through the eyelet, now just bait it with a silicone bait and the fishing can begin.
The bait can be triggered in various ways, the classic one involves pinching the bait on the tip with the hook, in the case of small shad or worms, while for the sickle it is better to put on the hook, like the classic one.
When fishing from the boat, the ideal rod for this technique must have a length not exceeding 3 meters, with an average tip action, preferably with interchangeable tips that can vary according to the lead used, I tried with the usual ledgering rod of 3 mt. and I must admit that I was fine, particularly important to use the 0.12 / 0.14 braid on the reel to have maximum contact with the bait. The fishing action consists in lowering the line on the bottom and then with short lures upwards to give life to the bait, you know the perch bite ... sometimes it is decided, other times barely perceptible, in any case, shoe immediately at the slightest touch and if the hook is missing, return to the bottom and stimulate the fish again.
For fishing for king perch you can also make lines with 2 hooks like the one in the side image, in this case the hook at the bottom will be a little closer to the lead and the main beam will be lengthened.
I have now been experimenting with it for a couple of years and I must admit that it has given me a lot of satisfaction, in addition to perch I have caught 3/4 kg pike. , Zander and even a trout in mid-water hooked in the recovery phase .... deadly !!!!
In some situations I even consider it better than fishing with live fish and above all it avoids finding live bait that is not always easy to find.
Spinning for perch on Lake Como
Through out the whole summer and all the way to the fall, Perch thrive on bait fish. a 12g Fiiish minnow is going to get you all sorts of fish. from chub and perch, to Zander, pike and trout. If I where to bring one lure to lake Como it would be the black minnow 12g head and lots of silicone bodies.
Fishing for Whitefish
Photo credits Matteo Marta
Introduction of whitefish to Lake Como
Before talking about the techniques of fishing for whitefish, a small introduction should be made.
Whitefish, (Coregonus lavaretus) lavarello and (Coregonus macrophthalmus) bondella, were imported into Italy, the first should be the natural hybridization of two species from beyond the Alps introduced in our pre-alpine lakes since 1860, the second coming from Lake Neuchatel (CH), was introduced in Lake Como around 1970. These are fish belonging to the salmonid family, as evidenced by the presence of the adipose fin at the beginning of the caudal peduncle. With planktophagous habits, these fish in Italy until 1987/88 were the exclusive prey of the nets of professional fishermen until, during a trip to nearby France, a trader from Cernobbio (CO), a passionate fisherman, learned the technique to be able to fish these fish with the rod, thus importing the "Peche à la sonde" or "Fishing at the probe". It is a technique similar to the float rig, practiced by a boat with short rods and long rig, using as bait, imitations of chironomid larvae, the main food of these fish.
Now let's leave the past and go back to the present. There are currently three distinct schools for whitefish fishing:
- The Austrian school, which provides for the use of 4/5 m throwing rods. with large floats;
- The French school, which uses a short rod called cannino, with a small and very light reel mounted;
- The Swiss-German school, which uses the so-called "shoulder rod", combined with the classic reel called "wheel";
Having said that, I just have to describe these techniques.
Regulations:
In Lake Como the use of the following traditional tools is also allowed: Rig for whitefish, with a maximum of 15 hooks. The limit of 15 hooks refers to the single fisherman, not to the single tool. In case of simultaneous use of more rods, the total number of 15 baits must not be exceeded. It is not possible to fish with the rig during the prohibition period for whitefish. For whitefish fishing with the rig it is also necessary to use the provincial fish marker card. If more than 5 baits are used, only whitefish and arctic char are allowed. Specimens belonging to other species must be immediately released.
From the boat it is also possible to use the depth sounder, only to find the fish and it must be kept off while fishing.
Fly Fishing for Whitefish on Lake Como
Don't bother too deep (30m+) most of the time and you need a boat.
Probe fishing:
This technique defined as the "French" school aims at fishing for whitefish by means of short rods with long sabiki rigs, it is different from the "Swiss-German" technique only for the rod, which in the latter is of the shoulder type and the reel used is the so-called "wheel".
Now let's see what this technique consists of.
It should be noted that it is practiced from a boat, using a one-piece or two-piece rod called cannino, about 170/190 cm long with a tip action and a very sensitive tip. A reel that is as light as possible must be mounted on the rod (with spooled 0.24 wire or braided line), this to make the tool overall light and therefore very sensitive to the imperceptible bites of the whitefish. The fishing action begins with the anchoring of the boat on a seabed where the fish are stationed, (usually according to the seasons the places are the same and certainly other boats will report their presence) after which the line made up of an rig is lowered long from 4 to 7 meters., (bearing a variable number of flies that imitate chironomid, according to the provisions of the law, which on Lake Como is 15 hooks per fisherman) fixed to the coil line with a carabiner and at the bottom it will bring a lead of about 8/10 gr. Once the line has been lowered until it touches the bottom, it is raised very slowly for about 30 cm., And then after a short pause it always comes back down slowly. The eating of the whitefish can be felt in various ways during this ups and downs, you can feel a slight tremor or a spill on the summit, but when the whitefish are difficult, perceiving the eaten is almost a sensation, in fact on certain days that the fish eat in delicately, only the most experienced fishermen will be able to catch them. Once the fish has been hooked, it must be recovered very slowly, first because it has a very delicate mouthparts and you risk losing it forcing the recovery, second because having been shod at 40 meters (especially in the cold period), going up quickly, to the fish the bladder swells as a result of the decompression and, once released, dies unable to regain the bottom. When the whitefish gets under the boat it will have to be forded, but since the barrel is very short and the rig long, it will be necessary to use an expedient, more exactly an extension made up of an old cane with the pieces of the missing tip, where it can be inserted at bayonet the cannino, thus raising it for a few meters allowing the recovery of the fish. A recommendation, if the fish are small or in any case will be released, let's wet our hands before unhooking them, to avoid damaging their protective mucus.
I remember that the minimum size of Whitefish in Lake Como is 30 cm., 10 animals are allowed per day and the fishing ban runs from 1 December to 15 January, moreover to be able to fish it is necessary to have a fish marker card distributed free of charge from the offices of the province or some authorized fishing shops.
Whitefish fishing with float
Fishing for whitefish with float comes from neighboring Austria, in fact it is defined as the “Austrian technique”. To practice it you need a casting rod on 4/5 meters. in length, of a certain power but not excessively rigid (for the weights we are going to use), with a reel loaded with 0.25 wire, therefore some floats with English type hook like the one on the right in the diagram, some rigs of about 4 meters . as for probe fishing and finally for pear-type leads with swivel, weighing between 25 and 40 gr
The making of the line is very simple, the rod is prepared with the wire inserted in the rings, then the float is inserted and then a swivel with snap hook is attached to which the rig and the lead at the bottom will be attached. To stop the float at the desired depth, the classic knot is made with wool, or the sliding stop rubbers on the market are used.
The fishing action consists in launching at the point where the fish are presumed to be starting from a maximum depth of the rig, or with the lead just raised from the bottom to make the float remain straight while fishing, if then no bites are seen, you can climb 3/4 meters. at a time towards the surface by moving the float stop. Eating occurs in two ways, either there is a rapid sinking of the float, or it lies down on the water due to the hitting the fish hitting the lure on the drop. In both cases it is not necessary to shoe strongly, a slight tension of the line is enough because the whitefish will have self-gripped due to the resistance opposed by the large float and the heavy lead, we recover slowly in order not to lose the fish by breaking the very delicate mouthparts, in the end a landing net will do the rest.
Fishing for Zander The zander is the largest member of the Percidae and it has a long, muscular body which bears some resemblance to a Northern pike (Esox lucius), hence the alternative English common name of pikeperch. Its upper part of the body is green-brown in colour and this extends onto the sides as dark vertical bars, in a pattern not dissimilar to that of the European perch (Perca fluviatilis) while the lower part of the body is creamy-white. The caudal fin is dark and the pectoral, pelvic and anal fins are paler off-white in colour.[6] The dorsal and caudal fins are marked with rows of black spots on the membranes between the spines and rays, these are largest and most obvious on the first dorsal fin.[7] The juveniles are silvery in colour, becoming darker as the age. They have powerful jaws which are armed with many sharp teeth with tow long canines in the front of each jaw.[6] They have large bulbous eyes[8] which are opaque when the fish is living in particularly turbid conditions, an adaptation to low light. There is a single flat spine on the operculum.[6] Like other members of the perch family the zander has a split dorsal fin with the first dorsal fin having 13 - 20 spines and 18-24 soft rays, while the anal fin has 2-3 rays and 10 - 14 soft rays.[2] The caudal fin is long and forked.[9]
Fly Fishing for Zander on Lake Como Italy Now Zander get huge on the lake I have seen over 9kg monsters pulled out. Yes you can fly fish for them! In the summer they come to shore in the evening to hunt baitfish, lamping is legal so you can fish in the city of Como where it is relatively shallow from shore, that whole coastline is fishable and they are a serious bit of fish to catch. Streamers are the way to go. A great place to start in Como is the park, near the Volta monument and the areas of Villa Olmo. North of the Lake in the Town of Colico there is also a huge beach which is another great place to look for these lunkers.
You can also Belly boat for them on a smaller lake called Pozzo di Riva. One more place that I know that is amazing but you need a boat is fishing around the mouth of the Adda river, all big predators hang around there waiting for meals but you will need a boat. Check regulations because you cannot get to close the mouth of the river.
Spin Fishing For Zander on Lake Como
Through out the whole summer and all the way to the fall, Perch thrive on bait fish. a 12g Fiiish minnow is going to get you all sorts of fish. from chub and perch, to Zander, pike and trout. If I where to bring one lure to lake Como it would be the black minnow 12g head and lots of silicone bodies.
Live Bait Fishing for Zander on Lake Como
Fishing for Zander with the system that I will describe is useful in all those periods when, with the massive presence of bleak or other, the Zander can eat resting on the bottom, or for winter fishing in places where the seabed has many roughnesses, (branches, large stones, etc.) where to lower a line to graze means to immediately hook the bottom with the loss in lucky cases only of the hook.
With the terminal lead system, it is possible to fish in mid-water or detached from the bottom without tangling the armrest on the main line, and in some cases, using colored or faceted leads, the fish is stimulated by inducing it to attack the bait, allowing in addition to being able to fish with more than one rod. First let's talk about the equipment: the rod must not be too long, I personally use rods of 3 meters. with a fairly soft tip, I generally mount those for mackerel fishing in fiberglass, or I use the rods for ledgering, while the reel should comfortably contain about 150 meters. of monofilament of 0.20 / 0.22. Once the rod has been prepared, a swivel with carabiner is fixed on the line of the reel, to which the mount shown in the drawing on the side will be attached. The fishing action consists in anchoring the boat (as for the fishing system at the whitefish probe), near shoals of bleaks and lowering the line primed with a live bleak under the boat, after which the rod, which with the oscillating movement of the boat will make the bait more attractive, now all we have to do is wait for the Zander to eat which can manifest itself with small tremors of the tip, or with heavy hits that bent the tip under the weight of the lead.(the lead can be placed as a running free lead, at the top before the trace and swivel or at the bottom of the rig as you would drop shotting. At this point we take the rod in hand, paying attention not to make sudden movements with the line (due to the escape of the predator), and wait for the decisive pull to shoot, remembering to calibrate the clutch because, despite the reel line and the mount are composed of medium diameter wires, the armrest is 0.14 / 0.16 and with this technique there is no shortage of surprises such as Zander, large perch, chub, trout and anything else that feeds on live fish. An important thing with this technique is to calculate the depth where the catches are made in order to return to the right point with each abseil.
Fishing Zander on Lake Como with Mort Manie'
Fishing in "Mort Maniè", practically dead maneuvered, was used in France and was widespread in Italy around the 1980s, but this technique was born from the idea of Albert Drachkovitch, a French painter who loves fishing, of Polish origin, from whom took the name "Drachkovitch System". It is a technique based on sensitivity, having the bait in contact with the bottom and with the tip of our rod at all times, therefore, the equipment used for this fishing must be well balanced to perceive every slightest movement caused by the attack. of the predator on the bait. This technique allows to capture almost all predators of inland waters, and is also extended to maritime ones with excellent results.
But now let's go into the details of the “Drachkovitch System”, what it consists of and what it takes to practice it.
The Mort maniè is nothing more than a steel harness where you can tie a dead fish or silicone bait, to be able to make it move on the bottom in a strange way, with short ups and downs, thus attracting the attention of predators, even those ... ..more lazy.
To practice Mort maniè from the boat, you need a rod of 2.5 meters, rigid (on the market there are various types and costs, specific for this technique), in order to have maximum contact with the bait. On the rod we mount a classic reel type "3500" that allows us a capacity of about 150 meters. of wire of 0.30 or a path of equal or greater capacity, which with its rigidity, will increase the sensitivity we need.
To complete the equipment, we need some Drachkovitch rigs (see the construction phase below), on which we will bait our baits, with a procedure shown in the sequence drawn below.
With this technique you can undermine pike, zander, perch, bigmouths, chubs, etc., not to mention the infinity of sea predators, the only thing to consider is that for each fish, you will have to use a more or less large, based on the size of the bait intended for the predator.
I am convinced that at first you will notice a certain difficulty in learning, but with time and experience you will have considerable satisfaction.
Building the harness for the "mort-manié"
In order to make the harnesses for the maneuvered dead man technique you need:
- Harmonic wire with a diameter of about 8 tenths of a millimeter (available in hardware stores)
- Copper wire comparable in diameter to a 0.30 fishing line
- Traced fishing line or heat-sealing cable with a capacity of at least 4 or 5 kg. for frames not intended for pike
- Two treble hooks of variable size depending on the harness (usually the proportion is like that of the minnows in relation to the bait to be used)
- "Chevrotines" slit ball leads (available in boxes with various weights in fishing shops)
- A fine nose pliers to shape the harmonic steel wire
- A wire cutter to cut the steel wire
- Cyanoacrylate glue (Attak type)
Fish for Carp & Koi Carp on Lake Como
Fly Fishing for Carp Lake Como Italy Loads of carp and Koi in the Como city area go ahead and bread fly or your fav carp fly will do the job. Big Big Carp chaps. be prepared. A great place to start in Como is the park, near the Volta monument and the areas of Villa Olmo. Just scout the shore and you will find them. they do tend to hang out between the park and the ferry stops. North of the Lake in the Town of Colico there is also a huge beach which is another great place to look for these lunkers. If there has been a big storm (and there are plenty on the lake) then chances are that Pozzo di Riva has overflown and all the carp are out grazing on the fields. Well you know what do. The Pozzo di Riva falls under the general licence for fishing on Lake Como and the Same regulations apply.
Other techniques for catching carp on lake Como
I am sorry I don't know much on the subject matter. But, any experienced carp angler will catch Carp in the places I have noted.
Fishing for Pike
Fly Fishing for Pike Lake Como Italy Pike are another plentiful predator found on Lake Como, Pozzo di Riva, and Lago del Piano. All awesome fishing spots around the Lake. They love to hunt for small Perch and Shad in the summer, and they come in close.....real close to shore in the evening so go to the beaches and give them a go. North of the Lake in the Town of Colico there is also a huge beach which is another great place to look for these lunkers. Another great town to visit is the towns of Domaso & Argegno that have a huge beach area and footpath. Pike here tend to patrol the coastline for baitfish and small perch so go ahead.
They will take most pike fly's but I have had more luck with natural colours and bait fish imitations. remember to use a wire trace, sharp, nasty teeth.
Live Bait Fishing for Pike on Lake Como
Fishing for Pike with the system that I will describe is useful in all those periods when, with the massive presence of bleak and there favourite, small perch. The Pike can eat resting on the bottom, or for winter fishing in places where the lakebed has many roughnesses, (branches, large stones, etc.) where to lower a line to graze means to immediately hook the bottom with the loss in lucky cases only of the hook.
With the terminal lead system, it is possible to fish in mid-water or detached from the bottom without tangling the armrest on the main line, and in some cases, using colored or faceted leads, the fish is stimulated by inducing it to attack the bait, allowing in addition to being able to fish with more than one rod. First let's talk about the equipment: the rod must not be too long, I personally use rods of 3 meters. with a fairly soft tip, I generally mount those for mackerel fishing in fiberglass, or I use the rods for ledgering, while the reel should comfortably contain about 150 meters. of monofilament of 0.20 / 0.22. Once the rod has been prepared, a swivel with carabiner is fixed on the line of the reel, to which the mount shown in the drawing on the side will be attached. The fishing action consists in anchoring the boat (as for the fishing system at the whitefish probe), near shoals of bleaks and lowering the line primed with a live bleak under the boat, after which the rod, which with the oscillating movement of the boat will make the bait more attractive, now all we have to do is wait for the Pike to eat which can manifest itself with small tremors of the tip, or with spiombate that straighten the tip bent under the weight of the lead(the lead can be placed as a running lead at the front before the trace and swivel or at the bottom of the rig as you would drop shotting. At this point we take the rod in hand, paying attention not to make sudden movements with the line (due to the escape of the predator), and wait for the decisive pull to shoot, remembering to calibrate the clutch because, despite the reel line and the mount are composed of medium diameter wires, the armrest is 0.14 / 0.16 and with this technique there is no shortage of surprises such as Pike, Zander, large perch, chub, trout and anything else that feeds on live fish. An important thing with this technique is to calculate the depth where the catches are made in order to return to the right point with each abseil.
Pike Fishing on Lake Como with Mort Manie'
Fishing in "Mort Maniè", practically dead maneuvered, was used in France and was widespread in Italy around the 1980s, but this technique was born from the idea of Albert Drachkovitch, a French painter who loves fishing, of Polish origin, from whom took the name "Drachkovitch System". It is a technique based on sensitivity, having the bait in contact with the bottom and with the tip of our rod at all times, therefore, the equipment used for this fishing must be well balanced to perceive every slightest movement caused by the attack. of the predator on the bait. This technique allows to capture almost all predators of inland waters, and is also extended to maritime ones with excellent results.
But now let's go into the details of the “Drachkovitch System”, what it consists of and what it takes to practice it.
The Mort maniè is nothing more than a steel harness where you can tie a dead fish or silicone bait, to be able to make it move on the bottom in a strange way, with short ups and downs, thus attracting the attention of predators, even those ... ..more lazy.
To practice Mort maniè from the boat, you need a rod of 2.5 meters, rigid (on the market there are various types and costs, specific for this technique), in order to have maximum contact with the bait. On the rod we mount a classic reel type "3500" that allows us a capacity of about 150 meters. of wire of 0.30 or a path of equal or greater capacity, which with its rigidity, will increase the sensitivity we need.
To complete the equipment, we need some Drachkovitch rigs (see the construction phase below), on which we will bait our baits, with a procedure shown in the sequence drawn below.
With this technique you can undermine pike, zander, perch, bigmouths, chubs, etc., not to mention the infinity of sea predators, the only thing to consider is that for each fish, you will have to use a more or less large, based on the size of the bait intended for the predator.
I am convinced that at first you will notice a certain difficulty in learning, but with time and experience you will have considerable satisfaction.
We build the harness for the "mort-manié"
In order to make the harnesses for the maneuvered dead man technique you need:
- Harmonic wire with a diameter of about 8 tenths of a millimeter (available in hardware stores)
- Copper wire comparable in diameter to a 0.30 fishing line
- Traced fishing line or heat-sealing cable with a capacity of at least 4 or 5 kg. for frames not intended for pike
- Two treble hooks of variable size depending on the harness (usually the proportion is like that of the minnows in relation to the bait to be used)
- "Chevrotines" slit ball leads (available in boxes with various weights in fishing shops)
- A fine nose pliers to shape the harmonic steel wire
- A wire cutter to cut the steel wire
- Cyanoacrylate glue (Attak type)
Fish for Wells Catfish
The wels catfish's mouth contains lines of numerous small teeth, two long barbels on the upper jaw and four shorter barbels on the lower jaw. It has a long anal fin that extends to the caudal fin, and a small sharp dorsal fin relatively far forward. The wels relies largely on hearing and smell for hunting prey (owing to its sensitive Weberian apparatus and chemoreceptors respectively), although like many other catfish, the species is characterised with a tapetum lucidum, providing its eyes with a degree of sensitivity at night, when the species is most active. With its sharp pectoral fins, it creates an eddy to disorient its victim, which the predator sucks into its mouth and swallows whole. The skin is very slimy. Skin colour varies with environment. Clear water will give the fish a black color, while muddy water will often tend to produce green-brown specimens. The underside is always pale yellow to white in colour. Albinistic specimens are known to exist and are caught occasionally. Wels swim in a fashion similar to eels, and so can swim backwards.
fishing for catfish on Lake Como Italy
Yes they have invaded the lake. Yes you can fish for them late summer the come close for baitfish into the Como area A great place to start in Como is the park, near the Volta monument and the areas of Villa Olmo in the evening. I have not Fly Fished for them but i know of a few crazy chaps using 12weight rods for them. I will be giving it a go soon. They will eat dead baits and live baits alike. a live bait on the bottom is a good start. Sprat, small chub and bream are great baits.
Fishing for Lake Trout Fly Fishing for trout on Lake Como Italy Lake trout are around but you have to follow the holes of baitfish or get lucky. I have never had one on the fly but have seen a few chaps with spinners land some fair-sized beauty. a good place to start in the river inlet near the city of Como, big fish tend to hang around there. But the trout have been caught all the way up the shore line in the Como city area. So try your luck
Live bait fishing for Lake Trout on Lake Como
Fishing for Lake with the system that I will describe is useful in all those periods when, with the massive presence of bleak and their favourite, small perch. The Lake Trout can eat resting on the bottom, or for winter fishing in places where the lakebed has many roughnesses, (branches, large stones, etc.) where to lower a line to graze means to immediately hook the bottom with the loss in lucky cases only of the hook.
With the terminal lead system, it is possible to fish in mid-water or detached from the bottom without tangling the armrest on the main line, and in some cases, using colored or faceted leads, the fish is stimulated by inducing it to attack the bait, allowing in addition to being able to fish with more than one rod. First let's talk about the equipment: the rod must not be too long, I personally use rods of 3 meters. with a fairly soft tip, I generally mount those for mackerel fishing in fiberglass, or I use the rods for ledgering, while the reel should comfortably contain about 150 meters. of monofilament of 0.20 / 0.22. Once the rod has been prepared, a swivel with carabiner is fixed on the line of the reel, to which the mount shown in the drawing on the side will be attached. The fishing action consists in anchoring the boat (as for the fishing system at the whitefish probe), near shoals of bleaks and lowering the line primed with a live bleak under the boat, after which the rod, which with the oscillating movement of the boat will make the bait more attractive, now all we have to do is wait for the Pike to eat which can manifest itself with small tremors of the tip, or with heavy hits that bend the tip under the weight of the lead(the lead can be placed as a running lead at the front before the trace and swivel or at the bottom of the rig as you would drop shotting. At this point we take the rod in hand, paying attention not to make sudden movements with the line (due to the escape of the predator), and wait for the decisive pull to shoot, remembering to calibrate the clutch because, despite the reel line and the mount are composed of medium diameter wires, the armrest is 0.14 / 0.16 and with this technique there is no shortage of surprises such as Pike, Zander, large perch, chub, trout and anything else that feeds on live fish. An important thing with this technique is to calculate the depth where the catches are made in order to return to the right point with each abseil.
Trolling for Lake Trout on Lake Como
Trolling for Lake Trout has been great for me in the past, I like to get out on my kayak and search for bait fish but the locals use a more traditional method called the Molagna
The molagna or trootiera (also called rudun is a traditional trolling technique used on the lake)
Another fishing tool for trolling is the "molagna" also called rudun or trout, it is a large rotating drum reel, built in an artisanal way, with various materials such as wood, hardboard, aluminum, etc. equipped with a rudimentary clutch and a backstop system consisting of a toothed wheel. About 200 meters of steel wire of 0.40 in diameter called "beam" are wound on the drum (years ago copper wire was used), bearing at the end a large carabiner to which a lead of variable weight between 100 is attached and 300 grams, but it can also reach the kilogram. On the steel wire, starting from the lead, going up at regular intervals between 3 and 5 meters, there are articulated joints, from a minimum of 5 to a maximum of 10 (see drawing below on the left) to which some armrests in nylon monofilament about 2 meters long, with a diameter ranging from 0.25 to 0.35, with an artificial bait (undulating spoon), or natural (live or dead fish) attached to each one. To facilitate the transport of the terminals and the winding and unwinding operations during the lowering and recovery of the molagna beam, they are wound on practical wooden frames called reels.
Fishing action:
Once the reel has been fixed to the side of the boat, proceeding at very slow speed, the lead is applied to the steel wire, then it begins to drop into the water and at each joint connection the nylon terminal with the bait is connected . Once all the terminals have been set up, we let the baits descend to the depth of action and then hook the steel wire to a rudimentary but effective bite alarm consisting of a sturdy elastic with a hook to which a bell is attached that will warn us to any tremors on the beam. When we realize that the catch has been made, we proceed to the recovery with the big reel and as the armrests with the baits come out of the water, they must be wrapped again on the reel and detached from the beam, to allow the recovery of the armrest where it ate our prey.
With this technique, lake trout are mainly targeted but it is not uncommon to also catch Zander, chub, pike and some perch of good size.
Fishing for Shad on Lake Como
Shad is a type of fish, much valued as a sport fish. The male shad is an excellent game fish, showing multiple jumps and an occasional end-over-end; it has been called a "freshwater tarpon". Shad are a highly prized fish on Lake Como. Every fisherman will go out in the summer to stock up on Shad and then turn them into Missultin, a traditional way of curing shad.
Fly Fishing for Shad on Lake Como Italy Summer shad are epic to catch on the fly, wait till about 7 in the evening then find any beach, Colico is a cool large undisturbed beach that you can wade out on and buzzer fish these beauty's fast strips and medium sinking line. they also take a dry in early morning and late evening they tend to rise and eat of the surface. The lake has plenty of lakefront walks, some you are allowed to fish from other not so keep an eye out for signposts that stay no fishing during tourist season. Stay away from them. The Shad run during mid summer is awesome you will see all the locals using Chinese square nets on the lake front during the early evening catching bucket loads. I love to catch a few rolling them in course salt and BBQ them up with a couple of bears. Pretty much any coastline with a beachy area is a good to go area for this fish. So go ahead rig up your fly rod, medium sinking, or floating line, clothes line full of upto 5 buzzers and strip away. you will get into fish quick in the early morning and late evening.
Traditional Shad Fishing on Lake Como
In the summer, June to July approximately the shad run starts when they come up from the deeper waters to deposit their eggs. This is the only way you can catch them. A typical routine would be to start with spinning for them in the late afternoon, then moving to a fixed pole rig in the early evening, and finally when the sun sets a square net on a 2m boom pole is used.
Spinning for Shad
In the afternoon or morning use a good casting spinning rod is necessary (a good 4 metre rod is best ) to get your line out far enough to get to them in the afternoon, you need a torpedo weight at the top of your rig followed by a sabiki rig of up to 5 buzzers. They weight of the torpedo weight will be a judgement call depending on wind and interference and distance needed to cast. Cast out far and slam the breaks, so the sabiki rig has time to flip round avoiding tangling with the weight and straighten out. The retrieve is a bait fish constant yo-yo movement. Fast retrieve, not jerking the line but giving a yo-yo action.
Fixed pole fishing for Shad
Towards the early evening you can use a fixed pole up to 7m long! the longer the better in most instances as the shad have started to get closer to shore but still will sometimes stay a little deeper in the early evening avoiding surface movement. The line is the same length of the fixed pole (excluding the leader) which is a simple sabiki style jig with buzzers, with a 15/20g weight on the bottom of it. A good tip is to use a bead or foam marker to mark the depth once you hit bottom. That way when you drop your line in you know how deep it needs to go and avoid hitting the bottom. The Shad hit these hard and also often on the drop down, so if your line goes soft and not following a regular drop pattern down, set the hook hard.
Fishing for Shad with a square net
After the sun sets it's time to get a square net out, the square net is fixed to a boom pole of about 4m long. The Shad will come in close to deposit eggs, so gently lifting the square net and dropping in in small intervals will get you plenty of fish.
The Adda River The Adda is by far the biggest river that flows into the Lake and you can do some really fun fishing on it. the lower Adda is great for two-handed rods and big marble trout and migrating lake trout. The Upper Adda is great for euro nymphing and dry fly fishing. Big Grayling big native brownies and rainbows. The Mera River The Mera River used to be my favorite river unfortunately due to a landslide in Switzerland that came down onto the river and totally killed the river a few years ago. They have been working hard to repopulate with native fish but its still a bit touch and go. The Liro River The Liro is a small tributary that is fun pocket water for small mountain browns and an epic dry fly spot. The Mallero River If you are hunting for marble trout the Mallero River is the place to go, again a tributary to the Adda river. This holds some real monster marble trout and its worth your time believe me. These boots love to chase a streamer but can also be caught on a buzzer or nymph If you guys are interested in more info I have a brief guide book that I wrote a while back where I have written all about the fishing in the area, licenses, and more. Just hit me up I will be happy to help out and share my passion for fly fishing with you! If you are looking for a Lake Como Fishing Guide, or for fishing charter on the lake then visit these guys they do a great job and we work with them and can vouch for there professionalism and good quality guide service. Lake Como Fishing