The alarm went off early—Session 2 of the European Fly Fishing Championship was waiting, and today’s venue was the beautiful but unpredictable River Mera, about an hour’s drive from our hotel. The official bus had the same warm atmosphere as always. By now, many of us had already connected, and even though we were competitors, the main topic remained the same: fishing, more fishing, and… fishing. You would think we’d talk about something else, but no—this is who we are.

As we approached the venue, the beats were announced. When I heard “Romania, beat number 3,” I immediately checked the information our team had exchanged the night before. The Irish angler had caught 15 fish there on Day 1—not bad, but other beats had produced even higher numbers. I told myself one thing: give absolutely everything and catch as many fish as possible.

At the parking area, my controller—an Italian gentleman around 60, incredibly friendly—greeted me and walked me to the beat. I still had an hour to prepare and scout the water.

The Beat

The Mera was stunning—big rocks, medium-deep pockets between 60 and 120 cm, short fast runs, and small falls. Exactly the kind of water where hungry trout like to hide.
My beat was roughly 170 meters, which I divided into two zones:

• Lower section (about 100 m): big rocks, pocket water, perfect ambush spots for trout.

• Upper section: starting with a small fall, opening into shallower water with smaller rocks, medium-speed channels, and short pockets.

After walking the beat, I prepared my gear:

• Two nymphing rods—one with light nymphs, one with heavier ones.

• One dry fly rod, just in case.

• No streamer rod, as the water didn’t call for it.

After a quick call with my teammate who fished the river the day before, I settled on the flies that worked best:
Hare’s Ear with pink bead and Black Hare’s Ear with silver bead.

My controller confirmed that Day 1 fish were caught mostly in the lower pockets behind the rocks. So the plan was clear: start there, insist hard, then finish in the upper part during the last hour.

The Slow Start

10:00 a.m. Start.

I placed the first cast into the pocket in front of me… nothing. Moved to the next… still nothing. I rotated light flies, then heavy ones. Thirty minutes in—no touches, and the pressure started creeping in hard.

After 55 minutes and halfway through the lower section with a blank scorecard, I reached the small fall. On my second cast into the left run, I felt a soft touch—not enough to hook, but enough to give me a little hope. A couple more casts, still nothing.

So I crossed the river, changed angle, and cast again into the same spot. As the nymphs dropped—fish on! The first Mera trout was finally in the net, taking the pink-bead Hare’s Ear. The pressure lifted, but the worry remained… I only had about 70 meters of less promising water left.

The Turnaround

Above the fall, my very first cast into shallow water produced fish number two. A cast to the opposite bank—fish number three. Suddenly, things were moving.

Farther up, I reached a deeper channel between two rocks—around 3 meters long, 1.5 m wide, maybe 80 cm deep. On the second cast to the right side—another rainbow. This one took the black Hare’s Ear on the top dropper, a good sign the fish had become active.

Another hook-up came off after a couple seconds, but soon after, another trout on the left side of the channel.
Five fish by halftime, with 40 meters of untouched water ahead.

The uppermost section was shallow—nothing deeper than 40 cm—so I switched to the lighter rod and started picking the pockets. It paid off: five more fish, bringing me to 10 by the time I reached the end of the beat.

An hour left.

I revisited the lower part, but just like at the start—nothing. The fish from the previous day were clearly spooky.

The last 40 minutes were spent in the productive middle water. A brown. Under a branch—another rainbow. In the pockets—three more fish. Soon I was sitting at 15 fish, matching the previous day’s catch from this beat.

With 15 minutes left, I returned to the short channel. I noticed a small drop—no more than 50 cm—hidden on the left side of the main rock. A tiny pocket, almost unfishable. I cast in front of the rock, let the nymphs slide, changed angle, dropped them perfectly—fish number 16.

In the final minute, a last cast into a small fast run produced the final trout of the session.

17 fish.
Not bad at all, considering the brutal start.

The Result

Back at the parking area, I spoke with my friend from Montenegro, who had the beat below mine. He confirmed my feeling: the fish from Day 1 were spooky and uncooperative.

Talking with other competitors, I realized that 17 fish was actually a strong number—and it showed in the official rankings:
➡️ 5th place in the session.

The winning flies were clearly the pink-bead Hare’s Ear and black Hare’s Ear with silver bead, (In the picture below you can see 2 different Hanak hooks the already classic 450bl and the new 460bl RS) but more important than the fly choice was changing angles, presentations, and re-fishing productive spots with patience.

If I made one mistake, it was probably insisting too hard on the lower section early—but the water just looked too good to ignore.

A solid result overall. As we boarded the bus back, my mind was already on Session 3—the lake day.