One of the special joys of fly fishing in Latvia is going after pike.
The country’s longest lake is the Engures, located west of Riga near the mouth of the Lielupe. The lake was once connected with the sea, before the glaciers went back, but today it is only a short distance from the coast. Last century a canal was dug to dry the swamps. The project was a success, and the lake’s water level dropped by one metre.
The water is at its deepest only 1.5 metres in some places, and the ground is covered with weeds and other water plants. It’s hard to believe that any fish could survive beneath the winter ice at such shallow depths, but somehow they do.
In Engures the weeds are always a problem, so if you are going after pike you need to cast to their hiding places. A weed protector is a must as well. But really the only feasible way to fish for pike on this lake is by boat (though motorised ones are not permitted). There are five jetties around the lake, but you are no allowed to bring a boat with you. The environment is very quiet and you can hear the splashing of hunting pike, and you will easily recognise them in the reeds and rushes. They range in size from 1.5kg to 5kgm. The reeds and rushes make fly fishing a real challenge, though not an impossible one.
