Freestone · Limestone · Slovakia / Spiš (Slovak Paradise / Slovenský raj), SK

Hornád & Hnilec (Slovak Paradise overview)

The Hornád river winding through meadows and woodland in the Slovak Paradise (Slovenský raj) region of Slovakia

Slovak Paradise (Slovenský raj) is best understood as a regional trout-fishing area rather than a single river.

Today · Not the day for it
Czech Nymph
Forecast · Today
Not the day for it
Not much stacked in your favour today. Worth an hour if you are nearby, not worth the special trip.
40% projected
Today's fly
Czech Nymph
Czech Nymph
Conditions on the water · Today
Live gauge
Level
Rising
1.48 m
Lifting fast
Water temp4.6°C
ClarityUnfishable
Weather0°C
WindN 3 km/h
Pressure1023 hPa
Rain · recent23.7 mm
Rain · ahead0.0 mm

The nearest gauge doesn't record temperatures, so we've estimated it — defer to the river keeper's advice.

Water temperature for Grayling
Ideal
5°C est.ideal 4–14°C
0°14°28°
How to fish it · for Grayling
When
Midday window — grayling feed best from late morning into early afternoon.
Where
Work runs and glides — grayling shoal in the bottom third of the water column.
Method
Tight-line nymph the bottom third with weighted patterns.
Kit
10 ft #3 rod, floating line, long leader to 4 lb fluoro for nymphs.
Why this works
Good — water temperature is working for you, but time of day is the limiting factor today. Grayling feeds actively in cold water — peak winter sport.
Likely species
Gammarids
Hatch timeline · todayQuiet day

Low insect activity predicted today

Sub-surface · on the nymphunder the surface

Hatch predictions

Top nymph shown — see all 4 guilds as a supporter.

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Evidence
Records-basedModerate confidence

Based on species-occurrence records, not local invertebrate surveys.

Through the year
0–3 scale · November highlighted
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Trout seasonSeason
1
2
2
2
2
1
Grayling seasonSeason
1
2
2
2
2
2
1
Evening SedgeHatch
2
3
3
3
2
Large Dark OliveHatch
1
2
2
1
Iron BlueHatch
1
2
2
2
2
2
2
1
Blue Winged OliveHatch
1
2
2
2
2
1

Numbers are intensity 0 (none) to 3 (peak) — a guide, not a guarantee.

Ranked for today
Grayling fly box

Broad mountain-river trout and grayling pack with brown trout at the centre, but room for rainbow and brook trout where present.

Small Perdigón
Small Perdigón
Hook 14–18 · Fly
in season
Permits & access
Permit required — see local rules.
  • State fishing licence/card (rybársky lístok) plus a local or SRZ-area permit for the specific waters
  • Guest access is possible through local associations and SRZ-linked structures, but exact permit format and duration should be checked water by water.
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Other water nearby · 3
Poprad (Slovakia)
25 km
52
Brown trout · Rainbow trout · Grayling
Poprad
57 km
59
Brown trout · Grayling
Dunajec
59 km
74
Brown trout · Grayling · Hucho
Gallery · 2
  1. The Hornád river winding through meadows and woodland in the Slovak Paradise (Slovenský raj) region of Slovakia
    The Hornád River flowing through the Slovak Paradise
  2. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
About this water

Around Spišská Nová Ves, trout fishing is found on both the Hornád and Hnilec rivers, running through the limestone gorges and forested terrain the national park is known for. Palcmanská Maša, the reservoir at the park's edge, hosted a leg of the 2017 Fly Fishing World Championship — a strong marker of the area's overall quality for competition-standard anglers. Between the two rivers and the lake, the district offers a genuine variety of trout water within a short drive.

  • Limestone
The full read · show the working · for Grayling · confidence 55%
How the 73 is built — score × weight = contribution
Temperature100 × 28%28.0
Flow80 × 22%17.6
Clarity90 × 18%16.2
Feeding Time10 × 13%1.3
Pressure80 × 7%5.6
Insect activity34 × 12%4.1
Conditions total= 73
Can you trust it?
Water temperatureair-to-water estimateestimated
Level / flowon-river gaugeobserved
Prey activitymodelled from regional profilemodelled
What would change the calculation
The dawn and dusk windows score higher than the midday lull.
Directions
Apple MapsGoogle Maps
Seasons & zones
  • Trout 16 April → 30 September
  • Grayling 1 June → 31 December
Related guides
Grayling Playbookgrayling tacticsEuro Nymphingsubsurface methods
Booking & contacts
At a glance

Hornád & Hnilec (Slovak Paradise overview) is a freestone river in Slovakia / Spiš (Slovak Paradise / Slovenský raj). Its recorded elevation is about 528 m above sea level and the catchment geology is limestone. The river is described as roughly 40 km long. Our data lists brown trout and grayling here. The trout season is recorded as running from 16 April to 30 September. The grayling season is recorded as running from 1 June to 31 December. Best window recorded for anglers: May–August; September–October. Core methods listed: Upstream nymph; Dry fly. Level and flow data for this water is linked from 1 gauge. Nearby waters in our listings include Poprad (Slovakia) at 25 km, Poprad at 57 km and Dunajec at 59 km.