A Special Exhibit at the EWF in Fürstenfeldbruck is dedicated to the largest species of trout in the Alpine-Adriatic area.

The upper Soča in Slovenia is one of those prime waters that fly fishers from around the world should fish at least once in their angling lives.
 
Most of this crystal-clear stream and its tributaries are administered by the Tolmin Fishing Club. The club and Dr. Dušan Jesenšek, a fish breeder, have succeeded in “reincarnating” and preserving for the future the marble trout, the largest species of trout in the Alpine-Adriatic area.

The Tolmin Fishing Club began in 1993, under the guidance of the French institute “Tour du Valat,” pursuing repopulation by marble trout and this highly successful project has continued, uninterrupted, for 19 years. The future of the marble trout is now ensured because the Tolmin Fishing Club obtains each year more than a million genetically pure marble-trout eggs for stocking the Soča and its tributaries. The marble trout, one of the largest species of trout in Europe, lives only in those Alpine streams which ultimately empty into the Adriatic Sea. This trout was long faced with extinction because, beginning more than 100 years ago, these streams were stocked with brown trout, which led to hybrids and the threatened extinction of the native marble trout.

In addition to its work with the marble trout, the Tolmin Fishing Club has also been very successful in breeding grayling which will be attested to by many happy fly fishers who may well catch a dozen or more grayling on a good day.

Due not only to the excellent management of these waters, the upper Soča and its tributaries were protected in the past from industrialization because of proximity to the Italian border. The surrounding population decreased 40% in the last 100 years, while the fish population multiplied, partly due to the efforts of Dr. Jesenšek, and the natural environment remained mostly untouched.

We recommend that each fly fisher and those interested in fish breeding take the opportunity at the EWF in Fürstenfeldbruck to visit the stand of the Tolmin Fishing Club (the stand for Alpine-Adriatic fishing) where Dr. Dušan Jesenšek will, each day of the show, give a lecture followed by a discussion period.