Lake Mola

In this blog I will introduce you to the  lake Mola, which is managed by  fishing family Bistrica from Ilirska Bistrica. The lake is located SW from Ilirska Bistrica, near the Soze village. When the lake is full it reaches 78ha, 4 km in length, which makes it one of the   biggest lakes in Slovenia.The lake Mola is a reservoir which means that the water level varies between seasons and under different weather conditions.

The lake Mola is the firstl destination for all kind of sport fishermen, as it offers various types of fishing. In it we can find carps, pikes, zanders, grass carps, chubs, roaches, breams, rudds and even some brown bullhead catfish- the fish not favoured by many fishermen.But it adds diversity to the lake and even more challenge for the fishermen.

The lake is regularly restocked with fish (mostly carps, pikes, zanders and grass carps). Due to the big surface of the lake, the fish are scattered  all over the lake, so their concentration depends on season, temperature, location of natural food, water level,… The fish in the lake are very strong and active which makes the lake similar to a wild one. But the fish are also very timid because they are not used being under  a lot of pressure. If you want to catch the big ones  you have to have time and be patient. But if the conditions are right, all that hard work can be repaid and everyone, even the inexperienced fishermen, can catch a lot of fish.

In case we decide to fish by the  C&R principle, we can fish with two rods and also during the night, but only in the 2km carp zone, which is marked with numbers from 1 to 10. For this type of fishing you can buy one, two or three day tickets.

In warmer months we need some patience with bullhead catfish, but they go away, when carps come to the fishing spots. Because of the bullhead catfish it is better to use hard baits . If you are fishing for shorter time you don’t need to feed a lot but that changes when you are fishing for a longer period. Still there is no need to exaggerate. Most of the fishermen use corn but quality boilies also seem to do the trick. Use of dry (uncooked or un-soaked) corn is not allowed, but you can use boats to feed or deliver .

The bottom is different between the spots. Where the  edges are shallow the bottom is covered in low grass (which is not problematic for fishing), on other places we can expect rocks and sand. Silt is very rare. The best places for carp fishing are: shallow and deep bays, various overhangs, stone edges, smaller islands, channel edges and aquatic plants. The best depth for fishing is between 2 and 6 meters.

In the lake we can catch beautiful carps, some over 15 kg.

The following figures are showing the approximate course of the channel, and the distance to adjacent parts of the coast (take into account that the more detailed  images are from the time of low water).

Some pictures which were made during low water level.

Some nice  pictures from lake Mola (photo: RokM)

Best regards and tight lines,

Jure