Fishing the Tisza: Catfish, Zander and Sterlet

The Tisza is close to every Hungarian angler's heart: it flows more slowly than the Danube, it winds more, and its banks are often almost untouched. Wels catfish, zander and sterlet bring many anglers back year after year. Learn to read its bends and water levels, and the Tisza will generously reward your patience.

The river in brief

The Tisza is roughly 960 kilometres long, and close to six hundred kilometres of it lie in Hungary. It enters the country at Tiszabecs and leaves below Szeged, heading into Serbia. Its main tributaries include the Szamos, the Bodrog, the Sajó, the Zagyva, the Körös and the Maros. During the 19th-century river regulation many of its meanders were cut through, creating the oxbow lakes that anglers still love today. Damming near Kisköre gave birth to Lake Tisza (Tisza-tó), which is a world of its own.

A unique natural spectacle on the river is the "Tisza bloom": for a short time in early summer, a long-tailed mayfly swarms in huge numbers on the surface. The fish go almost wild over the abundance of food – which is exactly why fishing can be difficult then.

Wels catfish: the Tisza's legendary predator

The Tisza has long been famous for its catfish. They hold in the deep holes on the outside of bends, under fallen trees and collapsed banks, and set off hunting at night.

• Clonking (kuttyogatás): the traditional Tisza method. From a boat, anglers use the sound made by a clonk to draw the catfish up from the depths. It takes local knowledge and familiarity with the boating rules.
• Legering from the bank: with a bunch of worms or a permitted livebait, using a strong rod and line, cast to the edge of the hole.
• Tackle: there is no place for weak gear among fallen trees. You need to steer the catfish out of the snags quickly, or you will lose the fish and leave the hook in it.

Catfish are subject to a national closed season, and on the big rivers you may not keep overwintering catfish in the winter months either. Always check the exact periods in the current regulations.

Zander: the silent hunter

Tisza zander like snaggy places with a hard bottom: the base of steep banks, rock revetments, bridge piers and the areas around fallen trees. They are most active at dusk and at night.

• When legering, a fish strip or a small livebait is the classic bait.
• When spinning, a soft plastic worked slowly near the bottom is the most effective.
• Zander are cautious: a finer hooklink and sensitive bite indication help a lot.

Zander are also protected by a spring closed season, which matters for spawning and protecting the fry.

Sterlet: the treasure of the Tisza

The sterlet is the only member of the sturgeon family still found regularly in Hungarian rivers, and it is considered threatened internationally. On the Tisza and its tributaries you still have a decent chance of meeting one. It likes stretches with a sandy-gravelly bed and current, where it forages on the bottom.

• You can fish for it successfully with a small hook, worms and a leger rig.
• As it feeds in the current, the lead should hold the rig without being needlessly heavy.
• Strict rules apply: a closed season, a size limit and a bag limit. These can change, so always check the rules in force.

Many anglers deliberately release sterlet. If you do too, handle it with wet hands, don't keep it out of the water for long and release it in the water, holding it facing into the current.

The Tisza's other fish

The Tisza isn't just for predator anglers. On sandy stretches with current, barbel and bream make fine catches on the feeder, and on summer mornings asp hunting at the surface offer spectacular lure fishing. In the oxbows and quieter bays, carp, crucian carp and pike are the main targets. These waters often resemble a lake more than a river, so float and boilie fishing work well here too. If the current in the main channel is too strong or the water is high, a nearby oxbow is a great backup plan.

How to read the Tisza

1. Bends: the water is deep and the current strong on the outside of a bend, while the inside has sandbars. Predators hold on the outside, in the holes.
2. Confluences: where tributaries flow in, the water mixes and food collects.
3. Snags: fallen trees are home to fish. Fish close to them, but in a way that lets you steer the fish out.
4. Water level: floods are typical in spring and early summer. A slowly rising river is often good; a fast-rising flood full of debris is dangerous.

Permits and safety

On the Tisza you need a state fishing ticket plus an area ticket valid for the stretch. The river is managed by several associations, and the oxbows and Lake Tisza often have their own rules. Steep clay banks can collapse, so don't stand right at the edge, and always wear a life jacket in a boat. Take your rubbish, bits of line and lead home with you.

Summary

The Tisza rewards the patient, observant angler. Catfish wait in the holes and under fallen trees, zander along snaggy banks, and sterlet in the sandy riverbed with current. Respect the closed seasons and size limits and handle the fish gently. The horgaszvizek.eu map search makes it easy to find stretches of the Tisza and its oxbow lakes too.