As winter turns to spring and the days lengthen, my fishing dreams turn to my two favorite freshwater fish—brown trout and pike. Pike I can catch in my beloved Czech Republic, but if I want a first class brown, the choices are few. This past spring, travel restrictions meant I was limited to Europe, so I phoned a few friends and scoured the internet for ideas. I was surprised to find some amazing information on Bulgarian brown trout. I knew roughly where Bulgaria was, I had heard that the countryside was beautiful, and I knew the capital was Sofia, but I had no clue what it offered fishing-wise.