Bukovica and Tušina (Šavnik rivers)
The rivers of Šavnik, which together are the start of the Piva: the Bukovica from below Durmitor, the Tušina, the Bijela and the Pridvorica, fished for brown trout in a single tourist-board zone.
30.93 km · Northern Montenegro, Šavnik · Karst headwater rivers of the Piva
Photo: BuhaM · CC BY-SA 4.0
Šavnik sits where the headwaters of the Piva come together, and the rivers around it change name as they go. The Bukovica flows from below the south-west slopes of Durmitor down to Šavnik; after the Bijela joins it in the town it is called the Pridvorica, after the Gornja Komarnica joins it is the Komarnica, and below the relocated Piva Monastery it is the Piva. The Tušina belongs to the same system. Together they are the fly-fishing zone of Šavnik, brown-trout water best in late spring and early autumn.
One river, several names
The 2017 water strategy sets out the sequence: Bukovica from Durmitor to Šavnik, Pridvorica from the Bijela confluence, Komarnica from the Gornja Komarnica confluence, Piva below the monastery. The Water Register's entry for the Komarnica lists Tušina/Bukovica, Pridvorica and Bijela as its associated water bodies, and the 2021 water management plan names the Tušina, Bukovica and Pridvorica as the important Piva tributaries on the "Pivska planina" karst.
Bukovica and Tušina
The 2021 plan records one natural water body, "Tušina/Bukovica", of 30.93 km in Šavnik municipality, and a Pridvorica water body of 14.89 km.
Fishing
The National Tourism Organisation's Šavnik zone covers the Bijela, Pridvorica, Komarnica and Tušina (spelt Tušinja on its page). The rivers are rich in brown trout, and the best months are May to June and September to October. Daily zone permits come from the sport-fishing club that manages the stock. Under the national order of 2026 (Sl. list CG 75/2026, in force 11 June 2026) all trout in Šavnik waters are closed from 1 November to 15 March and grayling from 1 March to 1 June. Until 1 April 2029 fishing is banned on the Bijela from Odov most to Kozji vir, on the Bukovica from Sastavci to Sige, from Klještina to Izgrti and from the Šušića bridge to Avramov vir, and on the Komarnica from Sastavci to the Nevidio bridge. Other zones are on the fly-fishing hub.
Floods
The 2025 environmental assessment of the flood-risk plan lists about 300 m of mobile flood protection on the Bukovica banks in central Šavnik, a second-priority measure costed at €120,000.
Getting there
Šavnik is the town on the rivers and the base for the Nevidio canyon of the Komarnica, described on the Nevidio canyon adventure page.
Questions
Is the Bukovica the Piva?
It is the Piva's source stretch under another name: Bukovica to Šavnik, then Pridvorica, Komarnica and Piva.
When is fishing best?
May to June and September to October, in the tourist-board zone.
Activities
- FishingBest May-June and September-October (NTO Šavnik zone); closed seasons per the 2026 order for Šavnik waters: all trout 1 Nov-15 Mar, grayling 1 Mar-1 Jun; stretches of the Bijela, Bukovica and Komarnica closed until 1 Apr 2029 · permit required
Things to do
Fly fishing
NTO Šavnik zone on the Bijela, Pridvorica, Komarnica and Tušina; brown trout; best May-June and September-October.
Nevidio canyon
The Komarnica's slot canyon downstream of Šavnik; guided canyoning 15 June-30 September.
Fish species
- Brown trout
Sources
Government of Montenegro, Strategija upravljanja vodama Crne Gore (June 2017) · Water management plans for the Danube and Adriatic basin areas, 2021 (data.gov.me, CC BY) · National Tourism Organisation of Montenegro, Fly fishing · EPA Montenegro, SEA of the flood-risk management plan, Danube basin (January 2025) · Water Administration of Montenegro, Registar voda od značaja za Crnu Goru, 2nd ed. (July 2024), entry Komarnica · Ministarstvo poljoprivrede, šumarstva i vodoprivrede, Naredba o ribolovnim zabranima, lovostaju i minimalnim veličinama riba (Sl. list CG 75/2026), Art. 2-3
