It was time for another trip over the border. I went fishing with Joop and Michael today in search of more trout. First stretch I fished was the guest stretch. Mayflies were present but not yetin very large numbers. I did notice some new species though; I took the liberty to make a photograph of this latest mayfly arrival. We first took a coffee break and enjoyed the cake Michael’s wife had prepared for us. We always have good catering when we go fishing. There were many rising fish at the watermill but that was the “No fishing stretch”, it figures. In one of the pools of the guest stretch there was actually a trout feeding on mayflies. I tried to catch it with a streamer but only ended up decorating the trees with flies. Disturbed the pool so I had to move on. Got two shots at very small brown trout lying underneath undercut banks but could not cash in on the strikes.I wanted to visit a place where I knew for sure I would catch a rainbow trout. Unfortunately I was overtaken by a couple who where wandering though the forest with their golden retriever (not on a leash). Guess what happened, I am almost at the pooland suddenly the dog jumped in. Goodbye trout. Does the hurting never stop, aarghhh.All I could do was move on in search for quit waters. I walked all the way to the end of the guest stretch, Michael had the same idea but I was a tad quicker. So I was in the good spot first. First cast yielded a very firm bite but the fish had hit the tail of my Zonker streamer and missed. I suspected the fish was still around andnot happy about missing his meal. I made a second cast and this time I had the fish on. A nice rainbow was putting up a good fight. Finally a fish. I guess the Germans had transported many trout to the eternal hunting fields since we had not encountered many fish in the pools anymore. Maybe it was time for some restocking, or maybe better fishermen. On the way back to the watermill we encountered two members of the local worm brigade. Even though Michael, Joop and yours truly had caught and released each a rainbow trout we told the worm guys that we had blanked and that fishing there was useless. We are extremely good liars when we meet people who clobber every fish they catch to the eternal hunting fields. At the bridge over the river we took a last view at the water.A trout was just nailing a mayfly from the surface, those are the things that make flyfishing special. We left the guest stretch to fish the river in the next city. First we tried to catch shiners in the canalized part of the stream in town. Fishing down there in the town always made me feel like I was in a zoo so I suggested to move to the fringes of the town. Down there a small weir gave some more opportunities for shiners and maybe a trout. When we arrived there a member of the worm brigade just left. Fishing was no good he said, well I guess all fisherman are liars.So we tried anyway. Since the worm brigade people were not exactly mobile with all their heavy gear, boxes, chairs and so on we decided to make a small trip through the jungle so see if there where some more interesting stretches in the river. We found them, difficult to get at but very worthwhile.Michael had left us because he had to work. Joop and I where probing the new stretches with nymphs for fish. We both got takes from trout but missed the fish. We could add some interesting locations to our database for future visits. Light was beginning to fade so we called it a day. We had all caught a fish and had seen new places to fish. Another beautiful fishing day came to an end.
Book
- Alaska
- Guide & Fisherman
- Guiding: Choosing Your Guide And Choosing Your Customer
- Guiding: Do It Yourself With A Guide
- Guiding: Evolution Of A Guide
- Guiding: Freshwater, More Than Meets The Eye
- Guiding: Friends For Life
- Guiding: Know Where You Are
- Guiding: More Than Just A Fisherman
- Guiding: Mystery Of The Fisherman
- Guiding: Payment
- Guiding: Saltwater, A Different World
- Rough Fish
- Fly Fishing For Rough Fish: Why Do It?
- Introduced Rough Fish: The Carps & Other Invasive Species
- Methodology: Gear & Tactics For Pursuing Roughfish On A Fly
- More Roughfish: Bullheads, Whitefish, Goldeye, Burbot & Drum
- Rough Fish Environments: Where To Look For Rough Fish?
- Rough Fish Species: The Suckers
- Rough fish: A Lifetime Of Learning
- Rough Fish: Fishing For Dinosaurs (Gars & Bowfin)
- Rough Fish: What Are They?
- The Hook: Some Common Rough Fish Fly Patterns
- Spey
- Spey: Applications, Where Can You Do It?
- Spey: Atlantic Salmon, A Significant Fish
- Spey: Defined And Demystified
- Spey: Gear, The Nuts And Bolts
- Spey: Lines, They Are That Important
- Spey: Steelhead, New Traditions & A Modern Movement
- Spey: The Energy
- Spey: The Flies
- Spey: The Swing
- Spey: Two Critical Casts
- Striped Bass
- Striped Bass: Fishing Rocky Shorelines
- Striped Bass: Fishing The Beaches
- Striped Bass: Fishing The Flats
- Striped Bass: Fishing The Reefs
- Striped Bass: Fishing Tidal Rivers
- Striped Bass: Flatwing Swing
- Striped Bass: Fly Line Options & Choices
- Striped Bass: Gear, The Nuts & Bolts
- Striped Bass: Migration Patterns
- Striped Bass: What They Eat
- The Art Of Escape
- Fly Fishing: A Natural Drug
- Fly Fishing: A Validation Of Freedom
- Fly Fishing: Don’t Fight The Current
- Fly Fishing: It Is What It Is
- Fly Fishing: Socialization For Asocial Individuals
- Fly Fishing: The Allure Of The Fish
- Fly Fishing: The Art Of Escape
- Fly Fishing: The Simplicity Of It All
- Fly Fishing: Time Flies
- Fly Fishing: Times You Remember & Try To Forget
Nice to see the other side of the big pond represented !
great “fish tale” – i am looking forward to more tales from the European trout waters. Would love to make it to Germany to fish with you.
I will try to post the next report in a more “flies & fins” style.
Thursday I am leaving for Germany’s Harz region to fish four days in a small river. Hopefully I will have something to report when I am back. Upfront I like to say that I am satisfied with one fish a day, I will not complain if there are more though.
The sort of river and the area I am going to visit are completely new to me so it should be an interesting learning expirience.
good luck ! keep the stories comming
Great tale! I have been relocated for my job, to Germany and am looking for some places to fish. I am in the Bavaria region and love to flyfish. Can anyone let me know of some areas. I don’t need your honeyholes, I’ll make my own, just some nice streams would do. Thanks