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Germany 26-09-2026

Germany 26-09-2026

Last week I was put out of action by the flu but I recovered so I was out in the field again.
I missed the fisher king festivities of last week which was a first since I enrolled the syndicate.
With the mill pool temporarily opened for syndicate members I opted to fish there this time.

I expected crowds so I headed of early … very early.
It was still dark with the moon out when I arrived.
The gate to the property was closed but I went in via the stream anyway.

Since the drought continued the water was very low.
The water was not coming over the mill weir but underneath the leaking sluice gates.
I heard that the fishing was quite good at the fisher king contest so hopes were high.

It was so dark that indicator seemed useless so I tied on a very small streamer.
That soon yielded one of the stocked rainbow trout, small one.
As the sun came up I had some takes but very cautious bites.
At the end of the day I had landed three trout, lost about four rainbows as I fished barbless.

At times I switched to nymphs hoping to see some more fish action from shiners.
Alas the little amount of water running through the weir was not enough to produce
a good current seam.
That seam was usually the feeding lane for most of the fish in the pool as well as the
spot directly below the weir. I fished from 0600 to 1600 hrs, after the cloudy morning
I had hoped that the increased light later in the day would have effect on the fish activity but it did not.
It became very quiet so the decision to end the session was not a difficult one.

Germany 06-09-2026

Germany 06-09-2026

With the summer officially gone my mission for the day was to get chub on the dry fly or hopper.
It had rained a bit the last time but it did not end the effects of the drought that much.
Some of the previously exposed sandbanks had now a little water over them.

First stop was to score some easy targets in the feeder with the dry fly.
I spotted some larger fish but could not get them to eat the dry fly.
I could only muster some of the small chub that fell for the sedge I was fishing.

The second mark near a bridge looked more promising.
Lots of fish moving about with some bigger specimens among them.
Fishing the sedge though was a complete failure, it was ignored.
I switched to a red tag nymph that yielded some slightly larger chub and a golden shiner.

The spot at the bridge was not ideal, to many onlookers that scared the fish.
So next stop the open fields in search for the big boys.
I encountered the big boys but most where on the move and not interested in flies.

I finally found a large chub in feeding mode aka in the upper water column.
Alas raising the rod for the cast alarmed the fish of my presence.
I scouted further downstream and spotted two large chub from far away.
Ideal conditions to drop a hopper in front of them, that actually worked as one of the
fish gulped the hopper down.

The first big fish measured 52cm, a pretty good size for a chub in such a small stream.
I soon spotted another fish and again an instant hookup.
This time though the fish took me in the weeds and I couldn’t dislodge it.
I put maximum pressure on the fish but it ended with breaking the tippet, bummer.

Still the day was not over so on I went to see if I could spot more fish.
Eventually I found the next group of feeding chub in a section with not so many weeds.
As soon as the hopper landed on the water the chub went for it and gulped in down.
I struck and after a struggle to contain the fish I could land it, 49cm also a good size.
Called it a day after that last fish.

Germany 08-08-26

Germany 08-08-26

With the continuous drought conditions during the last two months I had not been out on a fishing session.
When I noticed how long it was since I had been fishing I figured it was time to head out once again.
With no relieve of rain in sight I opted to fish the lower end of the waters I am allowed to fish in.
With this darn heat the only thing that would work was probably going after the chub with surface flies.

I checked out the most easy spot at the feeder stream and boy what was the water low.
The stairs at the measuring gage ended in a pool of mud with only little water standing.
The stream was still flowing but at below minimum rate.
Plenty of small chub around but for some reason I could not get hits.

Further upstream I noticed some pretty big bow waves moving so I figured that had to be the location of the big boys.
One cast and bingo, I had a pretty decent fish on.
Luckily I had my Daiwa street fishing net with so I could land the fish over the mud securely.
A few casts later I landed the second fish, an even larger specimen.

By now I had spooked all the fish in the section I was fishing.
I opted to fish the more open section of the main stream.
At the main stream levels also looked very low, lots of algae growth and pretty clear water.
I noticed a lot of big chub but extremely wary fish, they spotted me and stayed deep.

I finally spotted one fish close to the bank without being spotted and made a cast  to it.
The fly was slurped down the moment it hit the water.


I checked out the final stretch of the day encountered lots of fish but I was spotted early so no joy with them.
By now it was midday and the heat was getting to me so I took a break under a tree to hydrate. 
Next I went to a section with no tree cover at all and boy was it hot.
Again I was spotted early on and bow waves upstream signalled the fleeing fish.

At the first weir of a fish ladder I spotted several chub, the water was so shallow that the landing of the fly made them scoot.
The final insult was when I chub moved into reverse when I presented a large dry fly pattern to it.
That was the sign to call it day and head to the pub.
At the pub I got surprised looks … they probably thought I was dead being absent for two months.

Germany 23-05-2026

Germany 23-05-2026

A week ago the predicted weather would be hot and sunny so ideal to go after chub
in the area I called the plains.
Same stream I always fish but then in an open landscape.

My first stop was the feeder stream and then more specific the shallow wide
section above a weir as you could spot fish easily.
Alas, I spotted no fish whatsoever, maybe the chemical spill from last year
had wiped out more fish than I had expected.

Next I moved to the main stream and picked a spot stream upwards from a bridge that
usually held fish … but not today. 
However, under the bridge I spotted many rising fish.
With many mayflies around I tried a mayfly pattern first but despite the place being loaded
with chub the mayfly drifted unhindered downsteam.

When I changed to a nymph with an orange tag the hits came one after another.
I hooked a dozen of smaller sized chub until I got a bite of something bigger.
I had not seen the big fish but a cast close to the bank was apparently intercepted
by a big chub.
It took quite a while before I could coax that fish into a net, best fish so far this year.

With all the racket caused landing that big fish the rest of the school was now aware
of the danger and moved off.
I did the same and scouted an upstream section for miles fighting my way through high
grass in extreme high temperatures.

I spotted multiple big fish but only two were legit targets as they moved in the upper layer
of the water and maybe candidates to take a mayfly pattern from the surface.
Unfortunately on both occasions my backcast landed in the shrubs at the bank.

The heat in the meantime had got to much for me … I needed shade asap and at the 
nearest shading tree I dropped down for a break.
After depleting my last drinking way I called it a day and went to the pub to recuperate.

Germany 26-27-04-2026

Germany 26-27-04-2026

Fishing lately was pretty bad, could be the weather … a late start of the season or just to many
anglers since the syndicate issued fishing licenses through an online service provider.
One of my buddies (an accomplished fly fisherman) even managed to blank two times in a row.

On April 26th I scouted a section of the stream for the first time this year and could absolutely not
find any visible fish. The water table was very low but the usual deeper holes were void of fish.
The only thing I managed to catch was a small shiner on a nymph.

The next day we had an official holiday in the Netherlands so instead of visiting festivities 
celebrating the birthday of the king I went fishing.
This time on the stretch of a neighboring syndicate that did not issue licenses to strangers.
Alas again no fish to be seen, even in the deeper pools.

My luck turned when I noticed a shadow of a large fish in one deeper pool.
I could just make out the back of that fish and wondered if it was a carp.
Since it was very unlikely for that particular spot to hold any carp I presumed it was a trout.

The current in that pool was tricky, it was in a bend and for this stream quite deep.
A drift with an indicator prior to seeing this fish had yielded no takes at all so I had to try
something else.
Drifting a squirmy without an indicator seemed the way to go and that actually worked
as I felt the take of a big fish.

I fished with a light tippet and a barbless fly so the outcome of the battle was not sure.
Luckily there was a small legde of shallower water so I slid of the bank into the stream
to have a better angle to fight and land the fish.

After landing that fish I took a small break as it would be unlikely to catch anything else
that day with the current miserable fishing conditions.
Waited until the pub opened which was quite remarkable as in Germany Mondays are
usually resting days.
Was twice as lucky as the representative of the local distillery came by promoting some
new drinks so I had a tasting.

Germany 22-08-2026

Germany 22-08-2026

Early season but nice weather on this so out and about on the stream.
Foliage was slowly appearing, windflowers were starting to pop up and I spotted some cowslip starting to bloom.
Not much insect life yet and not much fish action either as the water was high and clear.

I spooked a trout but figured it could not have far so I probed the most likely hiding spot and got a hit.
Hooked the fish for a short time but it came off.
The second hit was from another trout but on the indicator and no second hits afterwards.

Since I did not get many hits I had to take drastic measures and use the mopfly.
To my surprise that yielded two dace.
Also deployed the squirmy and had some takes of dace.
Talked shop with one of my friends who was also fishing the same water and heard the tales of slow to no action.
Called it a day in the afternoon for lunch.

Germany 08-03-2026

Germany 08-03-2026

I had not been out a lot lately due to cold weather and the first session of the year ended in a blank.
The second session also seemed to go that way as I could not see any fish moving.
It was still early and a week of high temperatures was still not a guarantee that fish would be moving as
nature needed time to awaken.

This time I did catch a fish though, managed an out of season trout and boy it was a big one.
Since I was fishing for shiners the tippet was light so I had to take care to fight that trout
but it all worked out in the end.

Some of my friends where also out on the stream and noticed the same absence of fish.
With nothing going on in the water I opted for a pub session which was pleasant as usual.

HSK 10-2025

HSK 10-2025

We’ll, I mentioned in my previous HSK report I would do a re-run of the trip if possible.
So I talked to my supervisor at work to get some more time off which was no problem
as it was quiet on the project front.

I opted for the last week of the trout season in Germany, closing oct. 20th.
In the distant past the river I intended to fish would be open after that date
due to the fact that grayling where present.
The grayling season extends normally over the winter but alas not anymore on that stream.

Since the fishing had been slow during the past visit I opted not to buy day tickets for
my travel days .. too expensive for what was offered in my view.
My goal for this trip where to catch some grayling and take pictures of the fall colors.

Since I arrived early on my first day I decided to hike to the viewpoint on top of the hills.
I was not exactly well prepared as I had (in hindsight) the wrong coordinates and 
got lost early in my hike … luckily I crossed a hunter who directed me in the right way.
As I went farther and farther up the hill I noticed lots of signs of wild boar tearing
up the soil next to the path.

I was up on the ridge in a pretty dark part of the forest when I heard something
moving in the forest.
The path I was on looked less travelled and it seemed to dead end so I got my
bearing and finally got the correct coordinates for the viewpoint.
Turned out I walked past it as I took a wrong turn.

The fishing, well as previously quite tough … although it had rained the waterlevel
had hardly risen. With the algae bloom ended the water was clear and littered with leaves.
Still the grayling bite was a lot better than a month before and I caught some nice fish.
The brown trout was bite was not as good, had difficulty finding fish and I
did not expect that at the end of the season the fishing club would be stocking new fish.

Having said that I did manage to catch some nice fish and my pb for brown trout.
That pb fish came on a dry fly in a very shallow part of the stream.
I had learned not to ignore the shallows and long casts with sedge pattern often
delivered fish from places I would normally pass.
The weather was usually pretty drab, light rain and fog  – overcast – low temps.

On my last fishing day the sun came out and a lot of sedges started to fly.
As it was in the weekend all day tickets had been sold out so fisherman where
everywhere and many spots had already been ploughed trough.
With no fish in the deeper pools my last chance of a good fish was the shallows
and just by luck I spotted a rising grayling and could nail it ending the trip
on a positive note.

 

Germany 21-09-2025

Germany 21-09-2025

A day later, same water but different weather conditions.
Within a day we went from warm and sunny to wet and windy.
The temperature kept falling during the day and wind kept increasing in force.
I was on-site at daybreak and the only fisherman around.

I had hoped to get instant hits but fishing was extremely slow.
Early morning some fish where active and now and then I could see rainbow trout
moving past me. I hooked two fish who skillfully jumped and threw the barbless hook.
I then tried to concentrate on any dace or rudd but nothing hit the fly.

My last resort to get any bites was to fish the deepest part of the mill pool right under the weir.
Fishing a nymph very deep worked for a while and after a roach I finally landed two rainbow trout.
As the day progressed however the bites stopped and whatever I tried failed to get fish.

Although I anticipated the weather change the strong wind did cool me down more than expected.
So late in the afternoon I decided to take a break and get something to eat and drink.
The comforts of the pub and the fact that it was already late kept me from returning to fish.
Have to say I still prefer the flowing stream to the mill pond.

Germany 20-09-2025

Germany 20-09-2025

The annual fisher king contest … well, I failed again catching a single trout.
Off course fishing in the most shallow part of the mill pool especially in
these times of low water mean you are without a chance if you flyfish.
Best spots as always the deepest parts of the mill pool under the weir.

In the morning session at the river I was amazed how low the water level was.
Only a trickle flowed and without any deep spots you could only get small dace
and gudgeons.

The afternoon session in the mill pool a waste of time as usual.
With some higher water you would have a chance to find trout in the shallows but
on this day even the shiners where absent.
Still a perfect day weatherwise, very warm and lots of sunshine.
So on this day only dace, rudd and gudgeons for me.