Flyfishing FWSW

I found the time for a little road trip to a stream in Germany and quite frankly had
a blast fishing there as it was pretty good.
Stocked fish mostly but then again a lot of them and pretty strong contestants for
the full flex four weight rod I was fishing with.

At times the dry fly fishing was excellent as big mayflies where about and sometimes
a sedge pattern produced a lot of fish.
Nymph fishing was quite decent and when all action stopped a streamer often got
the fish out of their hiding spots.

I had hoped to take my splitcane rod out for the first time but the reel I ordered
arrived at my home when I was already on the road.
In hindsight though I would not have been able to use the cane rod anyway because

the hardware to house the reel was a tad too tight.
My buddy who build the rod will do some rework on it and maybe on the next road
trip I might use the cane rod in earnest.

Today I went straight to the forest to scout for the big trout that I had lost previously and to
just see what was out there for me.
In some parts fish where rising but only small dace from what I could tell.
I fished some of the undercut banks with small nymphs and had some nibbles but no solid
takes.

The big trout was still around but again in such a difficult spot that I could not reach it
properly.
Besides that the water low and the overhanging trees hindered me in making a roll
cast.
In hindsight I should have taken the 6 footer with me …
All I could muster from the vicinity of the big trout was a roach that was hiding close to the bank
in a small depression, a few inches is all it takes in a little stream to house fish.

I backtracked picked some tiny dace from several small pools, not much going on thus.
With all the debris in the stream I once again did a little insect / bottom feeder inspection and found
a ton of loaches under a piece of wood.

In the afternoon I held my usual break at the pub and headed out for one last session in
the hope that the big trout would have moved in a more favorable position.
It turned out differently as I could not find the big trout anymore.
Some rising fish where found at the same spot I visited yesterday and I caught the same
brown trout again on a small sedge.

On my way to some other pools I crossed  a maize field and noticed that some of the plants
had been eaten by some kind of critter.
In the sand I could distinctively see the track of a tail.
When I crawled down the embankment to the water I spotted the culprits, muskrats.
The low light prevented me from making a decent picture but I guess sooner or later I will
see them again.
If you do not move they will swim happily past you …

The last pools housed small roach and dace and behold I even got a little trout from under
the tree roots.
I think I will give the fish a break for the time being and hope some decent rain will fill up the
groundwater table so we can have some more water in the stream.

As the stream is dropping by the day and the usual hotspots failed to deliver I started the
morning at the mill pool.
Fish came not easy but at least a couple of roach could be coaxed from under the weir on
pheasant nymphs and holy grails.
When the mill weir was once again automatically raised I hoped for fish to appear and go
surface feeding but oddly this time nothing happened.
I decided to go for plan B and fish a lure through the pool that resulted in two tiny perch.
On one of the last passes through the mill pool I hooked something bigger, oddly a small
rainbow trout … had no idea they were in there.

Another deeper section of the stream boasted roach and with some trickery I finally landed
one fish. The effect however was that the rest of the school headed elsewhere … a one fish location
these day with the shallow water.

Next it was the forest and some nervous nibbles on the nymph where probably caused by
small dace or even gudgeons.
There was however one fish that did not hesitated and took the nymph with gusto, off course
a brown trout.
The problem was that the first reaction of the trout was off course to go into the woodwork
and I was not able to get it out in time so the line was tangled in some underwater brushwork.
I tried to free the line and reel in the fish but somehow the trout had done a Houdini act where
the only thing left was a nymph stuck in a branch.

Further upstream in the forest access was difficult to say the least, I managed to crawl along
the shore.  Fish where rising and when I made a roll cast to the slightly deeper other bank
a fish exploded on the nymph.
Again a trout and again it threw the hook.
I had now arrived at the location where I had spotted a big trout a day earlier and when I heard
some noisy rises ahead of me I knew it was the fish.
To get into a sort of casting position I had to wade a bit and my wellies turned out to be a tad too
short so I was making water.
My roll cast was sloppy and when the fly landed in the water a big splash occurred  which I thought
was due to a startled brown trout.
I did not strike but as my indicator suddenly raced past me I figured the trout had hooked itself.
Alas not enough tension on the line so after a few jumps it was over … fish gone … again.

The last part I fished was once again in the deep dark forest and like yesterday some fish where
rising, scarcely though as it was not that late in the day.
The bites where quick so I suspected dace and after several missed strikes I landed one small fish.
One fish was rising near the bank at a tree stump and as it rose so regular and every time in the
same spot I figured it had to be a trout.
It took about ten casts before I had placed the fly in the proper feeding lane and the rise occurred.
As suspected a brown trout … not big but beautifully marked.
We will going to try this again…

Checked the weather totals of this month in the morning and noticed that the month
May lacked 50% precipitation, it showed when we were at the stream this morning.
I showed my colleague where the trout was located that eluded me on the previous
visits and he did his best to get the fish on the fly but alas failed also.

In the meantime I went off to the mill pool where an excavator was busy digging out the
last part of the fish ladder that would circumvent the mill.
The bridge foundations for the access road where already placed and the bridge was lying
ready for lifting on the construction site.
I fished again right at the weir  and got two roach this time even on my own build
holy grail pattern that I originally intended for trout only.
Not a hot bite at the weir so I tried a lure again but nothing was chasing the fly.

When the weir was raised again and the flow stopped I could wade out onto the sandbar
and as I had tied on a sedge based on previous experiences I waited for the water to calm
and the fish to show themselves.
Just like clockwork the dace appeared in the surface and I got one good shot at a fish and
landed it.

We checked out some upstream parts of the stream where I hooked one more roach and
missed a couple of good strikes.
Time flew and before we knew it lunch time had arrived … off to the pub thus.
The beers where delivered fast but there was a slight hiccup with the food … the cook had to
go shopping for ingredients …. alas time was on our hands so we waited .

The last part of the session was spend in the forest where I fished a very shallow part.
Fish where rising on a regular basis, after a short and fruitless attempt in nymph fishing the
CDC sedge was tied on and the fish began to hit the fly.
The dace where fast and I missed many hits, the first fish that stayed put was a brown trout.
I spotted another brown trout but apparently my presentation was not up to scratch.
As it was an overcast day I could hardly see the fly on the water in the dark forest so that did not
help.
My friend also spotted trout but had no luck catching them.

As we packed our gear I pointed out that I had seen a big trout near the bridge we were parked
and before we left we tried to spot the fish.
We managed to locate the fish and figured it was beyond 12 inches so pretty decent for the ditch
we fished … next time.

It rained in the night and the stream was a tiny pit higher.
Water was quite murky and off course full of debris on the surface due to the thunderstorms in the night.

I pestered the trout I lost yesterday and had a few cautious takes but in the end he had enough of me and scooted off to the next pool.

The mill pool was dirty and although fish where sporadically rising it made no sense tossing a dry fly
in all the floating foam on the surface.
The nymph yielded some fish from underneath the drop off at the weir but in general slow action.

At another weir I got a few nice roach with one big enough to use the net, off course there are
bigger fish in the stream but catching them is a different cup of tea.

The pub was inadvertently closed due to “ family issues”  as the sign stated so no break at the end
of the day.
I ended the day at a recently removed weir and boy it was absolutely dead down there, could not
spot a single fish.
Just above the location however I sighted some of the carp that used this section of the stream
as their home, they were restlessly moving about so no feeding.
Tied on the bread fly and behold one came for it but decided not to take it at the last minute.
Weather was a bit off for that kind of action as it rained and it was very windy.

Again on the road despite the tropical temperatures of 30 degrees C and
imminent warnings of hail, lightning and excessive rain.
I finally hooked the trout that has been avoiding me for the last couple of
weeks and it pulled quite strong.
I really thought I had the fish and the net was at the ready but blast the hook
went out and launched itself in the tree branch above me.

Fishing the nymph was quite worthless as the fish mostly ignored it.
Fish started to rise so I got a nice dace on the sedge.
Off course all the racket combined with the low water meant that all dace
present went into dive mode.

In the burning sun I fished the mill pool and spotted as usual fish over the sandbar
nearshore.  It was skinny water and as the nymph did not achieve results I tried a
sedge which was equally ignored.
The moment of opportunity  came when the mill weir was raised and the circulation
in the pool ceased.
The water cleared and behold big dace and roach everywhere … some river monsters
where amongst them.
So the fun started and I could sight fish for the dace which would cautiously take the
fly from the surface.

Of course after a short time the weir was lowered again and all the debris on the water
made it difficult to spot and single out fish.
I tried a small lure I recently made just to see if anything would go after it and behold
the tiny perch showed interest.
From the middle of the pool however I received some good pulls and as I reeled in a small
perch I spotted some of its larger family members following.
I tried to copy the action but alas it was short lived and no further contacts came.

At another weir I figured out where the fish where hiding and when I finally decided to
wade in the now shallow water with my wellies barely afloat the bites came after another.
Mostly roach and a little brown trout came to hand and off course plenty of fish lost.
Meanwhile the heat was getting to much so it was off to the pub for some cold beers
and dinner.

Near sunset I tried the forest once again but action was slow, still managed a good dace
and a couple of small ones but no trout or roach to be found.
Thunderclouds where in the distance and some alarming sounds came from the cloud.
Luckily it was only one patch and far away so in the end nothing materialized.
As usual this warm weather period will end with a bang early in the morning, some
water is more than welcome right now.

Started early and found that my hot spot was not producing any fish.
Tried the mill pool early in the morning and caught some roach and a dace.
Outside the village I did quite well at a weir and probably caught my best
roach of the season but it did not want a picture taken = jumped out of my hand…

Fled to the forest to escape the burning heat and battled a nice trout that
fled into a deadfall, could not get it out so I had to sever the leader.
The fish got away be it that it now owns one of my barbless nymphs.
The hot weather drained me so I had to recharge at the pub and while I
was at it I had also lunch.

Headed out again into the forest at my old haunts and got three small brown
trout to show for it.
Donated some dries to the trees trying to catch dace, it was a jungle out there and
when you miss the lightning fast strike of the daces you end up in the trees.
Last port of call was the spot where I had lost a good trout earlier.
Did not have any hopes for trout and when I got nibbles on the nymph I thought
it where little dace.
I was wrong off course as a trout took the nymph and once again took me in the
deadfall.
This time I tried to apply maximum pressure on the light tippet and with
some luck I landed the fish.
Sun was setting and as this was the icing on the cake it was back to the pub again
to get dinner … after all somebody requested food pics here …

On my way to the pub I inadvertently made a video call to the Speyco company
so sorry for that Tim, at least we had a nice chat.
Hope to receive a Speyco reel soon to be fitted to my Bamboo rod that my buddy
Wiebe made for me…

Still lots of Mayflies about plus other insects so fish are feeding on top … at times though
and it really depends on the location.
I found today that the open spots did not yield any dry fly action but the protected areas
in the forest had rising fish and more insects around.

Started out late at the chub spot hoping to toss flies at cruising chub but I had not taken in account the wind.
It was blowing so hard that the mayflies flew backwards.
Only some tiny fish where visible in the surface.
I tried to fish the nymph but the wind constantly picked up the fly line so no joy.

Tried the home waters next and noticed the water was low, very low.
Fish plenty but no takers.
A few carp where spawning and the trout I spotted scooted off leaving only a cloud
of mud behind.
Things where not going well at all.
At the mill pool I spotted fish over a sandbar and got one pretty deformed roach.
Nothing much happening at the mill pool either so off to the forest where I managed
a tiny dace, a small roach and a small brown trout.
The last fish was the largest of the three and what was even better was the fact that
I spotted it rising and got it on the dry fly.

Already late in the day I decided to take a break and headed to the pub … where the
cook had his day off … bugger.
Luckily the landlady was able to conjure some French fries with a curry sausage so I did
not leave the premises with an empty belly.

Figuring the days results where a bit meager I pondered if the golden hour would mean
something at the old haunts which I had not fished for ages.
We’ll it did, at the first spot where I suspected fish I hooked a little brown trout.
Not long after that another trout hit the nymph but managed to throw the hook.
At a bend in the stream fish where rising, I believed it where dace.
I continued nymph fishing and had takes but the fish where quite small.

The sun was already low in the sky and light was fading but I still had one spot to visit.
A submerged tree stump was my last hope for catching something decent.
I could see from the strike indicator that fish where present and inspecting the nymph.
First I hooked a decent dace that came off, then a small one.
Next I finally hooked something sizable and could see that it was a trout.
Unfortunately the hook came out and I cursed myself for losing the fish.
The only thing to do was to continue fishing and hoping the spot would yield some more
fish.  It did as a while later I caught another good dace.

The icing on the cake was the last fish of the day.
When I hooked the fish I knew I was in for a battle and when I saw color I knew it was
a trout.  The trout tried to take me under the submerged tree stump and surround branches
but I could counter every escape and finally held a fine trout in my hand.
Couldn’t have hoped for a better end of the day that started so mediocre.

As I had a mission at the hatchery I was bright on early on the road.
The weather was in total contrast of yesterday’s downpour, clear blue skies.
Since I was early I found some time to fish the stream and noticed that the
rain had swollen the stream by a couple centimeters and that the water was
off-color.
For some reason I could not get any takes until at last a roach ended the misery.

With some spare time left I checked out the pool just as the weir was raised.
My nymph glided effortlessly along the pool until the indicator suddenly disappeared.
I was into a good fish and yes, finally a good trout.
Maybe it was the fish I lost yesterday but I think not as this fish looked smaller.
Happy nonetheless I went to the hatchery and met up with one of the regulars
for some work.
Clouds soon appeared and the wind picked up.

In the afternoon I went to the pub for a meal and did a little fishing afterwards.
My German flyfishing-buddies had their day out today and by pure coincidence
I ran into them. Before I knew it I was back at the beer garden chatting with them
while disposing some wheat beers.
They had done pretty well and from what I did hear large trout where being caught.
Called it a day in the afternoon, great to be out and about today.

Mayflies everywhere but no fish on them.
Tried the usual haunts and managed a few roach.

Tried the mill pool and got a nice dace on the nymph.
Still could not get my head around the fact that I never catch any perch in the mill pool which
should be the ideal spot for them.
So again I tossed a lure in the pool and behold I got a solid bite … I think it was a decent trout
but as happens often to me it threw the hook …. bummer.

The rain started in earnest and it was pouring constantly.
Off to the woods to look for fish but boy it was totally dead … I wonder what is wrong with the more
remote parts of the stream as you never see something moving there … well except the mayflies and a pair of nutria’s.

Ended the tour at the pub where I dried out and pondered what ever happened to the fish.
Tomorrow I have a little chore at the hatchery, at least I can look at some trout.