Flyfishing FWSW

I looked at this year as a lost year as all fishing trips that we planned had been cancelled due to the trying times.
An opportunity came along and so I made some last minute arrangements to start the first road trip of the year.

Conditions where kind of tough in the mountains with low water and warm and humid temperatures but we did alright.
Our tactics differed and sometimes the dry fly produced more fish but
at other times nymphing worked out better.

I fished with the ugliest fly invented aka the squirmy but it was at times
pretty effective in fast runs where the fly got deep fast.
All in all a very enjoyable trip.

I checked the river gauges and found them all to be low.
More or less what you could expect in high summer.
I was early on the water looking for fish in the chub section of the stream.

The first big fish came up to check out the hopper but decided it had to be fake. The second fish seemed upset by the hopper landing in front of it’s nose and scooted off.
The third fish looked interested but needed some convincing.
A few tugs on the hopper did the trick.

I hooked a nice chub and as chub do it ran into the weeds.
The fish was stuck under the bank lodged in the aquatic growth.
I had to get in again to grab the fish but this time the depth was ok,
resulting just in some wet pants which was tolerable in summer.

I got a few of the smaller fish on the hopper before I noticed that contrary to the weather forecast something was brewing in the sky.
Thick dark clouds gathered and my plan to outrun the rain failed.
I was soaked when I entered the pub for lunch.

I stayed quite a while at the pub and met up with one of my friends before we hit the river for a late fishing session.
The water was low, no deep holes left so all I could muster where some small roach and dace.

I had to try a second day of summer fishing for chub hunting and fished the open plain again.
Chub where about but I did not see the real big fish.
I was lucky enough to once again spot a school of larger fish before
they saw me.

I dropped the hopper in front of the school and one fish raced to
grab the hopper, solid hookup and no swimming involved this time.

What I noticed today was that the fish where concentrated at only
a few places.
The spots with close by cover where favoured by the chub.
I fished the hopper and a segde and both drew strikes.

I tried for the big chub several weeks now and finally got a decent one.
After several rejections of the fly and fleeing fish I found one happily cruising the stream without spotting me first.
The hopper was served and the chub zipped it down without a care. beergarden.

I hooked the fish solidly on the 3-weight and despite it runs I did not loose the fish.
The problem now was the bank was like 7 ft high thick with thistles and stinging nettles and the fish below somewhere lodged in the weeds.
Only option was to go for a swim so I secured wallet and phone and slid in to net the fish.
It was a warm summers day so no bother.

With the first day being rather good for chub fishing I tried again the next day.
My goal was to improve on the fish size.
I got a shot at a big fish early on as I spotted one in the bend of the stream.
My cast landed the hopper near the fish and it moved out from under the
bank into the open water.

The chub grabbed the foam hopper with gusto, I struck and had a solid hookup.
Somehow the line must have been tangled as the tippet broke when the
fish rushed back to its lie.

I only managed a few small chub on the hopper for the rest of the day.
I noticed chub at other hot spots but those where not interested in my offerings.
In the end it seemed wise to hit the pub as it was hot and sticky.

On the plus side I spotted my first local red kite, a predatory bird I only knew from southern climes.
I also spotted an almost black roe deer, another first for me.
With the hot summer months in progress top water chub fishery will be the main focus for the coming time.

The mayflies where gone so it was time to switch to another fishery.
I decided it was about time to chase chub with big foam hoppers.
I was surprised at the higher level of water in the stream.
Normally at this time of year the stones of the fish ladders are visible.

The banks where finally mowed but spotting the fish in the higher water was difficult, could not find the big fish.
I ended up blind casting upstream dropping the hopper with a splash on the water.

Fishing for chub in summertime was not an early morning outing.
Consequently I ended up late for lunch at the pub avoiding the crowds
and getting prompt service.

I skipped the visit to the chub section last time due to the weather.
Now the skies where an even gray so I figured I might try again.
I spotted some big ones from an old railroad bridge.
I opted to move for a spot with easier access where I noticed
a whole army of smaller chub.
It looked like easy pickings but boy the fish where tough.

At other spots I ran into trouble reaching the waters edge or spotting fish.
The banks had not been mowed and the grass stood four to five feet tall.
Walking along the banks in the sticky heat proved to be a pain.
The big fish where there though.
I spotted three of them lying in the bend of the stream.

I struggled as my short rod was not exactly suited to contend with the high grass on the back cast.
When I finally had a good shot at the chub a gust of wind threw the fly off course and the chubs scattered.

In the mean time the sun appeared through the cloud cover and it got even hotter and muggier than before.
Something big was brewing in the sky and when the wind suddenly got stronger and a storm formed I had to make big tracks.

The goal was to reach the pub before the skies opened, alas it was 12 miles away.
I was on my bike – the new electric assisted one so I notched the power setting up and tried to get as fast as possible to my destination.

It was a close call when I entered the dirt road near the pub.
I noticed a car with Dutch plates and heard my friends stumbling in the forest next to the river.
They had also noticed that somebody had turned out the lights.
As we entered the pub the heavenly sluice gates opened.

I had to leave the sanctuary of the pub eventually.
I reached the outskirts of the city after 2 hours of headwind and continuous rain.
Then my battery died … that last mile was tough.

A hot and sticky weekend was predicted with local thunderstorms.
I went outside at 0500 hrs and looked at a cloudy sky which looked like
rain was imminent.
The clouds moved west, I headed east so I was good.
I planned was to visit the chub section of the stream and try for the big ones. The clouds however changed my plan, I did not trust the weather.
No fun in walking in the open landscape when all hell would break loose.

I crossed the upper section of the stream and noticed rising fish.
I stopped, got in the waders and tried to catch fish in ultra shallow water.
A sedge pattern yielded only a tiny dace, the perdigon did better.
I managed to get a mixed bag of roach, dace and trout.

When  I spotted the big brown from last week again I just could not resist to toss another big mayfly under the tree, same result.
After the pub lunch I continued to fish for a trout that I missed last time.
I scared off the fish at first but lost track of where it went.
I figured it might have hidden under some submerged brushes.
The mayfly landed near the bank and as it drifted close to the brushes
the trout came out and nailed the fly.

With the unstable weather I watched the radar from time to time.
When I saw a big red spot moving in my direction I called it quits.
It stayed dry with these thunderclouds it is better to be safe than sorry.