Flyfishing FWSW

Blanked … again.
Floodstage on the river, no show at the reservoir.
The only thing left to do was to flush my sorrow away with beers at the pub.

So off I went for another go at catching fish in February.
It was a stormy day, strong wind gusts and some rain.
On my way to the water I came across a white cat in the field and thought
it would be a good omen.

First stop was the reservoir where I figured I would soon hook into some sort of perch or maybe a pike … not so.
The water was clear, no life to be seen except for some cormorants, gulls and crows.
I wondered what the crows where doing on the shoreline, I checked it out and found a two dead fish on the shore.
A good day for the crows, I had no bites or following fish.
The wind had picked up considerably during the morning which made casting difficult.
The streamer was more often found in the shrubs lining the water or my clothes than at the fish level … next stop river.

With all the rains the river was once again high and dirty … 
On my sure shot spot nothing was moving despite trying several depths and weighted nymphs. 
In fact almost all spots I normally fished where unfishable due to strong current and stained water.
The last spot finally delivered some fish to my surprise.
A few small dace and a small brown trout took the nymph at the end of the day.
Finished the day at the pub for a meal and

The snowdrops start to bloom, usually the white flowers are the first in spring but I already noticed a yellow flower springing up.
Fish activity was minimal but after all it is still winter.

Fourth session on the water, third blank …
No signs of fish … no bites at all. On the plus side they opened the pub for me even though it was closed so I ended the day well. Afterwards I went to the syndicate to renew my licenses.
Next time I will fish the reservoir hoping that the perch might have a go at the flies I toss.

With the rain and snow melt I should have known that todays fishing outing would be a mission impossible but then when you want to catch fish you have to go to the water.
The bike ride in the morning was a tad challenging as the head wind even at 05:45 in the morning was pretty strong.

When I past the first major stream and heard the roar of the water I knew what I was in for.
The last leg of my ride was at daybreak and although I spotted numerous deer I was upwind from them and the odor of my socks sent them running.

At the stream visibility was very poor, the current very strong.
I tried all the known hotspots but not a single bite, still I did spot one fish.
The only other fisherman was a two legged feathered one, first time I came so close to a silver heron and subsequently the pics came out quite nice.
I had hoped the short break in the weather temperature wise would yield some dace and roach but
there was just too much current and stirred up silt (at least for my taste).

My wellies where once again too short for these water levels and the cold water reached all the
way to the toes.
After a couple of hours it was pretty clear to me that I could spent my time better at the pub and dry out at the fire.
Weather forecast for the next few weeks is dismal so I guess time is better spent tying flies.

Second time out on the river and now with some lower water as it had not been raining for a few days.
The reason it had not been raining was the fact that cold weather had arrived.
Winds had shifted to the east as high pressure over Russia dictated the weather.
I opted for a late and short trip this day due to the cold and hoped to fish a while when the temperature would climb just above freezing in the afternoon.
The river looked fine, some clarity in the water.

The conditions and small time window meant I would fish the best spot first and indeed it yielded my first fish of the season, a small brown trout.
At the other spots I visited I could get no strikes and also did not spot any fish moving about.
With the sun low in the sky and nothing showing I opted for the pub visit.
On the menu today Broccoli soup, porkchops with egg, bacon, baked onions and potatoes, dessert coffee with a Tiramisu cake.

When I left the pub the temperature had already dropped to 19,4 F … I think fishing will be slow in the coming weeks / months.
On the plus side I spotted the first snowdrop blooming, always a sign of hope.

The first fishing session of the year took place under ghastly conditions.
Basically it rained all day and the river was in flooding stage.
All the spots I visited yielded no bites and after a while it came up in me
that continuing fishing would be senseless.
All I could do at the end of the day was to visit the pub and dry out in front of the fire, first trip – first blank

As the fishing session at the stock pond resulted in a complete blank I had to go out for a final time in order to close the fishing year off with fish.
The warmer weather had finally prevailed and so I was on my way to Germany.

Since my MD told that I was too heavy or as I put it I am to short for my weight I tried the bike route again,
roughly 19 miles single way over hardened farm roads and through small villages.
I had planned a new route and the small smuggling path in the swamp between the Dutch / German border
was located in the pitch black of morning.
My shortcut up ahead though was a dirt road so I had to change the route at the last minute but
made it in two hours flat to the water.

Surprisingly the river was very clear and also very low which is not really helpful in catching fish as hiding places become scarce.
The plus side was that I could wade to the adjacent bank to have a better shot at the few deeper pools.
At one pool I finally got some bites and managed to catch a roach … skunk avoided.

The usual spots failed me so I headed into the woods where all pools seemed fishless.
No life at all was visible with the exception of some midges dancing around the water.
I had expected more action as conditions seemed pretty good.
In one pool I had some nibbles on the nymph and lost one fish, small stuff though.
The final pool I fished was downstream where dace where usually present.
I could spot the fish in the clear water but they seemed lethargic.
A deep drifted nymph yielded two fish and that was it.

Off course it became dark early and so the proper thing to do was to go to the pub.
I had hoped I would finally get that precious onion soup as starter but it was still not available.
Off course I protested (again ) and had to settle for the tomato soup.
As starter I had the tomatoes and mozzarella.
The main course was an oven dish, a potato with a creamy souce … I was tempted to order fries on the side
but refrained because of my eh.. unbalanced weight to length ratio.
The dessert was a peach cake with coffee and off course plenty of cream.

All that food meant that I would have to skip my train ride home and bike all the way back again, so I did.
While I was dining the weather had changed and light rain was now falling.
It was pitch black outside again which made navigating through the forest paths and farm roads interesting.
On the last leg near the border the navigation on the phone stalled and I missed an important turn hence

I had to double back a distance.
In the end I found the border crossing through the swamp and made if home safe.
So that was fishing 2018 for me which leaves me only to wish everyone the best for 2019
and hope that everybody is present here again next year.

Due to circumstances today I had to adapt and overcome which resulted in a 15 mile bike
ride through the continuous rain to get to my fishing spot.
My hopes where for better weather as it had rained all day on Saturday but once again the forecast was out of sync with reality.

It took quite some time before I was on location and by then off course I was completely soaked.
With all the rain the river was high and murky but enough clarity to catch fish in my book.
At one of my honey holes I fished the current seam between slow and fast moving water and
at least got some dace on the nymph.
Now that I was stationary at the stream the cold got to me, the 7 degrees C / 45F and the rain
made it pretty unpleasant to be outside.

I lacked the motivation to scout out some other spots in this weather so it was off to the pub.
Luckily the table in front of the fireplace was not occupied so I settled in to dry out.
Today it was the Tomato soup as starter with the Paris Salad with feta cheese and tomatoes as main course.
And since it was Germany I could not leave without the obligatory cake (Raspberry) and coffee.

With the heavy rains from yesterday during the day and the night I figured the stream might
be finally carrying some water and maybe more than I hoped for.
Early in the morning a strong wind was blowing and some rain came down.
The weather service mentioned a break in the afternoon so I headed out late.

En route to the stream I came across one of the feeders and for the first time since months
I could actually hear the water flowing over the rocks, it was a nice sound.
The plan was to fish the same stretch as last week but this time with a lighter setup.
This time I was armed with an Orvis clearwater 6’ #2 fitted with a small Hardy reel.

At the first stop I noticed that the water was indeed high and a lot of silt was stirred up.
The current was fast and somehow I felt that the nymph was just moving to fast.
A heavy nymph only resulted in lost flies as I hooked the debris on the stream floor
instead of any fish.

Mark nr. 2 was different, even though the flow was fast the eddy with slack water was
still in place and that was the spot where I tried to catch fish.
It soon became obvious that the fish where present as I got numerous hits.
The fish where small but at least there was action and I got several roach and a dace.
The pattern that produced the fish was a size 16 pheasant tail nymph fitted with a black
tungsten bead, the dubbing was pink spectra flash.

The next two spots yielded no fish and it became clear that the downside of all that water
from the sky was the fact that many spots where now to deep to get to with only boots on.
Just as predicted the rain came back again in the afternoon and although it was early I
preferred a seating in the pub over the cold wind and rain outside.

At the pub to my disbelief the new menu was in place.
Now I was about to go for the soup of the day but my beloved Onion soup was not available
so I though  I would go for the tomato soup.
Due to miscommunication however I did not get the soup but tomatoes and mozzarella … oh well …
For a pub in the middle of nowhere the menu was extensive and I had difficulty in choosing the
next dish.
In the end it became the Parmesano burger, Mozzerella- Parmiganio-Bacon-Beef-Rucola-Mustardsauce.
To finish this meal off a desert was in place and the special of the day went down pretty well as it was Mascarpone
or better put Mascarpone Alceholico…

On the warmest December 2nd ever measured I dogded the rain and strong wind at the stream. For a change I fished a different section of the river where the roach allthough small where quite active.At one spot the two dead trees leaning against each other on both banks made an eerie sound as
if they would collapse any minute so I quickly relocated.
If one of those trees would gave way fatal injury would be immenent. I was expecting some dace to be around but only found roach and the odd brown trout.Still a good day and good to see that the river has slightly elevated waterlevels.

At the pub I protested about the fact that the new menu was still not put into practice
and told staff that the folks at Surftalk eagerly awaited some new dishes.
I had hoped to start my dinner today with an onion soup but it was not to be and the
soup of the day was not to my liking.
As a sort of compromise I got the smoky burger today with baked potatoes as side order.
It was pretty good but there was something missing so I ordered a baked feta cheese
salad as well.
To top it all off I choose the plum cake … with cream … and a large coffee, all good.