Flyfishing FWSW

As long as this warm weather persists I might as well enjoy it … 84 F and the fish where biting …

After the misery of the Denmark trip I had to get redemption so I headed to the local stream and encountered
loads of small trout and a few larger ones.
Got one of the larger fish on a squirmy worm dare I say.
I spotted some dace surface feeding but mist almost every strike, at least one fish stayed put.
It was nice to be out in the sun and the warmth.

With the mornings still cold I figured it might be wise to start the fishing session late.
At one of my favorite spots I just could not catch anything and I began to think I had lost my fishing mojo.
The only hit was from a small brown trout that threw the hook with lightning speed.

A visit to the mill pool did not yield much as only a small gudgeon went for the nymph.
I spotted some pretty big dace further upstream and they were actively surface feeding.
The first fish on the dry fly this season was my goal but I only got the small fish.
It was overcast and as the wind picked up the surface feeding ended.

A haul with the streamer through one of the weir pools yielded not the perch I had
hoped for, no hits.

At another spot I finally caught some dace but again very small size.
I hooked into a solid brown trout but the fish went absolutely ballistic and threw the
barbless hook out with ease.
Now that I knew fish where present some fine tuning of the nymph setup yielded larger
fish and best of all a very strong and nice colored rainbow trout.
The fact that the brown trout got away made me think, as it went so aggressively for
the nymph it might be willing to take a streamer also.
After a wait I got back to the pool where the brown trout and one cast with the streamer
was enough to solidly hook the brown.

After dinner at the pub I figured there was still some daylight left and with all these trout
around (stocked I guess) I wanted to try one last spot.
It was getting late as the bats where on the wing (first time I have seen them this season).
Nymphs did do nothing but the streamer once again revealed a very aggressive brown trout.

The fish missed at the first attempt but the second was a solid hookup.
A very nice day and good to get some larger fish for a change.

Yesterday a call came from the syndicate that the mill pool boasted an unsightly log
that the inhabitants wanted to have removed.
As I was near the premises I agreed to take a look and if possible get rid of the log.
This morning I went to the mill pool armed with waders as my plan was to float the
log out of the pool and send it on its way to the sea.
I had volunteered quickly for the job as I had a double agenda.
Somebody had done some tree trimming at one of my good fishing holes and had
dumped the branches into the water = could not fish there anymore.
To float the big log downstream those debris had to go so I removed them first
and noticed that indeed one of the larger trout lived at that spot.
The big log was heavy but once it was in the water only the shallow rocky spots
required some pulling and hosting.
The log was send off, I could go fishing.
It was another warm day and for the first time in the season I noticed some blue winged olives
buzzing around.
The fish where not surface feeding so the small size 16 nymph once again came into action
and brought up a mix of small dace and some small trout.
I could not find any good fish so I guess I have to visit some haunts far upstream and see if
any fish are left there.

Somehow I spotted more cormorants today than fish and that was not very
encouraging.
A small nymph size 16 did the trick in the feeder stream and brought up some small dace and chub.
Insect activity had increased quite a bit but did not lead to rising fish.
The main river pushed too much water for me to fish it properly but it yielded
one dace while nymphing without the indicator.
Hopefully with the longer days the temperatures will rise and maybe the landscape will
turn green soon.
Plenty of roe deer about and I spotted hares in spring modus.
Notably absent where the white herons but instead I came across a pair of Nile geese.

A cold start of the day, when the fog lifted it was barely 1 degrees C.
I fished the lower end of the river but found only clear water.
At one spot I noticed a school of Bream (Abramis brama) so despite the
cold there was life in the water afteral.

Just like winter had a hold on spring the flu had a hold on me.
Both issues where withholding me from going out fishing.
Yesterday there the first time in weeks I went out and about again as
the temperatures rose to a balmy 51°F / 11°C.

Spring is usually a time for tree trimming and boy at one of my hotspots
they cleared away everything … no cover left for the fish and consequently
no fish about anymore.
In general spring waters are barren anyway, once the algae bloom starts
things will pick up but now the water is clear, cold and more or less lifeless.

At one of the sheltered spots where I always catch fish I struggled.
A few weeks earlier at almost freezing  temperatures I spotted moving
fish with even active carp but now the place seemed dead.
Tried very hard with single and multiple nymphs and in the end got a small
dace as rewards for my efforts.

I inspected several spots at the stream, the clear water did not reveal any
feeding or moving fish.
The last major storm had downed a lot of trees in the water and although
they are welcome as cover for fish it also meant many spots where
unfishable for the moment.
Another hotspot had now two trees in it so again no fishing.

Just one fish for a days work was not enough so I could not go for my usual
pub break before getting another fish.
My favorite method for catching fish in the stream was nymphing but that
obviously did not work on this day.
The last resort was using a streamer and I had selected one stretch of the
stream that had a longer deep pool lined with tree roots.

As wading was officially outlawed on this stretch I tried to position myself
at the opposite bank for a good drift but my boots where just a tad too short
to make it and so I had to return to the bank with more or less wet feet.
The water was cold … very cold.
My solution to the problem was to find a spot between the trees at the pool
I wanted to fish.
I fed out the line and let the current take the streamer to the end of the pool.
Once the fly had swung to the end of the pool I retrieved the streamer up current
and just as I expected a trout grabbed it … I earned my pub time.

After the lunch break I tried several other spots but no life whatsoever to
be seen. Guess it is still very early season and the weather needs to significantly
warm up before things start happening.
At least the first flowers start popping up and some insects are about, can get
only better from now on.

It was cold at night so my fishing trip started at midday when the temperatures
where finally above freezing.
Still it was not warm as snow and ice patches still persisted on the fields.
I had no high hopes of catching anything but when I saw the water I thought
clarity and level might be good enough for a fish or two.