Germany Archives - Page 4 of 49

This Saturday I choose for the lazy option to travel the first leg to my fishing spots.
I opted for the first train to Germany.
The train however was late and when I settled in the train driver walked by and notified
me that where not leaving any time. The reason … a dead body on the tracks.

So rather than waiting for service to commence which usually takes several hours I opted
to bike the distance. Since early fishing was now off the cards my first port of call would be
the mill pool at stream nr 2 as it was the closest and probably void of anglers.

Luckily the mill pool was empty and at first I dragged a streamer with a trace through the
shallow water in case any pike had remained after the mill weir was pulled permanently.
No response from the pike so next step tying on a small black streamer with an orange tungsten bead.
That yielded a tiny perch and off course nibbles from small gudgeons.

I then tried the squirmy and got a good hit right at my feet from something big.
Turned out the be a carp and frankly that carp showed me all the corners of the mill pool.
With the light tippet I could not exert any pressure on the fish other than the bend in the rod
and the line dragging in the current.
In the end the barbless hook came out, otherwise I think I could have landed it.

I fished downstream from the mill pool in the now very shallow water and caught some
dace and roach in the remaining deeper pools at bends and under tree roots.
I noticed that by now a lot of sediment that had filled the mill pool after the weir pulling had moved downstream into the river.

I tried the mill pool once more with the squirmy and got one roach and actually missed the
take of a trout, quite unexpected.
Next I headed to stream nr. 2 where I caught some roach and had a go a rising dace with the sedge.
Caught one nice dace on the sedge but could not find more rising fish despite numerous
big Danica mayflies on the water.

The rest of the stream was pretty quiet, no action until I arrived at one spot where a small brook enters the river. By now the stream was shallow as hell so spotting fish in the open was rare.
At the inflow rising fish got my attention, one rising fish was quite aggressive so I thought it must have been a trout.

I entered the stream somewhat ungraciously due to the steep banks but luckily far enough downstream not to cause fish to flee.
The sedge did not work so I tried a small mop fly that was not too heavily weighted.
That did the trick and I could hook a spunky small brown trout.
Called it a day after that trout and went to one of the local restaurants for dinner.

Germany 10-05-2024

10 May 2024 admin

The combination of a mandatory day off from work and bright sunshine and warm water called
for the first mission of the year to the chub spots.
Now it was way to early as the chub probably would not yet be in their summer haunts or surface feeding but it tried anyway.

What gave me hope was the fact that numerous mayflies where hatching, such a big morsel would surely be tempting for any chub.
I checked out one of my summer haunts and found it completely void with life, no fish at all.
My break came at a bridge where several fish where moving about.

In the surface tiny bleak where feeding, on the bottom I spotted chub and dace.
A dace was the first fish that I caught, on a small mop fly.
I spotted chub following the mop fly but only hooked a small one.
Next I tried the squirmy and again I hooked a chub this time a little larger.

Obviously it was not yet the season for surface feeding fish.
The last stop was a wide shallow spot at a weir and on a positive note I spotted a large chub.
But… there was also a pike and it messed up the scene as it was in attack mode.
Then I spotted an even larger pike moving in the shallows.

So next I tried for the pike but the trace on the leader was so heavy that I only caught weeds.
The only hope to get something larger was to fish the deeper pools of the fish ladder.
Weapon of choice was a small black streamer with an orange tungsten bead.
I dropped the streamer in the fast flowing water and retrieved it slowly.

Suddenly I got a hit and it was something big.
At first I thought it was a big perch but when the fish came to the surface I noticed that it was
a nice size chub.
After releasing the chub I tried the same spot again and to my surprise I hooked another big fish.
Turned out an even larger chub had taken the streamer.

My day was made, mission chub was a success.

Germany 04-05-2024

5 May 2024 admin

The quest for the trout continued last Saturday.
At first I tried one of my regular spots just to see if any fish where present.
The water level had dropped considerably since last week.
Although it was early morning insects where about and I even spotted
many insects on the water.

I fished with nymphs first but got no hits, subsequently I fished a sedge
to coax any of the dace to take the fly.
When I spotted a mayfly I tried one of those hoping the odd trout would
be keyed in on them and rise, it did not work.

I visited some other marks but did not spot any fish activity.
Since one of my friends often has success with streamers I tried that type of fishing.
I tied on a small black streamer and retrieved it past some submerged tree roots.
To my surprise I got a hit and could land my first brown trout of the season.

I continued fishing the streamer and soon had another brown trout be it a small one.
The small black streamer did the trick.
I spotted one large trout tracking the streamer but it would not commit.
There was more trout action at other spots but only small fish.
In the end I lost two brown trout, landed three of them.

There was a lot of debris on the water, flowers from the blooming chestnuts.
I noticed some big dace rising and tried a few casts with a sedge pattern but
they would not have it.
At an inflow of a small brook I noticed an aggressively rising fish.
Hoping it would be a trout I tried the dry fly again but no take.
When I fished the squirmy it only yielded a roach and a gudgeon.

My last fishing spot of the day was the upper reaches of the stream where I had
spotted a large trout last week.
With the water level so low all the fish had moved elsewhere and I could only
access one spot that I deemed deep enough to hold fish.
After several drifts with a squirmy I got a big roach, alas no trout anymore.

It was a pretty good to be out and about.
The weather started out fine but in the afternoon some shower passed.
After the showers cleared the weather improved again.
Late afternoon I called it day and went to the local pub for dinner.

Germany 27-04-2024

28 April 2024 admin

Gave the stream a try again last Saturday.
The previous week was quite cold and off course rain was often on the menu.
In the weekend the temperatures would be on the rise so good for fishing.
Once at the water I was unpleasantly surprised at the height and color of the
stream, higher than expected – visibility lower than expected.

My goal was to finally get a trout, after all it was almost May.
To find trout I fished some of the spots I normally do not frequent and tossed
a black streamer through the murky water.
That only resulted in lost streamers as I could not spot any brushes and deadfalls
in the murky water.

There was no response from fish, nothing to be seen on the surface.
I tried many spots, tossed nymphs and dryflies to no avail, almost no bites.
This day started smelling like skunk.
Last option was to hit the upper section of the stream where it was formed
by the junction of two small brooks.

I could not believe my eyes when I actually spotted a very decent trout in this
very tiny stream. My choice of fly for this skinny water was wrong though.
The squirmy made the trout bolt.. should have used the dry fly.
I tried to locate the hiding spot of the trout but did not manage to find it.

I continued fishing the squirmy and actually caught quite a few nice shiners.
Pleasantly surprised about the size of the fish and the aggressive takes.
This upper part was really shallow but any depression or root work held one or
the other fish. It was a good thing I opted for a short short 6.5ft trout bum.

I even crept up into one of the feeders.
A struggle to get even at the water with all the shrubs, brambles and so on.
Alas, only some nibbles there.

Roach

Germany 13-04-2024

14 April 2024 admin

Last Saturday was another unusual hot spring day thus perfect for another fishing session.
I opted for inner village fishing hoping to encounter numbers of good roach and maybe the odd stocked trout. With the relative dry weather lately the stream level was more or less back to normal with the exception that clarity was not that great.

The first pool had a good flow and I was expecting many fish to be caught but I only managed
one small gudgeon on the squirmy.
I tried several spots with both squirmy and nimf but no reaction at all from the fish.
To be honest I did not see much life except for some carp moving along the banks in a slow moving
section above a weir.

I finally ended at the edge of the village and spotted for the first time this season rising fish.
A school of small dace had settled in the current in the foam line picking at debris floating by.
I switched to a small dry fly and caught one of the small dace, first dry fly action of this year.

I was hoping the forest would bring some more nymph action but nothing was moving.
There where quite a few insects on the water and I had expected more action.
The best I could do was one small roach on the nymph.
I was also hoping for stocked trout but I saw no signs of them.

The last section of the stream I visited was the so-called guest stretch where outsiders could
fish with a day-ticket. Figuring the club should at least stock some fish there I scouted for trout.
Again I could see no signs of any larger fish.
On my search I noticed some large dace feeding very actively in a difficult location.
After a few missed takes and tangles in the trees I finally hooked a good fish.
Of course with the racket of that first catch the school was gone.

Just before I called it a day I noticed another school of dace feeding in the foam line.
Big fish again and although I had already packed in and rigged up again and made a few casts.
The strong wind made it difficult to place the fly at the right spot and I missed one or two good takes.
The disturbance I made scared the fish eventually away and they did not return so I called it quits.

So dry fly fishing this day was the best method.
The foliage is exploding on the scene, insects are on the increase.
Hopefully the weather stays civil over the next weeks.

Germany 06-04-2024

7 April 2024 admin

The weather prospects for Saturday where very good.
26 degrees C and sunshine should have counted for lots of activity.
However as on many occasions this season the day before it had rained… heavily.
So once again a blown out stream to deal with.

Looking at the nearest measuring station on the stream I was in doubt to even
go seeing the high level, in the end I went anyway.
As predicted the waters where high and discolored and whatever I tried I just
could not get any hits.

In these high water situations I usually would stick to spots that held fish
most of the times but that did not work out.
I moved up further afield and after a long time I finally hooked a fish be
it for a short while as it came off.

The salvation for the day came when a gudgeon nailed the squirmy and
actually stayed on. Fishing the squirmy normally means that you get a lot
of tail bites where the fish hang on until the last moment.

One fish was good as it saved me from a blank but still it was somewhat
dissatisfying as I had expected more action on this warm day.
After lunch I tried a second stream, this particular stream had a mill pool
which always had fish in it … or had.

Due to a mechanical failure the weir gate of the mill had been removed.
That resulted in an almost dam break situation where tons of sand where
deposited in the already shallow mill pool.
Now the water rushed in a straight flow down the opening of the mill
making fishing very difficult due to the odd current conditions.

I tried the end of the pool and surprisingly got many hits from small fish.
Caught a lot of the small stuff and they all looked very battered so it
could be that those fish came from above the weir when the gates where pulled.
Had hoped to run into some larger stuff but it was not be.

Germany 31-03-2024

1 April 2024 admin

It is still early spring so basically fishing is still very slow.
With the weather being very nice I went out yesterday to check on
one of my favorite chub spots to see if anything was going on.
The water was reasonable clear, still a tad high.
No chubs to be seen though, the only activity I could spot was of
tiny bleak in the surface feeding.

I tried a stagnant arm of the stream that could hold fish at times.
There was plenty of activity but the takes where very subtle.
Again only tiny bleak roaming around.
I noticed one of the walkers on the nearby footpath taking pictures
with his at one of the deadfalls in the stagnant.
I checked the spot out and noticed a turtle sunning on the tree, first
one I have ever seen around here … dumped pet.

In order to catch anything I went to one of the good spots with good
meaning sometimes. The water again a tad high with reduced visibility.
I launched a Perdigon nymph and caught a small dace on it.
Normally you could spot fish at that spot but not this time, it was slow.

I had expected more activity as the small mayflies where on the water
and the yellow wagtails where stalking them.
I checked out a large section of the stream to see if any fish where
moving about but it was totally void of life.
Guess we have to wait a while before things get better.

Germany 25-02-2024

16 March 2024 admin

Out and about for another try to catch the first fish of the season.
All that rain still made life extremely difficult, the water now a bit lower than previous weeks
but still too high for decent fishing.

I went to a spot I had not fished in ages, in the middle of a village.
In the first sections the current was so strong and visibility so low that it was highly
questionable that the fly would even reach a proper depth.
It was just all too wild, I moved on to a spot where the current seam looked just
right to make a decent drift with a squirmy.

A jumping fish at the second spot of the day raised hopes, at least some activity.
After trying some different depths I got bites and in short order I landed several
roach and a dace. Action was short and sweet, it died down pretty quickly.

The last spot in the forest did not yield any more bites.
Just too much water and current in my view for a good drift to be able to
get a proper presentation.
Called it a day early and headed for the pub as further fishing made no sense
in these conditions.

Germany 28-01-2024

28 January 2024 admin

The end of the season last year has not been particular good for fishing flowing water.
Endless rain made the streams I use to frequent unfishable due to high flows and muddy
water. The start of the new year did not really bring better conditions.
At the beginning of the week things looked like they would improve with a steady drop
of the waterlevels.

Alas on Thursday and Friday the heavenly sluice gates opened again and it did not take
long for levels to jump up to unfishable status.
I tried to catch my first fish of the early season on Saturday but after crossing stream nr.1 it
was obvious to me that it a miracle was needed to make it happen.

I could barely get into the water due to the high flow and the visibility was beyond poor.
Fly of choice was a squirmy usually good for roach or dace in high water situation but
not on this day.
I tried another stream but the results where the same, not a single hit.
The season is early but the appearance of the first snowdrops indicates spring will
arrive sooner or later.

The day ended in defeat, at least dinner in the pub was good as usual.
Just keep hooping that the temperatures do not bottom out and that the streams
will reach their regular levels one of these days.

Germany 27-08-2023

8 September 2023 admin

I Skipped the Saturday for fishing due to a rising stream caused by rains of the previous day.
On Sunday the water had dropped considerably, the clarity was good.

I was just fishing for half an hour when the skies darkened.
It poured cats and dogs but I stayed dry as I hid under a bridge.

After the downpour I fished the shallow section of the stream with small sedge patterns for the dace.
That part of the stream had in general a sand bottom, the slightly deeper spots could be found
at deadfalls and near the banks.

At one spot I noticed a rather loud splash which was untypical for dace meaning it could be a trout.
I made a cast to the spot and hooked the trout for a short moment on a sedge pattern.

I was pretty sure that was it for the trout but just to be sure I waited a while and

tossed a small caddis nymph at the same spot.

That worked… hooked and landed the trout, unfortunately the trout wanted to remain
incognito so it slithered to freedom when I unhooked it.

At another spot a trout went for the dace I had hooked on the sedge.
Not sure what the plan was of that trout since it was not that big.
Off course I tried to nail it but it was not to be seen again.

I continued catching dace until I spotted another trout in extremely shallow water.
The sedge was ignored as was the small nymph.
When I tied on something larger the trout was spooked and ran under the bank … game over.

Late in the afternoon I once again noticed dark skies approaching so I choose to visit
the nearest pub … my old haunt.

My friends fishing nearby so I texted them that bad weather was approaching and that

I sought refuge, they joined me as heavy rains started.

We talked shop and exchanged some information for a road trip next week.
After some drinks they went home, I stayed on for dinner.
As appetizer the Feta cheese with honey and salad, main course pasta with
mushrooms and garlic.

It was a nice fall day… weatherwise of course as it supposedly is still summer.