Last week one of my fellow flyfishingclub members called me if I was interested in a short fishing trip.
May basic response to such question was always with the counter question “do cows eat grass?”
So that issue was solved, the next issue was where to go.
Basically we would have to choose between a four hours drive to the Bode River in former Eastern Germany or the Diemel River in the federal state of Hessen.
The weather predictions where extremely bad during our departure, flooding and lots of rain where predicted.
The Diemel River would probably turn into brown soup while the Bode would run higher but keep clear water, so the Bode it was.

Since the Bode was a four hours drive from our neck of the woods we would opt for a nights stay in a hotel so we could fish the next day early.
It was peak tourist season so getting lodging on short notice was difficult but in the end we found a place to stay.
After work we packed our gear and headed to the east.
Late in the evening we arrived at our hotel, luckily the cook was still on the premises so we could get a hot meal.
The next day we would first go the local trout hatchery to get our license and fish for a while before getting breakfast at the hotel.

I knew some pretty good spots near the hatchery with almost a catch guarantee, since my companion Harry had never been to this river I thought it would be the best location to go.
We parked the car on the mountain road and got into our gear,
Worrying sounds came up from the mountain; there was a logging operation going on and the sound of falling timber made us wonder if it was safe to leave the car there.
We proceeded to the river and as I saw the water I noticed it was almost two feet higher than usual.
The weather was rainy and misty and it looked almost like I had arrived in the middle of fall.
There where no rising insects or signs of feeding fish so I knew fishing would be very tough.

This river we fished in was tricky to wade due to large slippery stones.
I warned Harry that he should watch out where to set his feet.
It was all in vain though when I heard a loud splash, Harry went swimming but fortunately he stayed sound and safe.
On the piece of water I had chosen it was normal to catch 5 or more fish in a short time but now nothing happened, even deep-fished nymphs where left untouched.
For me skunk was avoided when a tiny brown trout decided to nail the Czech nymph I was fishing.

After an hour fished the results where one fish caught, one lost and Harry still fishless.
We had to return to the Hotel in order to not miss out on the breakfast.
After a short break at the hotel we went out again, this time on what I called the senior citizen stretch.

The senior citizen stretch was a wide slow flowing stretch in a valley with a road on one side and a row of hotels on the other side.
I nicknamed it also a zoo since you where watched by the tourists from almost all sides, the plus was that the place usually held cooperative fish.
It was normal to see rising fish on this place and even during this high water stage I noticed a few fish rising.
To get a fish to bite was a different story, I received no hits on the nymph.

I had directed Harry to the better bank and he was actually starting to catch fish.
He lost a nice one who decided to make a dash into the weeds.
I continued to fish under the watchful eyes of the tourist and eventually I got a nice Bode trout on the nymph.

We fished the place thoroughly but the results where pretty poor.
Since it was almost noon we decided to grab something to eat before we would continue.
After a good meal we where ready to fish the rest of the day.
The question was only where to go.
The senior citizen stretch might improve when the weather would clear a little and insects would come off the water but we could also visit one of the faster flower stretches and see how things where there.
Since Harry had never been to this river before I opted for the faster flower stretch so he could see other parts of the river.

When we entered the river fog was falling down over the hillside and onto the river.
As I waded out I saw to my surprise rising fish and soon I hooked another little trout on the nymph.
Harry was also doing well by catching some of the bigger fish in the river.

The fish where active for a short while but suddenly all activity ceased as the fog became thicker.
I headed further downstream and ended up in a slower flowing section where a few fish where rising.
I decided I would try some dry fly fishing and tied on a tan Klinkhamer.
A few fish rose to the fly and I ended up with another tiny trout.

Late in the afternoon we decided to call it a day amidst light rain and fog.
I ended up with four fish caught and Harry with nine fish.
Fishing was quite bad considering my earlier experiences on this river but all in all I was pretty pleased to be out there again.
Catching fish and preferably big fish is nice but to be in a nice surrounding in good might be even more important.
The season on this river closed in mid September but we vowed to return before that date under better conditions.