Flyfishing FWSW

Another week with again lots of rain and wind.
On Saturday I visited one of my sure shot perch spots in the Netherlands hoping to catch a large perch.
It was very windy, chilly but dry when I arrived at the canal in the afternoon.

I wanted to test a WF4 sink-tip line and soon found out that I did not get the fly fast enough to the required depth.
I finally ended up exchanging the floating leader with a fast sinking poly leader and a weighted streamer.

The canal was ultra-clear as it was each fall / winter and I could see the fly from quite a distance moving in the water
… just the fish where missing in the picture.
With the perch it was always important to find them as they usually on the move.

Eventually I found them and could see several big striped fish following my streamer … but they always stayed
a few inches behind the fly and did not strike.
I tried for them until sunset but with the light fading and rain pouring I soon called it a day … skunked again.

Sunday was not planned as a fishing day, but I took my flyrod with me anyway.
It was time for the annual Christmas casting meeting with the German fly fishermen on the other side of the border.
A social meeting with smoked salmon and certain Scottish drinks at a pond near the river I usually fish.

As usual we had a good time and interesting fishing information was exchanged.
I left in the afternoon as I still had the intension to fish the river but when I saw the state I noticed that the water was even
higher than last week and that the stirred up silt and leaves would make fishing impossible.

Off course it was not a total waste as there still was the pub.
I was informed beforehand that the special of the day was the Goulash soup with a side order of choice
plus a salad with cream dressing.
I choose as side order Spätzle, egg noodles usually a dish in Southern Germany.

This dish was very good and thus my plate was empty quickly which prompted the landlady to give me an additional bowl of that delicious Goulash soup.
For dessert I was given the opportunity to taste a new dish with ice cream and well it was nothing short of excellent, vanilla ice cream with a sauce of peach and mango ….
Not a bad day at all.

I had to visit the pub as I ordered some stuff from the local distillery.
Since I passed the stream anyway I figured some fishing might be in order.
After a record dry summer fall and the start of winter had been wet.
This was good for the groundwater table, not for fishing.

The stream had a coffee color and pushed a lot of water.
I tried my luck and fished in the calmer water hoping for some bites.
It actually worked so I did not have to end my day fishless.

I ended the day at the pub already outfitted with Christmas decorations.

Last week the temperature drop was not exactly inviting for fishing.
For Saturday I had once again a working party at the hatchery.
On the way to the hatchery I noticed frosty fields and ice sheets on the 
puddles of the back roads.

Work at the hatchery consisted in draining the pond that housed the small brown trout.
Some members carefully moved around in the pond with nets to get the
trout while the water was pumped out.
I was hoisting the fish out and put them in a temporary holding basin.
After that it was back again to get the leaves out of the remaining ponds.

I had to stay longer at the hatchery to help out the last guy working.
Our best man was cleaning the small pond with a high pressure cleaner and he took his job very serious.
In the mean time I was drying up at the wood burning stove in our clubhouse.
When the work was finally done the sun was already low in the sky and it was getting cold.

With just an half hour of daylight left I tried to fish the river but I just could not get into fish and so I had to call it a blank.
Since the fish where not biting all I could do was to hit the pub, always a pleasure.

The morning was chilly and slightly foggy when the sun came out.
At the stream no fish action was visible and the nymph stayed untouched.
With the dace and roach not active I tied on a streamer and surprisingly got
a few hits by the perch.
Could not get the larger ones but at least I had some action.

In the afternoon the temperatures climbed to such a level that rising fish could be seen and I got into some dace on the nymph.
Sunset came swiftly and the temperature plummeted so it was of to the pub.

Next weekend will have yet another working party at the hatchery to clear
the hatching ponds for a third time.
Temperatures are predicted to plummet next Sunday will probably be spent
fishing the one or other canal for larger perch.

Another weekend, another working party at the hatchery.
First I did some sightseeing and took pictures of the last foliage on the trees.
After the frost and rains the strong wind made short work of the leaves.

A second working party was organized at the club’s pond where they planted trees. A sandtrap was being constructed for the ditch that will eventually feed water into the pond.

The last couple of daylight hours where spend at the river where I had one bite from a trout, then it was off to the pub for dinner.

There was a working party at the clubs hatchery and as volunteers where sought I attended the party.
With all the foliage coming down from the trees the aeretors in the hatch ponds got blocked causing the alarms to go off at the caretakes of the hatchery.
Usually in the middle of the night so I could understand the urgency of the work.

It was a cold day and by noon when the work was finished I went to the local pub first to get something to eat.
Normally food would be provided at working parties but with this ad hoc event nothing was arranged.

Off course I had to catch some fish but I only encountered a few dead trout lying on the streambed and wondered how that happened.
When the sun dissappeared at the horizon I feared for the dreaded skunk but just before dark at least some small dace decided to take the nymph.

With the winter setting in fish have dissappeared from their summer haunts so best to find some deeper water or sheltered spots to have some chance at succses.

As the days get shorter and the temperatures go downhill it would made more sense to fish the waters at my side of the border for pike instead of continuing to fish the river on the German side.
Still I really enjoy the pub visits after my fishing exploits and as the foliage is coloring and falling fast this is the time to visit the rural countryside.

The water is getting very clear now and fish seem to disappear to their overwintering haunts wherever that may be.
Last Sunday was a beautiful clear day but with a very chilly start.
As the temperatures hovered near freezing in the morning I went out quite late.

Many of the spots that usually held fish in the summer where empty but I did see some surface activity even with the low temperatures.
The fish I encountered where  small roach and dace, at least something was biting.
Even a small brown trout nailed one of my newly tied nymphs.

Did some more field testing with a nymph I found in the trees that used to belong to one of my compatriots and it proved to be a steady producer of fish.
Size 16 barbless shrimp hook, red metallic tungsten bead, body of fluorescent green tying thread ribbed with orange fluorescent tying thread.
A combination I would not even have thought up in my dreams but it does work.