Flyfishing FWSW

With the drought and high temperatures around here I had to move my fishing activities
further downstream in the open countryside where the many chub seem to thrive in the hot weather.

The open country side and high banks  prevented a sneaking up on the big fish and
usually the landing of the fly caused the big fish to move and the small ones to attack.

At one pool I saw a fish that had eluded me for several sessions now.
It saw me and slowly moved to the start of the pool out of my visual range.
A few probing casts to the front yielded the desired reaction and at last I had caught
one of the better chub of the stream.

I checked out some other spots I had not fished before and behold they had many
good fish present.
Missed a few shots but also got some of the fish I targeted.
Now I only hope for rain and cooler temperatures so that we have some water left for the fish to swim in.

My friends always organized an annual meeting at the beginning of the year to plan various
road trips to go fishing.
The idea of matching schedules to eventually find common ground seemed nice but alas more
often then not when a date was due nothing tended to be organized.
So it happened that at one club meeting just prior to a planned trip my friend Wiebe and I were the
only ones present at the meeting … the rest … no word from them.
Wiebe asked me if I had heard anything from them about the planning but no … nothing was clear.

One of the destinations discussed was the Wenne river and as I knew that it was a mighty popular spot
I remarked to Wiebe that it would be prudent to take immediate action.
I contacted the local hotel and as expected the place had no vacancies left.
The options given were to go one week earlier or one day later than the planned date.

I discussed the situation with Wiebe and made a reservation for the day later under the condition
that I could get time off from work.
I received the go ahead from my manager so the road trip was a fact.
We would leave for our destination on a very hot and sunny Saturday afternoon.
The river was at the lowest level of the year but we knew that it would still be a worthwhile place to visit.
We arrived at the hotel around dinner time and after a meal we went to the river to check out the
fish.  Just was expected the fish were rising aggressively so al signs were green for the first fishing day.

On Sunday after breakfast we went both our ways and had an excellent time on the river fishing
with dry flies, nymphs and streamers.
The pools that held fish on previous visits did not disappoint.
Most fish were brown trout but I also managed a quite decent rainbow trout and as bonus sometimes a grayling.
Our hotel “Landgasthof Seemer”  was perfectly located on the river and our port of call during the midday break
when we had lunch in the beer garden (in waders).
After a short midday fishing session we would again hit the beer garden for dinner and then fish
until sunset to get the most out of the evening rise.

Monday was the last day of the trip and as the catering staff of the hotel was off duty on Mondays and Tuesdays
the only thing served to us was breakfast.
Our plan was to fish until 17:00 hours in the afternoon and then hit the local Pizzeria to end our fishing trip in style.
The weather was hot and with no clouds in the sky the river turned into a public swimming pool for the kids of the village.
Luckily we could still find some solitude and fish to make it all worthwhile.
A bonus was the steady breeze that at least kept the temperature down when you were wading in the river.
The midday session was slow as the insect activity was minimal probably because of the strong wind but at least some fish came to the net.
We assembled at the designated time and packed in our gear to head to Toni’s Pizzeria were we had a good meal before heading home.
It was a short trip but all in all a very good one and something we must sure do again this year.

There had been a change it the weather pattern on this day … it was even hotter than usual and humid.

I was again off to the chub spot but could not get much responses from the fish.
The water table had even got a little lower and fish would run for cover if the leader hit the water.
I did get a few small chub but the bigger ones were just milling around showing no signs of feeding.

The only shot I had at a good fish was when it positioned itself under my dry fly and was about to inhale
it, to bad it had second thoughts and moved away.

With the land so scorched right now insect activity was low, maybe the fish are feeding at other times.
I had to make a visit to the clubs hatchery in the afternoon and by now the heat was unbearable and
clouds massed in the sky – thunderclouds.

When I left the hatchery the sky was rumbling and sooner or later a thunderstorm would come.
I took my break at the pub as usual and waited for the rain to come … it took a while.
I was already on the water when it started to rain, it was not much but at least it flushed the dust
away.

I was lucky enough to end the day with a few small trout, the rainbow trout was the best fish.

Fishing is getting tough down here … it has not rained for ages … hot and sunny weather only.
It is the first time that I have seen one of the feeder streams run dry and I guess the fish in there were lost.

As the upper stream that I fish is low on water I have ventured downsteam and to be more exact to one
of the feeder streams that still carries some water.
The main attraction are the chub and although I have hooked a few of the biguns I have not landed one yet.

Might give it a try tomorrow and toss some blue damselflies to the chub as I have noticed that they
try to intercept them whenever they come close to the waters surface.

It took some planning but we managed to get to the Harz mountains once again.
Part of the problem was that I had to get time off from work and as I had recently
switched employers I did not want to start my first day at work with asking for free time
even though this trip had been long in the planning.

One major hurdle was the fact that our interpretation of off season did not reflect the
reality of life meaning all the hotels near the river where booked.
So we ended up in the town of Braunlage quite a distance from the water meaning every
day a 25 minute commute along a country road winding though little settlements in the
mountains.

My buddy had booked the hotel and soon saw the errors of his ways as it had no opportunity
for our usual drinks after the fishing sessions usually after 21.00 hrs in the evening.
At the first evening we went into town for some beers but at the first pub we were only
able to get one round before they kicked us of the premises because they closed early.
Luckily thanks to the power of Google I had found an Italian restaurant that stayed open
a little later so the second round was still a possibility.
The way back to the hotel was an uphill battle … literally as the road seemed to be build
at an 45 degree angle … we always joked we needed an extra beer just to account for the
sweat lost while climbing the hill.

The fishing … not as good as usual due to the very low water table but we still managed to
catch our fair share of fish and had as usual tons of fun.
Weatherwise the afternoon thunderstorms caused us to make fast tracks a few time as these
storms would appear out of nowhere when they came over the mountain top.
All in all in this trip went pretty smooth and even the hotel where the reviews stated it was left
stuck in time was pretty ok for a few guys going on a fishing trip.
Looking forward for another trip to that region although it will probably not be this year.

It was not so long after the flash flooding at my fishing spot and the water
was still very murky.
As usual the banks of the river were slippery as hell as the deposited mud had
the consistency of grease …
My descent from the bank to the waters edge  was rather uncontrolled and ungraceful.

Grey skies and drizzle dampened the mood somewhat but despite the murky
water a very decent dace decided to take the nymph … amazing.
Today was the first test of the recently purchased Bloke glass rod build and oh what
a joy it was to cast and catch fish with that rod.

I got everything from Dace over Roach (or a hybrid) to a very decent trout and
the rod handled all situations exceptionally well.
The skies got friendly at the end of the day and even the sun appeared.
My stopover at the pub was well deserved and I ended the day making a visit
up on the hill to gaze over the land below and thinking about what a great day it was.

Another hot day and as those hordes of fish in the stagnant water above the mill haunted
me I tried for them this morning again.
Unlike yesterday the fish were not stacked up on top as the day before … it took a while
before I spotted them.

The fish where not cooperative … whatever fly I used it was in vain.
Carp where spawning and making a lot of racket, they ploughed through the schools
of shiner scattering the fish in every direction.
Further upstream some dace where moving in the surface and were willing to take a
sedge.

The heat and humidity were unbareble so I headed for some sheltered spots in the
forest but even there nothing was biting.
A break at the pub seemed like a good idea.

The afternoon session was cut short after the skies darkened and an eerie wind
started to pick up.
A weather warning was issued for areas to the south predicting thunderstorms and
hail … I did not wait for that to happen and left early.

It has been hot around here for the last couple of weeks and with the absence of rain the
stream I fish is slowly reduced to a trickle.
The big mayflies are still around and allthough fish are on them I usually prefer to fish a small
sedge as these are more often accepted by the fish.

The big mayfly pattern came out when I spotted a nice brown trout.
I made a sloppy cast which resulted in a dunked mayfly … the darn thing sank … lucky for me
the brown trout did not mind and just zipped in the submerged fly.

Tomorrow will even be hotter so I will make the most of the day again hoping to encounter
some more willing fish that fancy dry flies.