Flyfishing FWSW

There was a deluge yesterday in the area of my syndicate, trash bins where floating through the
streets …
A stationary front dumped such an amount of water in a short time that the drainage system could
not cope, cellars got flooded … emergency services and the fire brigade worked overtime.

So fishing the stream was maybe not the smartest thing to do today but as the syndicate had the
annual ladies fishing event I made the pilgrimage anyway.
As expected the stream was dirty and high but judging by the deposited dirt on the banks it had dropped considerably.

I fished one of my sure shot spots without even getting a single bite which caused me to worry extremely,  blanking … no that could not be.
The second spot yielded bites and the day saver came in the form of a mighty gudgeon.
Fishing the pool thoroughly even brought a nice little brown to the surface.

With fish being caught my day was saved and off course that had to be celebrated in the pub with
lunch of some cold beers.
After lunch I met up with the syndicate members at the mill and was ready to watch the ladies going
fishing.
I had the luck to be assigned to catch fish for the lady of the house that hosted our syndicate on their grounds and
so I was tasked to get three trout out of the mill pool.

It was a difficult task with that stained water but when the roach started taking the nymph I
suspected that the trout would do the same eventually.
It turned out they did and with some luck I got the required trout in the allotted time.
All the ladies caught their fair share of fish and the new angling queen was celebrated with
coffee, cake and Champaign.
A very pleasant fall day … perfect weather for the venue.

With the chub being so responsive lately I once again fished my chub hotspot.
The first thing I noticed was the ridiculously low water levels at my favorite chub hole.
Hole being maybe the wrong word as the depth was not a mere 10cm … in the middle of the stream.
Even the landing of the fly + leader on the water scared the chub and made them scatter into all
directions.

After landing a few fish the action was more or less over as the fish became wary.
The big ones where once again on station but usually located in the thick cover of the aquatic plants.
With the low water level and the fact that the plants where protruding the surface casting to them
was impossible.
If I would ever hook a big fish down there I would probably have to wade in as the fish would
immediately dive into the plants.

A few casts in the fast water of the removed weir yielded a tiny trout and a nice roach.
I spend quite some time tossing flies to the chub in the rapids but they would not have it.

I spend some time on a few more remote locations but in the almost stagnant water
the only fish I could manage where small chub and dace.
The riffles in the outback did have some big fish in them, chub and most likely barbel
or slim carp but impossible to approach.

It occurred to me that the layout of the stream really worked against me.
A small shallow stream, heavily overgrown banks on a 45 degree angle.
You just could not sneak up to the fish and make a proper cast while not scaring the fish away.

I returned to the spot I started late in the day and as the water was so low I decided to
wade in with my wellies and make long casts to fish far far away.
That yielded some more chub but none of the monster size ones.
So hoping for more water in the stream, might get a big one before the season ends.

As I left the stream the day before around Bat time … aka dusk I had some difficulties in getting up in the morning.
Instead of going fishing as it was already afternoon I headed straight for the pub for lunch.
My host warned me not to fall asleep and that sure was a risk after consuming a good meal with some cold ones.
It seemed I was at risk of becoming a pub regular as I got a drink from the local distillery on the house.

The next action was to actually go fishing and just like the day before I had set my mind to catch a trout.
Strong wind and regular rain showers where a hindrance but a break in the clouds enabled the sun to light
up a section of the stream.
The sunlight revealed a stationary trout at the front of a pool and I did my best to get a fly near that fish without
hooking one of the many trees around me.
The trout came around two times for a look but I guess it looked to fishy for the fish.
I persevered and fished the general area where I had spotted the fish, it worked.

As it was summertime it meant that the already shallow stream was severely lacking deeper pools so
it was hard to find any spots holding fish.
At one of the slightly deeper holes I got a good take and thought at first I had hooked a trout as the fish
immediately dove into a submerged brush.
I could coax the fish out of the debris and was surprised to find a roach at the end of the line.
As it was Sunday there where to many people out and about at this fishing location so I called it a day
early.

My plan for the day was to go after the chub in one of the feeder streams of the main river
but when you cross that river it would be a shame not to fish it first.
The iffy weather … lots of wind and rain … kind of made it unpleasant to be outside and
the fish with the exception of a few small roach and chub where not really motivated to bite.

The weather slightly improved later on when I was at the feeder stream, a chub hot spot.
Fishing the dry fly would be the best way to get to the chub but the stiff breeze over the
water made me fish the nymph instead.
As the water was shallow I fished the nymph barely under the surface with an indicator
and chub after chub fell for it.
No monsters as the big ones usually preferred the deeper water and where impossible to
sneak up to due to the high banks.

The bite was good but eventually tapered off as the fish had become wary of all the commotion
every time a fish was landed.
I tried fishing the rocks at the removed weir but no joy, this called for a change in the scenery.
Being late in the day a visit to the pub for lunch was in order.

As I was now near the main river the next goal would be to catch a trout.
With the sun low in the sky I visited a likely trout hiding place and actually landed a nice
little brown trout.
At further down the line I had two more trout but lost both fish.
The first one threw the hook shortly after the hookup while number two went skywards and
managed to throw the hook that way.
I ended the day with a small dace and perch.

As the sun had already set and the bats where flying around me I was not able to see
the indicator anymore and thought it would be a wise move to call it a day.
It was nice as the chub cooperated and that wished for trout came true.

On this day I was fishing one of the feeder streams in my local area.
Technically this particular stream was just a little smaller than the main river and
had as a bonus the presence of loads of chub.
First though it was the main river and a spot behind a small hydroelectric plant
yielded some small fish for me, a very shallow section.

The particular hotspot at the feeder-stream for me was a wide and flat section in front of
a replaced weir. The weir itself was replaced by a series of cascades fitted
with rocks to overcome the height difference.
The wide and shallow section in front of the weir had a tiled bottom covered
by a little sand … you could spot the fish easily … they could also see you very well.

This was a spot for the dry fly and with some luck I caught a few nice fish on the
sedge. Off course I spotted the big ones as well further upstream amongst the
extensive jungle of aquatic plants. With the steep banks and the plants
breaking the surface it was a. impossible to sneak up on the big fish and to b.
make a viable drift of the fly.

I did have a go at the fish in the cascades but all I got where small dace and
some tiny brown trout.

High summer and low water, it continued to be a struggle.
Very picky fish today but the usual assortment came to surface again after a lot of effort.

I was almost about to toss dry flies at some pretty decent dace in the surface untill the dace suddenly where gone.
The culprit … a civilian tossing bread at the other side of the bridge I was fishing … those dace were conditioned to duck feeders ….

The trout where imitating gudgeon bites but at least I got one to close off the day.

That 72 hour rotating weather front over central Germany resulted in massive flooding and
since we were heading to the epicenter of the misery for a short fishing trip to the Harz
mountains there where some doubts whether to go or not.
From the hotel a message was relayed that it would be better to postpone the visit but
as I had witnessed a prior hell and high water situation when the fishing turned out to
be good I pushed to go anyway.
On the drive to the mountains it was pretty obvious that every little stream was bursting
and that the rivers coming off to the lowland where coffee colored.

In contrast to my expectations the tail water of the reservoir was not clear as I had hoped.
The reservoirs in the area had been filled up to capacity to prevent extensive damage
of the already flooding rivers lower down.
Before buying a fishing license we decided to give the river a look when it entered the
reservoir.
Again my expectations where wrong as I had thought that the inflow would
be a total mess.
The water was high and stained but there was some sight and thus hope that you
could catch fish.
We decided to have a go at it and got the fishing permit from a local trout hatchery.
The lady at the counter asked if we had seen the river and we stated yes, I think
she thought we were mad 🙂

So we spend three days up in the mountains and just as I had thought the competition
stayed at home … did not see an angler other than us for days.
Wading was often not possible and spots to fish where limited due to the fast current
but fishing was pretty good.
The tail water stayed dirty as the reservoir dumped a lot of water after the rains had stopped.
The upper section into the reservoir got cleaner by the day and the water level significantly
dropped making access to more fishing spots possible.

Two days after the rain front passed the stream was back again to its low summer state.
I had hoped the water would have been cleared up more but there was still a lot of
sediment floating in the water making the stream look murky.
A first cast left me with a (for this stream) decent size roach and I hoped more would
follow. Alas only in my dreams as oddly I could not generate any more bites.
It was strange that I could not spot any fish … the water looked pretty dead.

I tried fishing the mill but to my surprise the recently opened bypass had no flow and
the mill weir was lowered again.
Also on this spot no life to be seen, the sections above the mill lacked water plus fish.
With some light rain falling I headed for the pub for lunch in the afternoon.

Plan B came into action namely fishing the part of the stream in the forest and there
fish where present in numbers.
I was not good in the getting the trout as of the six I connected with only two where landed.
By now the skies had darkened completely and I received an involuntary shower.
The fish however did not seem to mind and I still got bites from roach, dace, trout and
even some stray rudd.

A rainfront passed Wednesday and it poured cats and dogs all day.
I still went fishing and a tad too early as a lot of sediment was washed out so
visibility was almost zero in the stream.
I expect however that in a day or two I will be able to see the dumped goldfish
again in the water.

Conditions where tough and the bites came not easy but still the usual suspects
like dace, roach and the odd brown trout came to the surface.

The mill-bypass project in the village has finally been completed … well at least the
fish can move up the stream now without facing hurdles … first time since
hundreds of years I guess.

Now that the mill weir is fully raised as required for the functioning of the bypass the
formely drained parts above the mill their water back.
Hopefully the fishing will improve by this measure.

Avoided death by electrical storm and fished the extremely low stream.
Skinny water and skinny fish but still managed some decent trout, a few roach, dace and a couple of gudgeons.
The largest trout got away by skillfully running into the debris … untill next time 🙂