Flyfishing FWSW

I had to clear out my head today so I went fishing.
It was a beautiful spring day that started very chilly but by now the sun had the power to warm the air.
It was windy though and in the open field it did not feel that warm.
The amount of water surprised me as I had figured it would be back to a normal low level … it was not.

One of my hot spots was already occupied by a fellow fisherman who had caught a yellow perch and a trout.
I tried nymphs but was under the impression that they did not get deep enough to coax any bites
so tied on an extra nymph for added weight and got a roach to show for it.

I noticed a big splash in the fast running water and out of instinct
I looked up the bank to see if any clown had thrown  a rock or so in the water.
There were no clowns around and as in general people where rather civilized in the village I was puzzled.
I was pretty sure now it was a trout and more than one would be present as the season opener was recent = stocking time.
I decided to tie on the most gaudy pattern in my arsenal, the squirmy worm.
That worm was interesting enough for the trout to have a closer inspection and so I hooked two trout in rather short succession.

Before I headed upstream of the mill weir I checked the mill pool but nothing was happening there except losing
several flies at the same underwater debris as on previous visits.
The good thing was that I finally found some free roaming fish which is a sign that the season progresses
and fish are on the move again.
I spotted two large fish which I could not identify positively.

At first I thought it where slimy bream but they were to slender which would only
leave the asp as species.
The problem with that however is that those fish are only present very far
downstream from where I fish and a hydro-electrical power plant downstream is for sure unpassable.
The big fish were out of roach but at least a dace went for the nymph I tossed in.

The upstream section above the weir looked dead.
The water was low and flowing fast as the construction crews still had not finished
bypass over the mill weir … by now three months late.
Further upstream it went and another spot produced several dace for me on the nymph.
I passed my former favorite pub, the staff was clearing it out as they had not gotten a new lease.
The intel I picked up was that the owner in the end did now want to turn the pub into a residence but had found a new party to run it.
This time it would be an a la carte restaurant … probably too fancy for a fisherman like me but maybe they will
still serve beers to the common folk.

I stopped fishing and decided to check if anyone would be around our clubs hatchery
to get the latest news … nobody was around so I settled for a bench far up the hill
and just enjoyed the spring sunshine and the clean air.

While crossing the first local river it dawned on me that my outlook of the current high water situation was rosy to say the least.
The water in my stream was even dirtier and faster flowing than last week.

With the absence of any bites I feared the dreaded blank but luckily a brown trout decided to show up.
Quite a pull on my 4-weight with the thin tippet but in the end safely netted.

No roach and dace to be seen except for a small one which I managed to catch close to the bank.
Lovely day to be outside but fishing conditions where rather dismall.

The last week it had poured cats and dogs and the stream was in flooding stage.
It all tapered off quickly towards the weekend so I choose Sunday to go to the stream hoping
I would see the lowest water level of the week.

Unfortunately Saturday night it rained … a lot … again.
I went fishing the next day anyway and found a colored stream pushing way to much water for comfort.
I tried to catch fish anyway and tied on two nymphs just to gain some depth.
I figured the eddies of the deeper pools might be the only place to catch a fish and it
turned out to be exactly like I had figured.

I had a very good day with several dace and roach and as a bonus a brown trout although the latter was
prohibited from taking the nymph as it was still closed season for trout.

Glad I did decide to go fishing as it panned out pretty well considering the circumstances.

I had a meeting at one of German fishing syndicates Saturday evening and picked up license nr.1 for this year.

The following day I collected license nr.2 from my other German syndicate and actually did a little fishing.
The weather was awfull, chilly and rain so hopes where not that great.

Shiners where not to be found so after a while I switched from nymphs to a streamer and probed the stream.
I got a good tug at the pool way in front of the fish passage which was off limits untill the trout season opened on March 16th.

Turned out to be a pike … my gill grip was a bit rusty so blood was spilled … mine 🙂

Thankfully the bitter cold weather has gone now.
The remaining patches of snow where slowly melting as the temperatures climbed
to a more comfortable range.
The upturn in temperatures made me decide to try and get the first fish of the
season although it would be very tough to catch anything so early in the season.

The spots that normally teemed with fish where empty but the sight of two carp
scurrying in the shallow streambed showed that at least some fish where active.
As I could not spot any fish in the relative clear water I figured I had to fish the
deep pools near the streambed to have some chance of succses.

After trial and error the combination of two nymphs fished deep resulted in several
dace and roach with as icing on the cake an off-season brown trout.

I guess I boldly stated that I had made the last trip to Germany’s Sauerland region
the last time but well it was not.
One of my friends was asking me if it was too late in the season to go there again
and I could only reply that it was not.
Trout season had indeed closed down but some streams that had grayling in them
had an extended season as the grayling season was closed in March and April.
So off we went for a couple of days in the mountains where the foliage was
blowing of the trees in a rather quick pace.
Less pressure of other anglers now and fish still responding well to the dry fly as
sedges were often about in numbers.
I could say that this was the last trip as winter was coming and the area visited was
known as a place for winter sports but well, you never knew 🙂

As troutseason overhere ended on Oct, 20th I made one last outing to the mill pool
in the hope of catching that big brown trout that had gotten off some weeks ago.

It was an unusual warm and somewhat windy day and fish where rising quite
early in the day … I did however not spot any trout.
Fished the dry for most of the day and tried to coax the predators out with a
streamer but it seemed nobody was in the mood for that.
Plenty of insects about and I thought the fishing would really take off in the
afternoon but strangely it died down.
I was puzzled as I noticed many fish moving about over the shallow sandbar and
none would take interest in either dry or nymphs.

I still caught a few fish but action was slow and so I left before sunset when the
temperatures went down the drain.
The last light lit up the newly ploughed fields … I guess we will not see that kind
of water again this year 🙂

Took the day off to have another shot at the mill pool before it was closed as trout season ended here
on Oct. 20th.
The day started chilly, bright and very windy and for some moments I thought a little extra layer of
clothing might have been in order.
The stocked rainbow trout where nowhere to be seen and so I concentrated on catching the shiners
that now ventured freely in the mill pool again without the risk of being chased by hordes of trout.
As the elderly couple had requested a few trout for the table I went to look for them and found
out that fishing the nymph was not the ticket to catch them.
Tossing a streamer under the mills weir showed me the rainbows where still about and in the
end I managed to catch two of them.
I guess there were more but most of them where already cleared out of the water by fellow anglers
in the previous weeks.
I continued nymphing and got into the shiners again when suddenly I hooked something larger.
Again I was into a large brown trout with the 2-weight and as I did not wanted to make the same mistake
as last time I carried a net and took the time to fight the fish.

The wind was blowing pretty hard and clouds rolled in making the fishing a chilly affair.
I was invited in by the inhabitants of the mill and got the bad news that the adjecent pub would be closing
down as the lease was not extended – bummer.
I had noticed that the service at the establishment had been going downhill in recent month and now I
knew why.
At the end of the fishing session I wanted to head to the pub for dinner but even though they had to open
an hour earlier nobody was present so I went home.

Too bad that the couple who ran the place where slacking and I think that their attitude was a major
reason that people would not come anymore, guess I have to search for a new place in the future.

As the opportunity was raised for a last trout trip before the season closed on the 20th. this month
I decided to grab the chance for a last session in the mountains.
The last visit to the HSK area was enjoyable and with fall in full swing I thought it most convenient to
visit the place for the fourth time with one my fishing buddies.

Alas the rains still had not materialized and now it was the fourth month in a row with no meaningful precipitation = low and clear water.
The weather forecast … I guess it was universal … only good for a few days.
The promised golden October with warm temperatures was a complete miss and so we ended up
with fog and low temperatures.

Fishing was not always easy especially if you had to share the water with inconsiderate anglers
whom entered the water just in front of you sending the fish scattering in all directions.
A-holes where unfortunately an universal occurrence also.

But enough whining, despite the challenges it all panned out pretty well and as this was the fourth visit I knew
that the dry fly and longer casts were the tool to get to the fish.
Insect wise the caddis were the ticket and I was glad that I finally hooked some of the big grayling
that where so lethargic during my previous visits to the same water.

I guess this was the last trout trip but the grayling season was open all year so not sure if I might
get up there again. If the weather is not extremely cold I might be tempted…

And again at the mill pool but this time with competition from the meat fisherman.
Word got out that trout had been stocked and before you knew it the folks you never
see at the river came out of the woodwork.
I was unable to make a decent drift with the nymph because of the guys, girls and kids
tossing very crude tackle almost at my feet.
Perseverance paid off though and when the circus was over and the people left I started
catching fish again.
The day started breezy and clear but it the rain was pretty thick at the end of the day
and I guess fall has really started now as it was chilly.
Still got the last trouting trip of the season coming up next week and the predicted weather
has been changing by the week … now the temps are halve as what they predicted last
week so I guess some insulating clothing might be in order 🙂