Flyfishing FWSW

Last friday I went fishing for the first time this year.
Due to hard water aka ice we could not harass the local pike
so we had to go elsewhere to fish.

Now over the border in Germany almost all rivers are closed due to the spawning season of trout.
Only rivers that have sufficient Grayling stocks are open and those rivers are far far away.

One of the trout rivers we frequented had however started a stocking program for Grayling.
This year was the first time the rivers season was extended to February for a Grayling only fishery.

So my friends and I gambled on the Grayling and early morning we stood at the river in freezing temperatures.
The weather was nice and sunny but in the morning we where quite busy with de-icing the rods.

We did not catch a fish all day – we scared the hell out of some fish but nothing was interested at our deep fished nymphs.
The signs of life I saw was one fish and a couply of bloody cormorants.
It sure is different to fish in wintertime, allthough I was tempted to drag a streamer through the dephts I stayed with nymph fishing untill sunset.
So no fish caught but it was good to hear the sound of flowing water again.
Hopefully we will break this cold weather pattern this month for a rematch with the Grayling.
Below some pics of the river.

We visited our regular river far downstream from our usual haunts.
With the exchange license of a fellow club we ended up in the 
federal state of Lower Saxony where our little stream had
become a slow moving river.


Wide and slow moving

It was a sunny summers day so our intended quarry would be the chubs that where most likely feeding on the surface.
The spots we visited had some fish milling around in the surface but most where tiny fish.
After some discussions about what to do we decided to skip the chubs and go after the predators.
We ended up at a stretch where we did good business with pike and yellow perch last winter.

It was not really the season to go after these fish species but we had confidence that some would be around.
The black zonker did not entice any fish so I switched over to a polar minnow that mimicked a small yellow perch.
The polar minnow did the trick with the first pike, tiny but a fish is a fish.


Pike

I continued fishing upstream untill I felt something hitting the fly.
The fish missed the streamer so I concentrated my cast on the area I had the last contact.
Finally I had a solid hookup and the species I was after came to the surface, a yellow perch.


Yellow perch.

Now I knew that there where much larger specimens around so I was hoping I had hit a school of fish and would catch a couple more fish.
Nothing happened though so further upstream I went.
After a while I had another fish on, the tiniest pike I have ever caught.


Tiniest pike.

The last contact of the day was of a bigger fish.
Without a wire trace the bigger pike just had to jump to make short
work of my leader.
The wire leaders will be standard issue the next time I fish that part of our stream.

Yesterday I went on a short trip to the Harz Mountains with fellow flyfisher Harry.
Since it was a long drive from our home we left a day earlier and stayed in a hotel near the river for the night.
Before breakfast we slipped out the hotel for some early hours fishing.


In the early morning it was raining steadily.

It was raining so insect activity was almost zero and there where no rising fish to be seen.
Since we had visited this river several times in the past we knew fish where everywhere so it was just a case of convincing them to take the fly
I did not receive many hits but the fish I finally landed was of untypical size for this small river, it was quite large.



Nice brown trout

After a hour or two fishing we headed in for a good breakfast.
We made plans for the rest of the day and checked out.
A normally off limits stretch of this river upstream from the large reservoir was opened this season.
That newly opened stretch was a grayling water and since I had not caught a decent grayling all year it was the spot I wanted to visit.


On the road to our second destination.

We hit some snags while we where on the road to the second destination.
The main road to the upstream section was closed due to some road works.
Since there where no barriers placed we gambled and hit the road anyway.
When we had to pass underneath a railway bridge we found the reason of the road closure.
Workers where putting up scaffolding in the middle of the road to do work on the bridge.
Luckily we could slip by just in time before the road was blocked altogether.

We had some trouble find the spot we where supposed to park our car. 
To enter the water we had to find an abandoned soviet army base.
When we came across a pedestrian I was singled out to ask for directions.
Normally not a problem but I was not feeling that well so I replied that I was
about to feed the fishes my breakfast.

I was feeling seasick and so I ran to the bridge over the river and fed the fishes, not a pretty sight. 
After clearing my stomach I was good to go and within a couple of minutes we drove on a very bad dirt road towards the former army base.
I hit the water and within minutes I had contact with the fish species a came for, a nice grayling.


Grayling nr. 1

I had never been to this part of the river so I was excited to see all the beautiful spots along the stream. With no roads in the valley it was very quiet, the only audible sounds where coming from the birds of prey and the ravens.
One thing worried me though, large areas of the forest floor where dug up and it was not done by humans.
Tracks in the mud made it clear to me that this place was frequented by wild boar, lots of them so I treaded carefully. 



Nice spots.

I was fishing with my regular nymphing setup, Harry on the other hand was using his tactics he learned in the Czech republic.
Since I was always jokingly referred to his style of nymphing as dredging he decided to give a small demonstration.
In spots where I managed to catch one of two fish he caught at least ten.
I tried his setup for a short while and learned that I could register far more strikes than I would have with my gear, a valuable lesson was learned.
Next time I would have to organize a rig like he used.

I started fishing again with my gear and managed to catch a couple of grayling along the way.
The grayling where of reasonable size, the Brown trout I encountered where all very small.
.


More grayling.

As I walked downstream I noticed the mud deposits on the riverbank.
The river widened and slowed down so I figured that I had hit the entry of the large reservoir. 
It was still possible to wade into the beginning of the reservoir but with every step you took clouds of silt stirred up.
Fish where rising and I got one hit on a dry fly, still rises where far and between so we decided to visit the river upstream again.


At the reservoir.

In the afternoon the weather clear and now and then the sun peeked through the clouds.
We fished until the evening, during that time I managed to catch one larger grayling and a couple of tiny Brown trout.
Before we left the Mountains we visited one of the local restaurants for a good meal to jeep us going for the home journey.
As usual it was time well spent.

Last Sunday I went fishing with fellow flyfisherman Wiebe and Thomas.
We had purchased a half day ticket to fish the Möhne river above the Möhne reservoir in Germany’s Sauerland region.
When we drove into the valley of the reservoir thunderclouds in the distance where not a good omen. 
A few days before our trip some parts of the region had received twice the amount of the monthly rainfall in one day.
Although I had checked flow and water levels of the river at the website of the online measuring station
(which looked good) my first look at the river killed my hope of catching fish.
The water was high, brown and murky – obviously it hat rained pretty hard somewhere.


High and murky water

The thunderclouds moved away so it stayed dry during the day.
The downside was that it was terribly hot and humid, I almost felt like I was somewhere in SW Florida.
With all the high water the only sensible thing to do was to fish the deep canalised stretch of
the river in front of the watermill in Niederbergheim.
These conditions called for crude tactics so I tied on an extra superfast sinking polyleader and
a white conehead woolly bugger.
After a few casts this tactics yielded my first little rainbow trout to the surface, a very important
moment since getting skunked was avoided now.


Nr. 1 Rainbow trout

The woolly buggers moment of glory was short lived though because whatever I tried I would
not get a second hit on that fly.
My buddy Thomas however had tied on his secret weapon, a small weighted green nymph.
He was catching one after another rainbow, while I was helping him with the netting of the fish
I remarked that his actions cost me valuable fishingtime.
In return for my help he gave me one of his little green nymphs so I was back in action again.


Thomas in action

That little green nymph really made a difference since pretty soon I got my first takes.
By some sort of miracle I was starting to catch fish.


My largest rainbow of the day

There where plenty of fish moving around and sometimes they rose to pick up debris from the surface. 
Still the water was so murky that most fish would probably not see the fly.
Later in the evening the water level seemed to be dropping and the clarity increased slightly.
The improved conditions did however not result in more takes.


Lots of fish – Lots of trees – lost of lost flies

Nr. three in our party Wiebe had done his best to catch a fish but he just could not manage to hook up.
In the intense heat and humidity it seemed that he was slowly evaporating.
What looked like a bad day turned out to be reasonable after all although I had preferred to fish in
the main river during clear water conditions.

Day 2.

On the second day of the trip the rains cleared and 
water clarity slowly improved.
In the morning we fished near the hotel but only 
managed to catch small browns.
The weather was fine in the morning, plenty of clouds
but it stayed dry most of the time.




In the morning.

After a break in the afternoon we fished a stretch
far downstream from the hotel.
I had picked this new spot since it produced well on
my last visit.
As soon as we had changed into waders it started
raining again.

Wading to my favorite spot was difficult though since the water was so high.
I made it safely over the river and started fishing a pool with a woolly bugger.
The bugger was the fly to use, I took one after the other rainbow.
After a final brown trout the action stopped and it really started to pour down.




Rainbows and a brown.

It rained cat and dogs but still I noticed that insects where coming off the water.
When I waded upstream I saw to my suprise several rising fish.
As the rains subsided I decided to tie on a large mayfly to see if I could take one of the constant rising fish on the adjecent bank.
After a few drifts the fly was gulped down by a trout, a fat one to my surprise.



Brown on the mayfly.



The good spot.

Allthough I preferred fishing with nymphs and streamers I really enjoyed this dry fly fishing.
Fish where rising steadily and really went after the mayfly I fished.


Another nice one.

After an hour or so the rises where suddenly over.
All the rain that had fallen slowly turned the river into a brown soup again, bummer.
The only thing we could do at the end was pack our things and have a good meal and some cold one’s at the Italian restaurant in town
(one of the few places open late…).


Later in the evening.

So weatherwise not a good day but catching rather large browns on the mayfly was grand.

Yesterday some friends and I went to the Mohne river in
the Sauerland region of Germany.
The particular stretch we fished was managed by a local flyshop
and well known for its large trout.


Mohne river.

My friends dropped me off at the end of the stretch.
I fished the river upstream from an old stone bridge where I
always had good results in the past.
There was not a lot of insect activity going on so I started
with nymph fishing.
I did not got any hits until I tied on a Copper John, that was
the ticket for a nice size brook trout.


Brook trout

With a large pool in front of me I expect more hits on the nymph but it remained awfully quiet.
Maybe it was time to get the streamers out and see what would happen.
In the pool where I was nymphing the streamer was left untouched.
As I moved upstream to visit another deep pool I fished some of the shallower sections with the streamer.
To my surprise a few fish exploded on the streamer but unfortunately they did not stay connected.
At the deep pool upstream however things where different, this time the fish stayed on.


Contact!


Nice Brooktrout

To my surprise I encountered yet another Brooktrout of respectable size.
Every time I fished the streamer through the pool a Brooktrout would come and chase after it.
In short order I landed about three good size Brooktrout.



Beautiful strong fish.

This madness could not go on off course and so after catching several fish in a row the action died down.
I moved further upstream and decided to work my way downstream to the pool I had just fished.
There where a few deeper sections in front of me so I just fed line out and fished the streamer back upstream.
Before I knew it a Brooktrout jumped up from the stream and I felt a tug on the line.
But that flying fish was not the one that took the streamer, most likely two fish where chasing the same fly.


Brooktrout on white zonker streamer.

The section I was now fishing also seemed like a Brooktrout hotel since on several occasions fish where chasing the streamer.
I managed to catch one other Brooktrout before I had to return to my friends for lunch.


Last Brooktrout before lunch.

When I met my friends one had blanked while the other one had caught about five good size Rainbow- and Brown trout.
After lunch we first visited the local flyshop to stock up in gear before we returned to the river.
I decided to get back to the Brooktrout section.
In the meantime the weather had changed dramatically, it went from clouds and sunshine to rain and strong winds.
The temperature had plummeted and the few insects that where buzzing around in the morning where gone.
Although I got a few more hits on the streamer I could not get a solid hookup anymore.
We had agreed on a departure time and with only 1 hour to go I decided to visit the other guys.


Mohne river

My friends fished the dammed section of the river that was located upstream from a watermill.
This deep water stretch was known locally as the trophy stretch and my friend had done well down there.
Both had caught several good fish from that stretch on nymphs and streamers.
I too was soon into fish but I did not manage to stay in contact.
Time was running out as the assembly time arrived.
During one of my last casts I suddenly received a solid take and the fish stayed on.
I had hooked a real fat Brown trout.


A bonus Brown trout at the end of the day.

I was however in big trouble because I only had a wading net on me and it was fact that steep clay banks and felt-sole waders where a combination for disaster.
There was a small ledge where I could barely stand so with the risk of an involuntary bath in mind I slipped down the bank.
I could barely manage to net the fish and I even dared to make an awkward picture.
As I released the fish my friend came looking for, it was time to go and they thought I had gone swimming.
The problem was now that I could not get up the bank, it was no use with the wet felt soles.
I handed all gear over to my friends and made last ditch attempt to grab an overhanging tree to haul myself onto shore.
Luckily I just made it although I was covered in clay, it was worth the effort though.

Anyway I had a great day on the Mohne river and hope to visit that river on a few more occasions this season.

Loads of rain and cold weather had prevented us from visiting one of our close by German
Trout streams. 
Last Sunday the weather was finally good enough to see if life had returned to the stream.
A visit in an urban section of the stream gave us hope, the shiners had finally appeared again 
in the open water signalling the beginning of the season to us.
The shiners where present but they did not take the nymphs we offered them, the only contact
I had was a short battle with presumably a trout that hit my streamer.



It rained for a while in the morning, sheltering under a bridge.

After fishing the urban section with no success we headed upstream and ended up in the forest.
Spring flowers like Windflowers and covered the forest floor.
The stream we fished always carried loads of sand with it so many of our old honey holes
where filled in while some new ones had appeared.
With that bright sand bottom I knew that fish would most likely shelter along the edge of the 
stream and behind piles of rubble. 
A cast with a nymph along the darker coloured bank yielded the desired result, a trout took the nymph instantly.
I felt a solid hook-up but guess what, the fish came off.



Spring flowers, Cowslip and Windflower

One thing that bothered us where the many footprints along the bank of the stream.
With the knowledge that most members of the German club where meat fishermen we decided to
visit one of the locations where access to the water was difficult.
My buddy Joop soon radioed in that he was into a fish, both brown trout and rainbow trout
fell victim to the black zonker streamer.



Brown- and rainbow trout by Joop.

I fished for a while with nymphs hoping it would increase my chances to catch something
with fins. After a while I figured a deep streamer would probably be a more suitable lure to
fish early in the season.
I had fished a deep with the nymphs thoroughly but had no takes, when I dropped the 
the trusty black zonker in the depths I was instantly into a small brown trout.


First brown trout of the season.

So I went from pool to pool to search for trout, the deep fished streamer soon yielded another 
nice brown trout.
Meanwhile the rain clouds had gone and the sun appeared, the world looked completely different now.


Brown trout nr.2 of the season.

I released my second brown trout hoping for a rematch later in the season when the fish would be a bit larger. 
The last fish I encountered on this visit was a brown trout so small that it could not take the streamer,
time after time the little critter would charge at the streamer but it just was too small. I had no run-ins
with then newly stocked rainbows which where of quite a good size.
With higher temperatures predicted next weekend I might make a return visit to the river to
make the most of the current present fish before the meat fishermen clear everything out.