Flyfishing FWSW

With the slightly higher temps I thought it might be a plan to check out the
chub section last Saturday.
Got lost more or less en route and came at the stream well above the chub section.
Spotted a couple of dace surface feeding and tried to get them on the dry but failed.

Action was very sporadic so I left to spots downstream to check on the chub.
In hindsight a month or two to early as all the regular spot where empty.
One spot I passed had some fish below a bridge with I deemed to be dace.
The rest of the hot spots totally empty and with still lacking aquatic plants meant
no hiding spots for any fish.

Skunk was imminent so on the way to the pub I stopped at the bridge to see if the
fish were still there.
Spotted the fish and tossed a small nymph in the current.
Got a take from one of the fish and it turned out to be the target species chub.
Small one but nonetheless the first of the season.

For the Sunday the weather forecast talked about heavy rains and thunderstorms.
Checked out the rain radar in the morning and chanced it.
Choose the forest stretched and fished with dries for Dace and caught a few.
Had two attacks on a strike indicator from a trout but could not get it too eat
any flies.

At one of the deeper pools I hooked a small trout but lost it.
Spotted a larger trout but whatever fly I tried it did not want to eat.

Tried it a last time before pub time and behold the squirmy finally convinced
the fish to strike, about 14″ brown which was pretty good.

Met up with friends at the pub who fished the guest stretch of our stream.
Again a day with East wind so fishing very slow, spotted enough insects
but somehow fish declined most offering this day.
At least the E-NE wind kept the heavy rainclouds well to the W-SW of my
locations so it stayed dry for most of the day.

Germany 29-04-2023

30 April 2023 admin

For a change I tried some spots in the village hoping to do well with the silver fish.
Hopes where high but reality kicked soon in as I could not spot any fish and did not get any bites.
Many spots seemed shallower and I could not spot any fish.
Normally you would expect schools of dace and roach moving about this time of year.

In the end I found some tiny dace feeding in the surface and did some target practice with a dry fly.
This resulted in a tiny dace but it was the first fish caught on sight with a dry fly this season.
Could not find any larger dace roaming the stream though.
That whole village plan did not work at all so to save the day I went back to the spot where I had
previously caught the trout.

The location switch paid of as I landed two trout, missed two and landed a few dace.
Fly of choice was again the perdigon nymph with the squirmy being totally useless.
Ran into a buddy of mine but he blanked at the stretch he was fishing.

Overall the action was very slow despite seeing numerous BWO’s on the water and
some dace going for them.
Spring so far has been pretty cold in regards to previous years so I expect it
will take a while before the bite gets be

Germany 27-04-2023

28 April 2023 admin

Yesterday we had Kings day here in the Netherlands so a day off from work.
A perfect day to go fishing at the neighbors.
With the clear skies the night before temperatures had plummeted to below freezing.
Went late to start my fishing session with some warmth.

A tad windy and not many bugs around but numbers where increasing.
Fished the good spots first with the perdigon nymph to no avail so quickly
changed to the squirmy.

That fly change helped and I got a small roach to show for.
Fish where present but not that eager to bite.
Had the luck to catch two brown trout from the pools where I knew they would hang out.
One of the browns went a few times ballistic, must have thought it was a rainbow.

Stayed not that long at stream nr.1 because I was eager to catch one
of those tiger trout that apparently had been stocked in the mill pool of stream nr.2
First though it was chow time… I was hungry.

Second session only brought a roach, a rudd and a small perch.
When I fished the streamer I had a hit from a pike but the leader was severed.
There where a few bait guys around but I did not see them haul in any trout either.
Left the mill pool late as the clouds rolled in from a rain front.

Germany 16-04-2023

17 April 2023 admin

Since the mill pool visits where pretty fruitless I skipped the purchase of a day ticket.
Instead I focused on the main stream.
Curiously I had no hits on the squirmy and the Perdigon nymph was apparently also not in great demand.
I sticked to the Perdigon and fished it deep.
That paid off as I battled my first brown of the day.

The silver fish let me down with only two dace.
I figured the pool I fished might hold more trout and boy it did.
After catching trout nr.2 from the pool action went dead.

Next I concentrated on fishing the spot under a bridge.
My strike indicator was hit by a trout and on a second cast I hooked the fish.
I lost the close quarters battle though as I had too much slack in the line, fish lost.
I kept trying though and within an hour I had caught three trout from under the bridge. My day was made and with the knowledge that it would be unlikely to get more fish from these marks I moved on.
The remainder of the day I tried several marks of the beaten path but they where totally dead. I could not even get a bite, weird.

Next stop the pub and the landlady told me that people had been stocking fish a day before.
That sounded mighty interesting and just as I was zipping on a cold I noticed an
Fisherman moving to the mill pond.
A familiar face as it was the guy in charge of stocking for this stream.

Went outside and chatted with the guy whom I knew well.
Supposedly the mill pool was stocked with several brown- and tiger trout.
Finished my meal early and fished the mill pool.
Water still higher than normal and wading extremely difficult because of all the rubble
used to stabilize the banks from way back when.

Tried nymphs and squirmy’s to no avail and for a while it seemed as dead as the other
stream I had finished.
The day was ending but suddenly I noticed rings at the end of the pool.
With nymphs being ignored I went for a sinking polyleader with a streamer and
hooked several perch in succession, no trout though.
Vacated the place near sunset as the action died down.

Germany 10-04-2023

12 April 2023 admin

Had another go at the stream and started a little earlier because a rain front was
predicted to roll in early evening.
Tried to sure shot spots but could not get any fish to bite, water was clear but could not spot fish.
The squirminator was useless, a perdigon nymph yielded a small dace.

With the mill pool void of people I gambled on purchasing a day ticket
hoping I would have the pool for myself.
Unfortunately it was not to be … as soon as I had purchased the ticket
two other syndicate members turned up with the same intentions.

The bait guys fished one side of the pond, both with two rods.
I had the other half but nothing was biting, even the bait slingers had no hits.
We blamed it on the east wind, always bad fishing when that happens.
I got bored and fished the outflow of the mill pool.
Managed a nice little brown trout on the perdigon.

In the mill pool itself I tossed streamers about and finally hooked one trout
but lost the fish.
Several hours later I hooked a larger trout but ran into trouble as the resident
pike intended to eat my catch.
Tried to land the fish quickly before the pike attacked but again lost the fish
prematurely … trout gone and pike gone.

The skies got darker in the afternoon so I called it a day.
Skipped the pub as I wanted to be home before the mess started.
Reached home as the first sprinkles fell.
Still early season on the stream so not much happening.
Hope it gets warmer and some foliage appears on the trees.

Germany 08-04-2023

12 April 2023 admin

With the rain finally gone it was time to check the stream yesterday.
The water was still a bit high but clear.
It was so clear that I could see a trout shoot away in the pool I was fishing.
First though I hooked a couple of dace on the squirmy, my to go fly early season
and in turbid conditions.

For some reason I could not get that trout to eat the squirmy.
I dragged a streamer through the pool and the trout came and chased the fly
but would not commit.
At another pool I saw another trout but the same story.

I took a small break and send a status report to one of my buddies who
also intended to fish the stream this day.
He asked if I had fished the mill pool which was temporary opened for
members of the syndicate if they purchased a day ticket.
I replied no since this occasion generally caused the influx of the meat fisherman
crowding the place … not my idea of fun.

I had not even looked at the pool but checked it out just in case.

My first observation … no signs of fish, the second … no people.
Since it was noon I figured the chance of any meat fisherman shelling
out 10 bucks for a couple hours of fishing was minimal.
Besides it was cold, not comfy sitting outside watching bobbers.

So I made the decision to get a ticket, my buddy soon arrived
and as I was wading he entered the premises.
Something big was swimming at my feet but I could not make out
it was a huge rainbow trout or a pike.

Anyways we fished the pool and boy it was dead, not much going on.
My buddy had been there a few days before and said lots of trout where in the shallows … not today.
I switched to a streamer and finally hooked my first fish, a tiger trout.
Then after an hour a small pike nicked my fly.

At the end of the day I managed a small brown on the squirmy.
My buddy … no bites at all.
I spotted one blue dun on the water but that was the only insect action of the day.
Blind casting seemed useless so we called it a day.

I made a stop at the pub on the way back home.
Apparently it had been busy a few hours before my arrival but now it was quiet.
Went for the mushroom soup as starter with as main dish the porkchops with mushrooms.
Finishing it all off with coffee and a piece of gooseberry cake.

Germany 26-03-2023

12 April 2023 admin

After a week of continuous rain a fishing session to the stream would be futile … I went anyway.
I had tasked myself to catch at least one fish.
En route to my best spot I crossed another stream and noticed it was pretty discolored and high.

The stream I wanted to fish was completely blown out.
I could get into the water but the current was really pushing.
Visibility was zero but I figured if I could find a calmer spot something might go.
The first thing I got was cold feet, I waded too deep and the current pushed the water into the waders.

I had a bite or two but could not get any fish.
After fishing another pool upstream to no avail I tried fishing from the bank.
Close to some tree roots I had a few hits and finally caught a small roach.

Maybe the stream at the pub would provide some other fish but alas blown out also.

Germany 19-03-2023

12 April 2023 admin

The weather has not been exactly inviting the last few weeks for fishing
with either low temperatures or deluges.
A quick look at the river gauge and predicted high temps coaxed me out today.
There was a pretty flow in the stream and some coloration in the water.

In this high flow situation the fly of choice was once again a pink squirmy.
I caught dozens of dace in short order but was surprised that I could not
get a trout.
A day earlier the local club had stocked trout in the mill pool and although
off limits I expected some of those fish to go on a walkabout in the main stream.

There where some bugs in the air and for the first time this year I spotted
a dace rising for something in the surface.
I tried some other pools along the stream but could to no avail.
Some spots where unreachable with my hip waders … to deep.

The lack of trout bothered me so I tried the first pool again this
time armed with a heavier squirmy.
The added weight did the trick and I caught a nice brown.

Called it a day earlier as the water was still to high in my book to fish effectively.
Ended the day at the pub which was pretty empty when I arrived.
That all changed when the sun came out for a while and suddenly the crowds
of daytrippers arrived.

Germany 05-03-2023

12 April 2023 admin

Pondered if I would fish today or not as temps. would not exceed 42F.

Usually the start of spring is a time when not much is going on anyway.
Eventually decided to try anyway so I checked out the mill pool in one of
the German streams.

I was hoping for Perch and tossed a small streamer through the clear water.
Lost about three streamers in snags on the bottom until I finally caught one.

Next I tried the stream for shiners with the squirmy and got only one hit.
Tried the mill pool again but the cold finally got to me or to be more precise my feet.

With the pub next door the choice what to do was easy … early break.
Had the soup of the day with the porkchops and as finishing touch the apple cake.
On the way back home spotted lots of deer, did not run into the wolf that was
seen last Friday at the outskirts of the city where I live.

Germany 12-02-2023

12 April 2023 admin

After a successful first session of the year on Jan. 8^th. I hoped for another good
session a week later but alas conditions where against me.
Heavy rains had turned the stream in to a chocolate colored mess and my
best was not good enough to produce any fish.

With more bad weather and a case of the flu it was only last weekend that I
finally could get out and about again.
I went straight for one of my honey holes where the squirmy yielded some
small dace and roach.

The rainbows from the first session of the year had obviously moved on although
Managed a small brown trout that was hitting my indicator all the time.
I had a short tussle with a larger brown trout but the fish was not properly hooked.

In search for the rainbow I tried some pools downstream and got one bite from
one fish that was located under some tree roots.
I fought the fish for a while but the hook came out so no joy.
Only the small shiners seemed to cooperate.

There had been some talk from one of the syndicate members that he had seen
a lot of large fish upstream.
Not a reliable source but I opted to check it out anyway.
Before leaving I tried to catch that trout that I had missed earlier.

The first hit was from a dace which missed the squirmy but I noticed that the
brown trout had also come out of hiding.
The squirmy drifted near the brown trout and it just could not resist to hit
the fly, this time I managed to land the fish.
The upstream section did not yield the fabled big fish.
Not surprising since the source was known to be all talk…

Along the way I ran into my buddies and talked some shop with them.
It was late in the afternoon and I was ready for the pub.
My friends still wanted to fish a little so I pointed them to the rainbows.
At the end of the day I met up with them a the pub and on of them
had indeed caught a rainbow trout.