Brown trout Archives - Flyfishing FWSW

Last Monday was a National holiday so I had time off from work.
Off course I went fishing but I started late as the morning was quite chilly.
We had overcast skies and quite a strong north-westerly wind blowing.

Spring had sprung and the canopy over the stream was now green.
All those blooming trees deposited lots of debris though on the water and
patches accumulated at obstructions of the flow.

There where insects about, spotted some sedges and small mayflies.
With all the debris floating on the surface no action on top.
First fly of choice was a squirmy as it was heavy and went down quickly
before getting snagged in floating debris.

The first fish came pretty soon, a small brown trout.
After that it went eerily quiet and even switching to a more delicate nymph yielded no bites.
I decided to move and noticed a big trout just behind a deadfall.
I though I could sneak up on the fish but I was too clumsy and it bolted.

With the trout gone I tried the less wary shiners in front of me.
Despite having a dozen or more fish right in front of me I could not get solid takes.
The next deeper pool had fish in it, even a trout.
With the drought going on the pool was shallow and again I was spotted first, game over.

Moving further upstream again a scene with lots of shiners and no bites.
But then I spotted fish feeding in the surface which I thought where dace.
I tied on a smaller nymph and with the second drift I hit the jackpot, a nice brown trout.

I was thinking that by now only shiners would be in that pool but again I spotted a rather
violent rise. Another cast and bang, another solid brown trout.
After that the shiners started biting with mostly roach and a nice dace.
Further upstream I scared more trout but also landed some smaller ones.
Best day of the season so far.

Germany 06-04-2025

7 April 2025 admin

During last week the weather was very warm, sunshine and hardly any clouds in the sky.
During the weekend temperatures would drop significantly.
When I went out on Sunday the temperature was about 34 F early on.
Once I was at the water the temperature had risen somewhat so it was not that cold.
A strong easterly wind was blowing over the land.

I was prepared with some heavier clothing as the highs for the day would be about 53 F.
Since my visit to the stream last week the outdoors looked quite a bit greener.
I also noted that the algae mats where growing on the bottom of the stream.
Those mats would die off later in spring when the foliage would block out the light.

My first goal was to catch those trout I missed last week.
Tried the same spots and heck nothing was present, in fact on most spots I got no bites at all.
Finally I spotted some tiny fish moving in a pool.
I order to avoid skunk I tried to get one of those, it was a school of gudgeons with some small
dace mixed in.

I wanted the dace but the gudgeons where more numerous so I caught one of those.
Maybe the trout had moved upstream so I checked any deeper pools there out.
Surprisingly I got a hit from a small trout and it went airborne a few times only to throw the fly.
A pool further upstream the same happened.

Spots where I would normally catch shiners guaranteed where all dead.
Nymphs where useless, I got all bites on the squirmy.
There was one pool that was promising and since access was a bit harder than usual it
could be a bonus for finding fish.

I launched the squirmy in the beginning of the pool and got a hit from a good fish.
Turned out to be a brown trout of a decent size for this small stream.
I fished a light tippet so I had to fight the fish carefully with the chance that the
barbless hook would come out if I did not take care.
Luckily it all went to plan and I could land the fish.

I tried some other spots in a downstream section but although I could spot fish I did
not get any bites. Surprisingly as I spotted a lot more insects in the air than last week.
I blamed it on the east wind.
Spring was in full swing, a lot drier than last year though so again weather in extremes.
Noticed the first swallows in the sky back from Africa, also spotted the first stork.

Germany 10-11-2024

11 November 2024 admin

Last weekend the best day to go fishing turned out to be Sunday as the weathercast actually predicted a rare appearance of the sun.
In the morning though the weather gods could not decide between fog or continuous light drizzle.

Temperature predictions where around 8 degrees C, so not particularly comfy.
Opted for inner village fishing as I expected the most fish to be present there.
My old hotspot that used to be a pool of some depth was apparently filled for the most part with sand. Having said that I spotted several moving about at the edges where it was a little deeper.

I opted to fish with a double nymph setup and tied on two pheasant tail patterns to gain some depth. That worked out pretty well and it was the first time ever that I had several double hookups. The fish species moving about where roach and dace.
Another first was that I caught a little chub at this spot which should not be possible as the
weir in the next village downstream poses an impassable barrier.

Of course, catching so many fish from the same shallow spot soon proved to much and the bite stopped. The upstream section was a straight shallow stretch, lifeless with the exception of one spot where the current had scoured a deeper hole.
A lot of dace were around that even went for the indicator.

After a while I got tired of all the dog walkers behind me with their barking mutts so I tried the mill pool for pike or perch … nothing to be had though.
In the end I went for the solitude of the forest but not much was moving there with the exception of one small gudgeon and a small dace.

In the mean time the solid cloud cover had finally broken and a glimpse of the sun could be seen.
I fished a small rapid next that usually only produced tiny fish due to it’s shallowness but this time I hooked a solid brown trout. A hanging offence as trout season was closed but interesting nonetheless as the red markings on adipose fin almost made me believe it was a wild fish.

That trout was the icing on my fishing day and with a late start on this day time and daylight
would soon run out so I called it a day.

Germany 26-10-2024

28 October 2024 admin

Some unseasonably warm weather begged for an outing yesterday.
With the shorter days my timing was a bit off as I arrived at the water at first light.
With fall in full progress the clear water and fallen leaves where a challenge.
So was finding fish and it ook quite a while before I finally located some.

The spots that normally produced fish where awfully quiet but some change
in tactics brought some small roach to the surface.
Instead of dragging the squirmy through the pools I opted to fish a team of pheasant tail
nymphs.

With trout season officially closed oct. 20th. I concentrated on fishing for roach and
dace with smaller flies.
That did not prevent me from hooking a rainbow trout that immediately went ballistic,
luckily the lighter tippet held.

My favorite dace spot was empty, with the sunny and warm weather I had expected
to see some fish in the surface but that was not the case.
Fishing the nymph yielded surprisingly a tiny brown trout.
Another dace spot yielded another brown trout but this time larger.

The last spot of the session was a rather shallow pool formed by a small feeder

that entered the main stream.
I noticed dace feeding in the surface and fished a sedge.
I spectacularly missed all the strikes … I was to darn slow.
Switched to nymphs but only got some gudgeons.

I called it a day after scaring all the fish and opted for an early dinner.
Surprisingly not many people where out and about of what could be the last
warm day of the year.
I took my time for dinner and subsequently missed the sunset on the way
back home but the skies colored nicely just after the sun was gone.

Germany 28-07-2024

29 July 2024 admin

After the countless days of rain, flooding and so forth I finally dared to go out and about to the stream. I picked my streams in reverse order meaning I would visit the one with the normally lowest flow first. I was early and hoped the mill pool would be void of fisherman.
Luckily it was but I just couldn’t get any fish to bite, water level elevated – visibility not that great.

I had nibbles of small fish and now and then I even spotted the odd fish in the surface.
My squirmy presentation however did not lead to any decent bites.
I even tried streamers in the hope of a lost trout or a remaining pike but to no avail.

My last hope was the stream further below, with the murky water the gudgeons where out in force so bites plenty.
I managed some Dace and Roach and had one good fish on that pulled but no idea what it was as the hook slipped.

I even saw some rising dace in the murky water and managed one on the dry fly.
All that flooding had pushed grass high in the tree branches so it gave an idea of how high
the water actually was.
I still wanted to catch a trout so it was off to the other stream where I fished the end portion first.

At the second stream the same signs of high water where visible, one of the deadfalls had actually shifted.
The last time I fished that spot many trout where hiding but this time I only spotted dace and some gudgeons.

The next spot was the inflow of a small brook where fish would be located close to the bank.
That spot yielded instant roach and one rather nice rudd but no trout though.
A little downstream tree-roots and a deeper pool where the next ticket for my trout search.
I dropped the squirmy near one of the tree-stumps in the stream and immediately hooked a brown trout.

Further downstream I could spot large dace in the surface but no place to make an accurate cast. I tossed a squirmy with some roll casts to the adjacent bank and nailed a nice roach. Somewhat later at another spot I hooked a rainbow but it jumped and tossed the hook.
There was a second rising fish upstream but again on a spot you could not reach.

At the last spot of the day I noticed a trout aggressively moving in front of a pile of debris.
I put myself upstream from the rising fish but the current pushed the spent mayfly out of range of the trout. With the murky water I opted for the squirmy and after a few tries the fly reached the proper spot.
The indicator went under and I hooked the best fish of the day, a nice sized rainbow, icing on the cake as they say.

Germany 09-06-2024

16 June 2024 admin

For a change no rain on this day, I was early out an enjoyed the relatively clear skies.
Goal for the day was to catch a trout on a dry fly, preferably on a mayfly pattern.
On my way to the stream I noticed a red kite flying over, never seen one so close
to the border.

At the stream I first made a stop at my old honey hole and was again disappointed
as usual as there where no decent fish about.
The spot used to be good for the one or other trout but this season it has been
empty of any fish species except gudgeons.

After a few futile attempts it was on to another mark.
That whole dry fly fishing idea was quickly blowing away by incoming clouds
and a very strong wind.
There where no insects on the water and the rather low temperatures did not
help either.

I tried nymphing that only yielded more gudgeons.
At the spot I fished I noticed one rising fish and it looked like a trout.
The dry fly was ignored so i tried a streamer to no avail.
I moved further upstream and at a likely holding spot I switched over to
a spent mayfly as it was not that deep and delicacy was required.
That paid off when a nice rainbow trout hit the mayfly, mission accomplished.

At the next pool the depth made it feasible to use a streamer which would
surely provoke an attack from a trout.
It actually did but the fish kept tracking the streamer but would not take it.
From the colors it was again another rainbow trout.

At the last marks for the day I noticed several trout, obviously somebody
had been stocking fish.
I scared most of them off but at one deadfall i noticed a few fish that stayed
put. The dry fly did not generate any reaction so I tried a tan mop fly.
That mopfly did the trick on a rather stocky brown trout.

As I spotted another brown I tried to copy the mop fly trick and it surely worked.
This trout however was a jumper so it skillfully dispatched the mop fly.
After that last trout interaction I called it day, the trout action was quite good
so I was content with how the day had worked out.

Germany 26-05-2024

26 May 2024 admin

Went on another mayfly session to the local stream and soon spotted the first
rising fish at a location where I had seen a trout last week.
Some of the rising fish where dace but one was definitely a trout.

Targeting the dace was tricky because of overhanging trees.
After every clumsy cast I waited a while so everything would calm down and fish would continue to rise.
That tactic yielded two dace and a spectacular hit from the trout … who completely missed the fly.

When the action died down I tried tossing a streamer close to the bank to see if any trout where present. The trout that previously was rising took the streamer but managed to flee in the submerged roots of the trees and broke off.

I moved further upstream and heard a loud plop as if something had fallen from the trees in the water … but it was caused by a fish.
Off course a trout and when I launched a spent mayfly pattern under the trees the hit was instant.

On my way upstream I noticed dace close to the adjacent bank rising now and then to debris floating by so again I presented the spent mayfly and got two fish.
Upstream from me the outside of a bend provided a continuous supply of debris floating close to the bank. The spot was not deep but I figured one or two fish might be station there.
On the second drift the spent mayfly was nailed by another brown trout.

Last week I had some takes on the streamer in a deeper pool so today I checked that spot today hoping for a solid strike. This time all went to plan and I hooked surprisingly a nice rainbow trout.
Later in the afternoon clouds and winds killed of the surface activity.
With rain showers immenent called it a day, a good day with the dry fly.

Germany 04-05-2024

5 May 2024 admin

The quest for the trout continued last Saturday.
At first I tried one of my regular spots just to see if any fish where present.
The water level had dropped considerably since last week.
Although it was early morning insects where about and I even spotted
many insects on the water.

I fished with nymphs first but got no hits, subsequently I fished a sedge
to coax any of the dace to take the fly.
When I spotted a mayfly I tried one of those hoping the odd trout would
be keyed in on them and rise, it did not work.

I visited some other marks but did not spot any fish activity.
Since one of my friends often has success with streamers I tried that type of fishing.
I tied on a small black streamer and retrieved it past some submerged tree roots.
To my surprise I got a hit and could land my first brown trout of the season.

I continued fishing the streamer and soon had another brown trout be it a small one.
The small black streamer did the trick.
I spotted one large trout tracking the streamer but it would not commit.
There was more trout action at other spots but only small fish.
In the end I lost two brown trout, landed three of them.

There was a lot of debris on the water, flowers from the blooming chestnuts.
I noticed some big dace rising and tried a few casts with a sedge pattern but
they would not have it.
At an inflow of a small brook I noticed an aggressively rising fish.
Hoping it would be a trout I tried the dry fly again but no take.
When I fished the squirmy it only yielded a roach and a gudgeon.

My last fishing spot of the day was the upper reaches of the stream where I had
spotted a large trout last week.
With the water level so low all the fish had moved elsewhere and I could only
access one spot that I deemed deep enough to hold fish.
After several drifts with a squirmy I got a big roach, alas no trout anymore.

It was a pretty good to be out and about.
The weather started out fine but in the afternoon some shower passed.
After the showers cleared the weather improved again.
Late afternoon I called it day and went to the local pub for dinner.

Germany 13-05-2023

14 May 2023 admin

It would be a beautiful sunny day this Saturday the 13^th, luckily the cat I passed on the
way was not black…
During the week it had rained on and off continuously, still I had not expected that it
would cause the stream to rise as much as it did.
Fly off choice was the squirmy as the water had less visibility than usual.

Insects where on the water but nothing was rising.
The probing of deep pool surprisingly did not yield any fish with the exception of a small roach.
I had one following trout as I tossed the squirmy under a bridge but could not coax a take.

Things where not going the way I wanted at my usual honey holes so I had to search for fish
elsewhere.
The way to go was downstream at a spot where a ditch entered the stream.
A few big rocks provided some structure and it usually held some dace.
I tossed in the squirmy and had an instant hit, not from a dace but from a trout.

I then decided to cross to the adjacent bank and climb the steep shore to get on the fields
to walk a good distance downstream.
I entered the stream again at a spot where an old dam had been removed.
The fast flowing water and stones could be a hiding spot for trout but it turned up empty.

I waded upstream from the old dam into a wide section with mainly sand bottom.
In general a featureless section but still holding dace over the sand.
The banks where of special interest as they where undercut with a little deeper water.
I got dace on the dry fly but switched soon to the squirmy again as I wanted to get another trout.

There where a few small deadfalls in this sandpit that caused some deeper pools
where I caught numerous dace.
At one of those deadfalls I ran into another trout who took me for a ride as it was larger than
the one I had caught before.

With the light tippet I had to take care fighting the fish, if it would go for the deadfall I would loose.
Luckily I managed to get the fish over the bright sand after a few hairy moments.
I was happy to land he fish in the end, almost 40cm / 16 inch.

While moving further upstream I noticed a few of the big mayflies moving about.
Still not enough to raise the interest of the fish as my imitation was ignored.
This could change in a couple of weeks providing numbers are great enough.
Could be the ticket to get some trout in locations not fishable with nymph or streamer.

A look at the clock made me realize that it was later than I had expected so off to the pub.
With the main wave of day trippers gone home on this sunny day waiting time for chow was minimal.
Soup of the day was either Mushroom cream soup or Asparagus cream soup, I choose the latter.
Went for the Paprika Schnitzel again.

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