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Germany April 27th.

Germany April 27th.

Weather predictions for last Sunday where bright sunny skies with only occasional a small cloud.
Ideal to check if something was going on in the chub department. 
Off course way to early again as the bugs that chub feed on are still absent.

With the stream being extremely shallow and lacking cover it was almost impossible to approach the fish.
If the fish spotted you first it was game over for the big fish … they did not grow big because they were stupid.

We had some rain last week so the stream was a little bit higher and clarity was down.
Also the algae mats that had grown on the bottom started to drift to the surface.
Lots of debris on the surface so tricky for fishing.

Looking down from a bridge and was not sure the shapes in the water where chub or just weeds.
I rigged up and checked the spot out, I could spot five big chub hovering in the current.
I tried to coax them up with a spent mayfly pattern to no avail.
Nymphs and streamer also failed and the fish finally disappeared.

The early morning was cold so I went to a shallow wide stretch in front of a weir.
I was hoping the shallower spots would warm up early and hold fish.
Insects where on the water and fish rising but they turned out to be tiny bleak.
Had a few on the dry to get rid of the skunk and then moved on.

The third spot was again near a bridge and there was a lot of fish activity.
The surface was crowded by bleak but deeper in the water column I could see chub.
I opted for the nymph and that worked pretty well on the smaller chub.
The bigger ones where too wary though and soon left because of the racket caused
by hauling in the smaller fish.

The last hope for a big fish was to find some free ranging chub.
I checked out an old hot spot with old meaning it used to be productive.
Seeing other anglers with spinning gear was a bad sign but luckily they went in another direction.
Big chub where present but again I was spotted first so no joy.

It was good to see that some chub are roaming the stream again but to early for productive fishing.
We need some more bugs around and more aquatic plants for cover for improved conditions.
The sight of the first mayfly was promising prelude, we just have to wait a little longer.

Germany 10-11-2024

Germany 10-11-2024

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 22-09-2024

Germany 22-09-2024

The last days of fine weather and pending fall motivated me to give the chub a last shot
before the weather shuts down that fishery.
I opted to fish the most accessible spot I knew but I was a tad early as the sun had not yet
hit the water.

I could not see any fish moving other than some surface action by the very tiny bleak that
even went for my tippet ring.
I persisted fishing the sedge that despite it size was a legitimate target for the tiny bleak.
Luckily some chub where also inclined to eat the sedge.

I soon moved off to another easy spot but when I looked down on the water from a bridge I could not spot a single fish which was kind off unusual.
So off to the next spot where the high banks and the stinging nettles made it difficult to move about.

I spotted large chub but mostly to late and if I had a shot the fish would take no look at the fly.
Larger patterns like big mayflies or hoppers also did not work.
My last hope was to move back to the first spot of the day as the sun would cover that place by now.

The first spot indeed had fish, several sizes and even the odd big one.
Still for some reason, the fish ran from the dries as soon as they landed on the shallow water.
The best I could do was fishing a nymph in the nearby fish ladder that had some deeper pools.
Nymphing yielded the last chub and a roach.

With the sun low in the sky spotting fish became difficult and I did not expect conditions to improve so I called it a day. 
To my surprise I seemed to have a reserved table at the pub as they where expecting me … even a cold one was ready when I entered.
A day earlier my usual spot was occupied due to an event so I had to move what they call the sinners bench at the bar so they wanted to make up for that.

Germany 07-09-2024

Germany 07-09-2024

I had an early start last Saturday as I had planned another chub session.
The season so far for chub was not good, lots of rain usually made fishing for them useless.
With a dry day and some sun in the forecast I gave it another shot.

On Friday the weather changed from a quite fresh and windy morning to a warm and muggy afternoon.  All that moisture moving in had an effect on the weather this Saturday, fog.
Conditions not good for spotting chub when I arrived at the first spot I visited.

I could barely make out one larger chub but it just would not take the sedge I tossed.
At times it looked like the fish was interested but veered off every time.
The only fish I got was a tiny bleak that was brave enough to pick the sedge of the surface.
I had hoped the sun would clear out the fog and upcoming wind would blow away the moisture but it did not happen.

Time to move, the second spot had a lot of fish moving about.
By now the fog had lifted but clouds blocked the sunlight so spotting fish was not that easy.
I managed to catch a few fish on the sedge and even some on the nymph.
The racket though caused by catching these fish caused action to die down quickly.

The third spot of the day was a longer stretch of the stream where sometimes
chub would travel in groups. 
These fish where very wary and most of the time eluded me.
I spotted several large fish but most bolted as they noticed me first.

At one location a group of four to five large fish more or less stayed stationary in a riffle.
I had some good shots at them with a sedge and mayfly pattern but they just would not
come to the surface to pick the fly up.

At a bend in the stream I finally had a real interested fish and I watched the moment that
big chub mouth opened to suck in the fly.
Just at that moment, the fly started dragging and that put the fish off.

I finished the day at the spot I started the day.
With the sun now full out I figured conditions had to be better.
I spotted indeed more fish but every time I dropped the fly to chub would move away.
Not a good day thus for chub fishing it seemed.

After tossing several flies at a real large stationary fish I called it a day.
The sun was getting at a low angle so spotting fish was almost impossible.
At least I had caught a few fish so all was good.
Leaves where falling … the water was getting clear so fall is definitely around the corner.

Germany 11-08-2024

Germany 11-08-2024

Last Sunday was prone to be a perfect chub fishing day, sunny and hot.
I opted to fish the lower part of my stream and selected one of my hot spots first.
With the banks being mowed access was to the water was guaranteed.
The presence of fish however not, it turned out that the water was pretty empty.

The high banks and clear water where not exactly a good ingredient for stalking.
So the few fish I spotted where aware of my presence and would either scoot or
stay deep. Tried everything from hopper over large dry fly to streamer but nothing worked.

Having wasted quite some time at the first spot it was time to avoid skunk and find a
place where also smaller fish where present.
The smaller fish would often take a sedge or other dry fly with gusto.
The plan worked so I avoided a skunk day.

I was still eager to catch a larger fish.
With the bigger fish staying deep I tried a shallower feeder where I finally spotted a larger fish.
It took about two casts with the spent mayfly before the fish committed, nice size one.

Almost had a second fish of the same size but my handicap worked against me.
Chub, especially the larger ones are extremely wary and inspect the fly first before a take.
I spotted the fish … lost my nerves and struck too early … boom, fish gone.
Next I spotted an even larger fish close to the bank but whatever I tried it showed no interest at all.

Late in the afternoon I tried the last spot in the open fields.
Boy it was really hot and with my drinking supply gone it was tough. Walked a mile or so along the stream and all I found was a rather large muskrat swimming underwater past me.

Germany 10-05-2024

Germany 10-05-2024

The combination of a mandatory day off from work and bright sunshine and warm water called
for the first mission of the year to the chub spots.
Now it was way to early as the chub probably would not yet be in their summer haunts or surface feeding but it tried anyway.

What gave me hope was the fact that numerous mayflies where hatching, such a big morsel would surely be tempting for any chub.
I checked out one of my summer haunts and found it completely void with life, no fish at all.
My break came at a bridge where several fish where moving about.

In the surface tiny bleak where feeding, on the bottom I spotted chub and dace.
A dace was the first fish that I caught, on a small mop fly.
I spotted chub following the mop fly but only hooked a small one.
Next I tried the squirmy and again I hooked a chub this time a little larger.

Obviously it was not yet the season for surface feeding fish.
The last stop was a wide shallow spot at a weir and on a positive note I spotted a large chub.
But… there was also a pike and it messed up the scene as it was in attack mode.
Then I spotted an even larger pike moving in the shallows.

So next I tried for the pike but the trace on the leader was so heavy that I only caught weeds.
The only hope to get something larger was to fish the deeper pools of the fish ladder.
Weapon of choice was a small black streamer with an orange tungsten bead.
I dropped the streamer in the fast flowing water and retrieved it slowly.

Suddenly I got a hit and it was something big.
At first I thought it was a big perch but when the fish came to the surface I noticed that it was
a nice size chub.
After releasing the chub I tried the same spot again and to my surprise I hooked another big fish.
Turned out an even larger chub had taken the streamer.

My day was made, mission chub was a success.

Germany 30-07-2023

Germany 30-07-2023

Tried for chub again yesterday despite the off conditions.
Strong wind and cloud cover really made it difficult to spot any fish.
On the way to the first spot I noticed tons of roach in a section above
a mill. It was however smack in the middle of the village so not
I spot I would fish despite the presence of loads of fish.

At the first spot again loads of chub in all sizes but like previous visits
totally uninterested in the hopper I served.
Tried the mop fly but got no reaction on that pattern either.

A little farther downstream I spotted a whole school of common bream
(Abramis brama), not exactly fish that respond well to flies.
Having said that I have caught them in the past so I drifted a squirmy
through the school … the fish ran off.

Spot nr. 3 had three nice chub that where in casting range.
With the rains we had lately the current was pretty strong.
These fish showed interest in the hopper and came up for it but the
current and wind pushed the fly to fast.
The chub veered off in the last minute so no show either.

Spot nr. 4 was the last spot I visited that day.
The wind was now blowing hard, with the ripples on the water and
the lack of sunlight I could not spot anything.
Only on the spots with a clear sand bottom I could see fish.
No hits though, scared all the fish I encountered.

I encountered a few chub in a deeper pool but those where not
surface feeders as they swam pretty deep.
Tried the mop fly, squirmy and small streamers but again nothing
happened.
So in the end I blanked … bummer.

With all the rain and lower temps I think I will leave the chub in
peace for the moment and concentrate on other fish in the
upper reaches of the stream.

Germany 22-07-2023

Germany 22-07-2023

While the south of Europe was suffering extreme heat we had lower then average temps this week.
Despite the forecast for rain, wind and overcast skies I tried the chub stretch.
Found the motherload of chub but surface flies where shunned.
I had one hit on the mop fly but the fish came off.

My second spot was void of the usual small chub and I soon found out why.
A pike was patrolling the stretch, tied on a small streamer and had one nibble.
The pike was at right angels to me so I had little room to cast and retrieve, 
the pike eventually lost interest.

The third and final location had several chub but by now the clouds where thick.
I just could not spot the fish early enough before they spotted me.
Had to surface takes which I missed… struck to early.
Finally got the only fish of the day that gulped in the hopper with gusto.

Increasing wind and light rain made me call it a day.
I was happy with that one chub of the day, off to the pub.

Germany 28-05-2023

Germany 28-05-2023

On Sunday it was off to the chub section for a second try at the chub.
First stop was just outside a small village where I had success in the past.
The plants at the bank were now about man high and you had to take
care where to step because of the holes dug by the muskrats.

The lack of aquatic vegetation was probably the cause of no visible fish.
I could spot nothing on the clear sand bottom except for one small fish.
That fish was target practice and it took the sedge I served with gusto.

Since I was not new to this spot I sought out the section with the most
cover where I spotted several medium sized fish with one behemoth
amongst them.
To bad that even the landing of the fly on the water caused the fish to bolt.

The presence of mayflies was minimal and only the small blue damselflies
attracted some of the small fish.
Time to move to another spot where I found a school of chub moving
upstream almost in casting range.

My first cast with a big fly yielded a strike from one of the fish but it missed
and the racked caused the school to move downstream again.
After a little wait they came in range again and this time I landed the fish.
Not a monster but a progress from fish nr. 1 of the day.

The final spot was a good stretch void of any disturbances, well I thought it
would be but reality was different.
I had forgotten that it was “Schützenfest” season in Germany, a tradition
from the past when villagers where enrolled in militia’s protection rural areas.
These days a social event involving fair with a shooting competition and off course
a lot of drink.

At this particular spot it also involved canoe trips for the kids at my intended
fishing spot …
There was just one thing left to do … off to the pub.

Chub
Germany 06+07-05-2023

Germany 06+07-05-2023

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.