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Germany 19-05-2024

Germany 19-05-2024

Last week I had an extended weekend due to a public holiday and a day off.
The early success at the chub spot motivated me to visit that spot again.
The section above the weir / fish ladder was again empty with only some tiny
bleak (smallest shiner species) picking up stuff from the surface.

The best I could do was one small chub from the bank.
Fishing a dry like a sedge or large mayfly pattern was futile so I switched to
tossing small black streamers in the pools of the fish ladder.
That worked but not as intended, I hooked something but not the desired species.

I had actually hooked a pike and it was quite big.
With no trace and not that strong tippet I thought I would be cut off any minute.
But for some reason luck was on my side and I could counter all sudden runs of the
pike. I even managed to keep up as the pike went over two of the boulder weirs.

At the second weir the pike was showing signs of tiring and just maybe I could land
that fish. That landing proofed to be a challenge as my landing net was designed for
chub and not a rather large pike.
In the end was able to slide the fish on the bank, a post spawn fish so pretty skinny
but still measuring 70cm.

When I battled the pike I noticed a second pike be it smaller in the same pool.
Not what I wanted but I commenced fishing and when I hooked the second fish
in that pool it turned out to be a nice chub.
After the second fish I had one chub following the fly but no take, action then died down.

Looking at the skies I saw thunderclouds brewing so I moved to a spot where
in case of a downpour I could shelter.
There where plenty of chub moving on this spot but the dry fly only yielded one small fish.
I switched to a small mop fly and that yielded another larger chub, no luck with the monsters though.

The skies opened and boy it poured with thunder directly overhead, luckily I could shelter
under a bridged.
It seemed wise to wait out the storm and call it a day as other storm cells where en route.

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.

Low water
Germany, 16-07-2023

Germany, 16-07-2023

Normally so far in Summer I would concentrate on the big chub in the lower reaches of the
stream I fish … if conditions are right.
Conditions where however not right, a very strong wind and cloud cover made a visit to the
chub seem like a waste of time.

So it was off to the upper section and I was quite surprised how low the water was by now.
Even the pools that normally held some water looked like a puddle now.
The puddle yielded a small Rudd and one attack of a resident trout.
I was sure the trout felt the hook but tried several drifts to see if it would attack, it did not.

It was early in the morning and with the extensive foliage I dared to fish one of the off limit
spots. That paid off as I caught the first trout of the day.
Interestingly the worm fly was ignored but the mop fly was taken with gusto.
The other spots where however empty and with the low water I figured I would be
better off fishing the mill pool at syndicate nr.2

That mill pool turned out to be void of anglers, a good thing.
The water was also very low but I could spot some shiners moving up and down the water.
What was missing where the trout from a time ago.
Tried my best but only hooked small perch.

With the shiners refusing my nymphs I switched to a streamer to see if any pike would be active.
Was lucky enough to get one from the shallow water, not a monster but I was happy.
Had one even smaller fish following the fly plus a few of the larger perch also took interest but
still refused to strike.

I suspected the trout might have taken refuge in the stream below the mill pool.
After spotting dozens of dace I saw the first one, a small fish.
Whatever I tossed at the trout, it was no good … it got annoyed and left the pool.
The next pool was deeper and the resident trout was larger.
Again the mop fly did the trick but the fish threw the fly as I was about to net it.

After some time I finally managed to get another brown trout on the squirmy.
Back at the mill pool I tried again for another pike but I only managed to break
the leader at some underwater obstruction near the outflow of the mill.
That was the only spot with some depth to it.
Called it day after that and went to the pub, conveniently located next to the
mill pool.

Germany 02-07-2023

Germany 02-07-2023

Summer was in progress and we experienced the usual low water situation that this season brings with it.  It rained on Saturday but it was not enough to have any impact on the water levels.
The small stream coming out of the moors at the border has fallen dry for quite some time now.

First water I checked was at syndicate nr.1 where the only effect of the rains the day before was less visibility in the water, a good thing when it is so low.
Opted for the squirmy but all I could get was little Rudd.
Hooked one trout but only lightly and it slipped of the hook.

Since it was early I opted to check out an off limits spots where I expected another trout.
Even though the water was low the resident trout in the pool was still there and again a hookup and a lost fish.
Next I tried a wide spot further downstream but the water was now so low that large portions of the stream had fallen dry.

The remainder of the shallow water still contained some small dace which I caught on nymphs and small dry flies.
With the dismal results I soon called it a day and decided to go to syndicate nr. 2 hoping to catch
the first pike of the season.

At syndicate nr. 2 I hopped in the clear mill pool, also as shallow as could be.
To my surprise however I spotted some other fish besides the usual dace, perch and rudd mix.
It was the first time this season that I had spotted several trout at the end of the pool.
Unfortunately every type of fly I tried was ignored, I only got as far that one attacked the strike indicator.

I hoped the stretch of the stream downstream of the mill pool would hold some trout more cooperative than the ones in the pool.
At first I only caught the usual dace and small perch.
Last resort was the mop fly and I actually caught a roach with it … a first.

On the way back to the mill pool I spotted some trout in the stream and got one hookup
of a trout on the mop fly … it got off .. story of the day.
In the mill pool I spotted a pike following my woolly bugger so I switched to a larger streamer with a wire trace.
The larger fly paid off as I finally hooked that pike, not a big one but keeping in mind that the pool was less than 3 ft. put it into perspective.

After a while I hooked a second pike, a bit larger but it threw the fly.
Last of the pike only followed the streamer and hovered in front of me … no take.
With the pub conveniently next door I called it a day and met up with my buddies who
where also out for the day.
Opted for the special of last week, goulash soup with bread all topped of with the gooseberry
cake and a coffee.

Germany 12-06-2022

Germany 12-06-2022

I was not that early this morning but luck would have it that the competition also slept late so I had the mill pool to myself.
The water was really low and some stones surfaced that I had not seen before.
Small shiners where feeding in the surface but I tried streamer fishing first hoping a pike would hit. The pike however did not want to play.

Next try was the squirmy and it yielded a small perch.
The only deep spot in the pool with some flow was right under the weir.
A casts there yielded a decent strike and for a moment I was connected to a brown trout.
Alas only for a moment as the hook came out.

I gave the fish in at the mill a break and tried the stream itself.
Some fish where rising but these where small dace, they were to quick with their strikes.
No luck so it was off to the mill pool again.
As I was curious what insects and other critters where present I turned around some stones an
found my first crayfish.

In the mill pool I fished a small dry fly and had hits of small dace and golden shiners that were
feeding in the surface, nymphs yielded no fish at all.
A friend came by and as we talked shop some of the bait scattered in all directions.
Time to get the streamer out again.

The first attack on the stream was from a small pike but it let the fly go.
Several casts later I had a good hook up and could land a nice pike from the mill pool.
With a good fish landed it was chowtime at the pub.
Opted for the Parmensano burger and finished it off with coffee and a strawberry-rhubarb
cake.

When I left I took a look above the weir and noticed many fish hovering about.
It was a mix of perch, golden shiners and roach and not only small fish.
At the moment there were to many people around to fish it but next time that
spot would be the one I would hit first.

Germany 04-06-2022

Germany 04-06-2022

A rather short session today at the mill pool as I had to do some chores later in the day.
I was early out and about but not early enough to not expect my favourite spot at the mill pool being void of other anglers.
Happily no one was there when I had the water.
The stream had dropped considerably so the playing room for the fish was limited.

It was windy early in the morning which was unusual and clouds obscured the sun.
The hope of catching a trout was pretty zero with all the pike in the pool so I dragged a
streamer through the water to no avail.
I tried but nothing hit, spotted some shiners and tried to get them but that failed also.

Flow was minimal and the nymph I fished hardly moved with the current, kind of boring.
I soon switched back to the stream and after a long wait I finally hooked a small jack pike.
With the low water level in the stream I could actually see how shallow the pool was.
The water was murky so I still missed the famous spot where every local angler lost
his lure … me included as three streamers went under to be never seen again.

The Bermuda triangle for lures was mentally marked now, a tree on the bank was
the reference point.
It was not long since I had the second pike on and that fish was considerably larger than the first.
The pike fought very well and made some nice runs but in the end I was able to subdue it.
Pike nr. 3 measured 23.6 inch. which was my PB for the mill pool.

Before I would hit the pub which conveniently was located next to the mill pool I tried for
another pike.
The turbine outflow was the spot I was aiming for as I suspected it was a pike hotel.
It turned out to be true as the third pike of the morning struck, again a very strong fish.
This fish took me all over the pool with some very fast runs and the glass 4-weight felt
a bit under gunned for this one.
In the end I could land the fish, PB bested with a pike of 27.5 inch.

The famous last cast actually yielded a pike strike but I missed the fish.
A second last cast did not yield the hoped second strike so I called it a day.
I was the first guest in the beer garden and it was not that warm can I say.
More people came in later and I was joined by one of my friends who told
me a tale of big perch above the mill weir.

I had my chili cheese burger and topped off my lunch with the obligatory coffee and cake.
I took a look above the mill weir and behold I could see the school of shiners my
friend had told me about, did not spotted the perch though.
I dragged the streamer a couple of times through the water to no avail, those perch
were smart.

If the perch would not play maybe the shiners would.
A nymph was completely ignored by the scores of fish.
I was told they were all roach but spotting the bright red fins I concluded some rudd
where amongst the roach.
Since rudd were surface feeders I tried a small sedge and that send one of the fish
to the surface to grab the fly.
Time ran out so I had to leave but the spot above the mill weir begged for further investigation.

Germany 29-05-2022

Germany 29-05-2022

With the weather going downhill and rain forecast in the morning I started late.
I opted for a short session at river nr.2 where the mill pool was always interesting to fish.
My goals for river nr.2 where a. catch a trout b. catch a large pech c. get one a large pike.

When I arrived at the pool nobody was fishing.
Water flowed over the weir so the turbine was out of action.
I floated a squirmy along the current seam and got a tiny perch as first fish of the day.
Despite the shallowness the water was murky, I could barely make out the debis and stone
on the mill pool bottom.

What I did notice was a really massive pike swimming just in front of me.
Like a submarine it slowly glided past me … a big sucker.
Just I was about to switch to a streamer the landlord of the pub switched on the turbine.
The water level suddenly rose and tons of debris came floating down.
Visibility was now almost zero … could not spot the pike anymore.

I fished a small streamer in perch livery with a trace but had no hook ups.
Just once I noticed a large perch pursuing the fly but at a secure distance .. not fooled.
I figured maybe the trace put the perch off so I tied on another streamer straight onto the
tippet.
Off course the next thing was that a small pike hit the fly and severed the tippet.

So trace went on again this time with a nice small streamer with some flash.
I tossed the fly in the same area where I had lost the pike and behold a second strike.
I was pretty sure it was the same pike due to its size.
A few moments later I noticed the large pike again, it had returned to the end of the pool
and was right in front of me.
I fished the streamer right past it but the fish moved slowly backwards upon seeing the streamer.
Guess that size did not come because the fish was stupid.

With the pike not cooperating I tried the stream itself with the squirmy and the perdigon
nymphs but besides a small dace I only got bites from the pesky gudgeons.
I had hoped for a trout but those where a rarity in that stream.

Before I called it quits I tried the head of the pool right under the mill weir.
By now the water had dropped and some clarity had returned.
A cast perpendicular to the turbine outflow yielded a strike from a bigger pike.
The pike missed but I was hoping the fish would still be around for a second try.
A few casts later the fish was on and it fought pretty well for a pike.
Off course fun on a 4-weight glass rod.

The work had been done and so it was early off to the pub which conveniently was
located next to the mill pool.
There was a lot more action going on than at the African pub even though the
weather was pretty poor.

I opted to sit at the bar with one of the regulars and decided to do a little beer tasting.
I started with the Benediktiner Weizen dunkel.
When I saw a tray leaving the bar with an unfamiliar beer to me I asked what it was.
Rolinck Westfalisch Alt … so I had one of those.
As it was chow time I switched seating to a table and ordered the soup of the day.
It was the so called wedding soup and it went down well.
Main course was the Chili burger and happy to say that it had the nacho’s and peppers.
To flush away the main course I opted for the Th. Konig Zwickel Keller beer just to make
my beer tasting complete for the day.
Off course I could not go home without the obligatory cake and koffee (cheesecake).

Germany, 10&11-07-2021

Germany, 10&11-07-2021

Last Saturday was predicted a 100 percent rain day by the weather guru’s.
It actually stayed dry all day and I even got a tan in the end.
Once again I tried to fool the chub and even had some new weapons in my armory.
Besides the large abstract hoppers I usually fished I decided to try a more natural and
smaller pattern hoping to fool the wary fish.

It was tough again to even get to the water which was btw very murky.
This summer is completely different than last one, unstable weather with a
constant supply of water.
The water just was not as clear as last summer.

I tried some of the known spots and noticed a few fish in the murky water.
The first reaction to the new hopper where promising as it was instantly attacked.
After a few missed bites and one hooked it went quiet … fish gone.
The other spot on the main stream remained fishless.

Next stop the feed, it was clear and had fish in it.
Also big ones but I only nailed one slightly larger fish.
The problem here was the extreme shallow water, dumping a hopper usually meant
all the fish took off.
Noticed one pike in the water but without the proper streamer it was no use trying,
lots of weed in the water with no real depth to make a long retrieve.

With the fish not cooperating I did some sightseeing and took the long road to the pub.
Went for the double cheeseburger this time.

On Sunday I tried the home stretch hoping to find a trout but I hardly found any fish.
The squirmy yielded a small dace from one of the pools and that was it,
The only thing hitting the squirmy where the gudgeons, small bottom feeders that
constantly grabbed the tail section of the squirmy,

I tried some other places but the water was shallow, found a few small dace and
fished a small dun pattern to get some bites.
The pub visit was early as I had hoped that I would find fish surface feeding
in the nearby village.
Alas the surface waters where void of feeding fish, a small pink Perdigon yielded one
roach and that was it.

A cloudy day with some of the clouds looking like thunder heads, it stayed dry though.
Maybe it is time to visit some of the spots that are more off track in order to find fish.

Netherlands 28+30-12-2020

Netherlands 28+30-12-2020

With the year ending it was time for the annual pike fishing session with some of my friends.
Due to pandemic  issues we where left with four attendees but all in good health and spirit.
The plan was to visit a local stream and harass the pike if any where around.
As a result of several days of rain the stream we wanted to fish was  dirty and high.
Combined with  the presence of other anglers we switched to plan B, fishing a nearby canal.

The canal was dug in 1887 to transport goods from nearby Germany to the Netherlands.
Soon after its opening the competition from railroads made it obsolete and shipping ceased in the sixties.
Some of the bridges where replaced with culverts and now it was just used for drainage and recreational purposes.

We tried but the action was slow to non-existent.
Only one of us actually landed a small pike while another one had a hookup but missed the fish.
It was still a pretty day to be outside and nice to see everybody doing ok.

The fact that I would end this shitty year with a blank sat not well with me.
With the company closed for the holidays I had some time on my hands and decided against better judgement to give it another try.

A look at gages from nearby rivers did not promise anything good, everywhere the levels where
double of what they should be.
When I came at the stream close to where I live I heard the water rushing and as expected it was high and dirty.

I first tried to dump a squirmy along the edges of the fast flowing water hoping to entice a yellow perch to hit the fly, it did not work.
With the lack of visibility I figured the only thing that could work in these conditions was a large flashy fly.

As I had the four weight with me large flies where a no-no but I had two large black and silver streamers that where light enough to do the job.
I added a nice trace in front of the fly and probed the more slowly flowing eddies.
Within half an hour I got a hit, a small pike had grabbed the fly.

This was surely a lucky shot and it would be hard to replicate, I tried anyway.
With the water  flowing so fast the only other feasible spot nearby was a
removed weir.
The weir had been replaced by a cascade of small dams and the wide pool at the end would be my next target.

This time it took longer for a fish to hit but again a small pike decided to hit the fly.
As I noticed the crowds arriving I figured it might be a good time to spot.
So in the end the last fishing session of the year ended with success leaving me to wish everybody the best for next year.