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Germany 21-09-2025

Germany 21-09-2025

A day later, same water but different weather conditions.
Within a day we went from warm and sunny to wet and windy.
The temperature kept falling during the day and wind kept increasing in force.
I was on-site at daybreak and the only fisherman around.

I had hoped to get instant hits but fishing was extremely slow.
Early morning some fish where active and now and then I could see rainbow trout
moving past me. I hooked two fish who skillfully jumped and threw the barbless hook.
I then tried to concentrate on any dace or rudd but nothing hit the fly.

My last resort to get any bites was to fish the deepest part of the mill pool right under the weir.
Fishing a nymph very deep worked for a while and after a roach I finally landed two rainbow trout.
As the day progressed however the bites stopped and whatever I tried failed to get fish.

Although I anticipated the weather change the strong wind did cool me down more than expected.
So late in the afternoon I decided to take a break and get something to eat and drink.
The comforts of the pub and the fact that it was already late kept me from returning to fish.
Have to say I still prefer the flowing stream to the mill pond.

Germany 20-09-2025

Germany 20-09-2025

The annual fisher king contest … well, I failed again catching a single trout.
Off course fishing in the most shallow part of the mill pool especially in
these times of low water mean you are without a chance if you flyfish.
Best spots as always the deepest parts of the mill pool under the weir.

In the morning session at the river I was amazed how low the water level was.
Only a trickle flowed and without any deep spots you could only get small dace
and gudgeons.

The afternoon session in the mill pool a waste of time as usual.
With some higher water you would have a chance to find trout in the shallows but
on this day even the shiners where absent.
Still a perfect day weatherwise, very warm and lots of sunshine.
So on this day only dace, rudd and gudgeons for me.

Germany, 19-07-2025

Germany, 19-07-2025

This was the first session on the stream since my return from the USA.
I had already gotten a warning about how low the stream was and boy it was certainly low.
Since it would be a hot day I left early and was at the water on time.

When I stepped into the remaining stream I had planned to fish a deeper spot downstream.
What I did not expect was to encounter a fish in the shallow water in front of the pool.
So the first fish of the day was scared away, one of many.

I dropped a nymph in the deep pool and soon was rewarded by a bite.
A solid hit by a nice rainbow trout which I suspected was the fish I scared away.
I checked out some other spots nearby and actually had hits on a dry fly from small dace.

When I returned to my starting point I noticed a trout again in the shallows.
It was clearly a brown trout so that was the fish I spooked right at the beginning.
With the water being so shallow I opted to change to a dry fly as not to scare the fish.
That did not help though … scared away the second time.

I checked out many other spots on the stream but the low water made it tough.
Approach fishing without spooking them was difficult.
Still I had plenty of hits from roach, rudd, dace and the odd gudgeon.
I even had a large perch chasing one of the roach I caught.

The low water meant that you had to fish many spots with deadfalls and debris
as the fish where hiding there.
It also meant losing a lot of flies by getting hung up in the rootwork and debris.

Late in the afternoon the heat reminded me that not taking anything to drink with me
was a foolish decision.
I called it a day and went to one of the local restaurants for something to drink and eat.

The hot weather reminded me also that the season was slowly slipping away and I
had not even been on a proper chub session.
So I chub session is called for in the near future when the weather conditions allow it.

Germany 28-07-2024

Germany 28-07-2024

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 23-06-2024

Germany 23-06-2024

Last Saturday I deemed the waterlevels of the local streams too high due to the many downpours but
on Sunday all looked good.
I went for an early start hence the number of deer encountered en route was significant.

As I had noticed last week that fish where stocked I tried one of the upstream stretches hoping to
find feeding or rising fish.
Well, I found plenty and had some nice battles with jumping rainbow trout.

Most fish came on the mop fly but also a few on the squirmy.
Although mayfly action was zero I tried a spent pattern on some dace I spotted in front of
a pool. I could only nail one on the mayfly but it was good fun.

The particular stretch I was fishing should better be left alone on Sundays due to the path
alongside it = to many dogwalkers tossing sticks in the stream.
I had one dog jumping right next to me in the drink but on its own accord … 
The fish returned though once the dog was gone.

I caught most of the fish species available in the stream.
From gudgeons to roach, rudd, dace and trout all where inclined to take the fly.
Not many insects on the water but at some spots fish where regularly taking
stuff from the surface.

Germany 20-08-2023

Germany 20-08-2023

I skipped fishing on Saturday because of rain showers and extremely muggy conditions.
Sunday seemed a better choice with mostly sunshine mixed in with a few clouds.

In the morning I hardly got any bites but in the afternoon things changed.
Caught anything from trout to dace and rudd with squirmy’s, mopflies and
small sedge’s.

Ended the day as usual at the pub and was guineapig for a new dish.
Penne with cheese, vegetables and ground meat covered in cheese.
Liked it very much, as usual they overfilled my plate but I managed it in the end.

Weather and nature wise it seems that fall is around the corner.
Fields are harvested, the swifts that hovered over the city have gone on their way to Africa.
In the morning fog sometimes covers the fields, summer is ending.

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 27-05-2023

Germany 27-05-2023

The goal for today was to get a trout on a big mayfly pattern.
I spotted one trout upstream from me that came for the mayfly but I struck to soon … fish gone.
Trout nr. 2 was close to the bank and hit the fly, solid hookup at least that was what I though.
It took one jump from the trout so get rid of the fly so no luck.

The third chance for a trout came soon as I spotted another one but it just would not 
commit to anything I offered.
My last resort was to use a fly I had recently acquired … the mop fly.
Had no luck with that pattern last week but today it was the ticket for that picky trout.

Tossing nymphs, squirmies and sedges yielded some small roach, dace and rudd.
The water level had dropped considerably so fishing was tough.
Tomorrow I think I might hit the chub section again, maybe the combination of low
water and clear sunny skies might reveal some fish.

Germany 27-04-2023

Germany 27-04-2023

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.