Winter fishing Archives - Flyfishing FWSW

The end of the season last year has not been particular good for fishing flowing water.
Endless rain made the streams I use to frequent unfishable due to high flows and muddy
water. The start of the new year did not really bring better conditions.
At the beginning of the week things looked like they would improve with a steady drop
of the waterlevels.

Alas on Thursday and Friday the heavenly sluice gates opened again and it did not take
long for levels to jump up to unfishable status.
I tried to catch my first fish of the early season on Saturday but after crossing stream nr.1 it
was obvious to me that it a miracle was needed to make it happen.

I could barely get into the water due to the high flow and the visibility was beyond poor.
Fly of choice was a squirmy usually good for roach or dace in high water situation but
not on this day.
I tried another stream but the results where the same, not a single hit.
The season is early but the appearance of the first snowdrops indicates spring will
arrive sooner or later.

The day ended in defeat, at least dinner in the pub was good as usual.
Just keep hooping that the temperatures do not bottom out and that the streams
will reach their regular levels one of these days.

Netherlands 28-12-2022

31 December 2022 admin

As usual we ended the season with our “oliebollen snoeken” where the oliebollen stans for “deep fried raisin buns” and “snoeken” for pike fishing.
Five people dodged the wind and rain and caught a total of 8 pike.
Rod weights ranged from #8 to #4 with everything from switch rods to glass rods.

I tossed small streamers with the #4 Hardy glass rod and managed one little pike in front of a weir.
The only spectators where a couple of horses who showed quite an interest in flyfishing.
At the end of the day the tally was 3, 2, 2, 1, 0 – not bad for a late season session.
Around 4 pm it got dark so we called it quits and headed to a local restaurant.

Netherlands 28+30-12-2020

30 December 2020 admin

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.

Germany 13-12-2020

13 December 2020 admin

In the so called dark days before Christmas I was not the only one to hit the river while it was possible.
Pretty consistant action for such a late date in the year.
I spotted a few carp, noticed dace rising to small midges and caught several roach and dace on nymphs and squirmies.
I had many tail bites on the squirmies which again shows how effective that fly can be to generate bites …
Catching fish that bite on the squirmy however is a different story.

Germany 05-12-2020

5 December 2020 admin

I had planned to fish on saturday despite the cold weather.
On friday message came that help was needed at the club’s hatchery.
I figured the best time to fish would be the afternoon so I headed to the hatchery first.

The task at hand was to clear out a hatching pond.
Before that could happen the resident trout needed to be caught and sorted along weight.
I had my waders with me so I entered the basin and caught a few hundred brown trout with some very nice fat rainbows mixed in.

After the work I warmed at the fire in our club house for a while and went out to the river.
Recent rains had risen the water level but clarity remained.
As it was standard in winter fish where few and at first I could not spot any.
Nymphs remained untouched whatever I tied on or how deep I fished them.
As a last resort I tied on a squirmy and that did the trick as I caught a small dace.

Other spots I visited where empy, with the sun low in the sky I went into the forest to check the last mark of the day.
I noticed fish, again small dace with curiously a gold fish mixed in.
I had counted that all dumped gold fish would have been victim of the herons by now.
After getting two more dace I called it a day.

As the sun was still visibile I made a short stop at a nearby sand pit and made some exploratory casts along a few reedbeds.
I fished a small streamer in perch livery hoping for a pike or perch but nothing was moving.
I stopped to watch the sun set and headed back home.

Germany 22-11-2020

22 November 2020 admin

Maybe it was not the brightest idea to visit the chub stretch in
winter but I did.
I figured the chances of getting a chub where almost non-existant
but I had to try anyway.

En route to my favourite chub haunts I made a stop at the river
to see how the water was looking.
Surprisingly the clear water was full of small roach so I had to fish there.
The fish where skittish but I caught at least one small roach.

Further along the stream I spotted the first chub.
The fish also saw me and made a run for it.
With the aquatic- and bankside vegitation gone a stealth approach was
impossible.
I encountered more chub at my honey holes but all ran at the first sight
of me.

I came across one of my fellow clubmembers and chatted for a while.
He was after pike but had not seen a fish all day.
I mentioned my last port of call would be the feeder behind our clubhouse.
And so I did, when I arrived at the clubhouse I noticed a pike in the middle of the shallow stream.

I tied on a leader with a trace and launced a polar minnow in perch
livery to the pike, no reaction at all.
Clouds rolled in and it started to rain, I could not spot the pike anymore.
When the rain stopped I tried locating the pike and soon got a strike.
I battled the pike for a short while and then the hook came out, bummer.
At least I did not end the day with a skunk.