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Germany, 31-07-2022

Germany, 31-07-2022

With the drought continuing I went for another chub session at the lower end of the stream.
Conditions where not exactly favorable with overcast skies.
Sunlight was lacking for proper sight fishing.

I started late as some showers where predicted early on.
Luckily it stayed dry so I headed to a good spot near a bridge to scout for chub.
One chub I spotted was particularly big but it just did not respond to the fly.
Even a school of medium sized was unfazed by my offerings.

Clouds soon became thicker and it actually started to rain.
I sheltered under the bridge and noticed some fish moving about.
As the hopper did not seem to entice the fish I tried a sedge and tossed it to a school of fish.
Surprisingly a dace hit the fly instead of the present chub.

With not much happening I went on my way to spot nr.2
As I crossed the bridge I noticed fish moving at the other side.
I stopped and found a large school of smaller chub, perfect for a hopper presentation.
As soon as the hopper landed on the water one of the chub grabbed it.

With the banks mown I moved downstream and spotted a slightly larger fish moving
right under the bank.
All I had to do was to drop the fly over the edge and it was hit by the fish.
The school was gone now so off to the next spot.

My hotspot had many fish but without of sunlight I could not spot the fish with
their dark backs over the dark weed.
Only at the sections with sand bottom you could see moving fish, I scared most fish away.
At one of the more fast flowing riffles my fly suddenly disappeared in the current.
It was not the current though but a chub … noticed it too late and so the fish was gone.

It rained on and off during the day with light rain in the morning through some
heavy showers in the afternoon.
To bad I could not elude them all but there where plenty of fish around so still a productive day.

Featured
Brown trout
Flyfishing small streams on the Dutch / German border.

Flyfishing small streams on the Dutch / German border.

Chub from a small stream on the Dutch / German border / Flyfishing small streams / Dry fly fishing / Mayfly
Chub

Introduction

The idea behind this site is to document my flyfishing exploits.
Living at the Dutch / German border in Enschede offers interesting  fishing opportunities.

The streams over the border are well suited to flyfishing.
That good fishing resulted in memberships of German fishing clubs so
I could have access to several small streams.
The major attractions are chub and dace but with in addition brown trout.

Allthough I prefer to fish small rivers saltwater flyfishing has always been of interest to me.
Saltwater flyfishing for me ranged from searun browns in Denmark, Stripers and Bluefish in Rhode Island to several different species of saltwater fish in Florida.

Small stream Dutch / German border / Chub / Dace / Roach / Barbel / Brown trout / Asp
Local stream

The water

Most of the small streams entering the Netherlands at the eastern border with Germany originate from the remnants of a bay from the cretaceous period. The streams I fish are mostly straightened watercourses allthough some parts are still more or less untouched.
These streams have a high fluctuation in waterlevel as they are for the most part dependant on rainfall.
The streams are lowland streams with sediment consisting mostly of sand with some sections made up of sandstone.
Man made obstructions like weirs and watermills have made the streams impassible for migrating fish.
Due to the EU guidelines many weirs have been removed in recent years while others have been made passable for migrating fish.
I have not seen any migratory fish myself yet but have heard stories of other anglers who did encounter them.

The fish

The species of fish available in the streams I fish varies widely.
Upper reaches often hold dace, roach and trout.
Further downstream where the streams go wider species like bream, chub, barbel and asps join in with off course pike and perch.
Any section above a weir will have carp roaming the slow moving water.
The fish species I have caught in the stream where: bleak, bream, brook trout, brown trout, chub, dace, gudgeon, perch, pike, rainbow trout, and roach.

Flies

Duo to the limited clarity of the streams my preferred fishing method is fishing small nymphs most of the time.
Besides shrimp the nymphs of caddisflies and mayflies are often found.
There are however always moments where a well fished dry fly is a killer.
Mayflies can be abundant in spring with St.Marks flies (bibio) with caddis flies being a favourite of mine as they always seem to work.
I seldom fish with streamers due to the shallow nature of the streams but sometimes when dryfly and nymph are fruitless a streamer can work.

Equipment

Upper part of the streams often feature a landscape I refer to as the jungle with shrubs and trees everywhere leaving no room for backcasts.
A short rod like 7ft. with a 4-weight line is best.
When fishing with light tippet full flex rod protects the tippet when a larger fish like a trout takes the fly.
On the lower reaches of the streams in the open landscape with high banks a longer 9ft. rod is of advantage.
Wading is not neccesary but handy to cross over to the other bank.

Brown trout from a small stream on the Dutch / German border / Flyfishing small streams / Mayfly fishing
Brown trout from a local stream
Dace from a small stream on the Dutch / German border / Small stream flyfishing / Nymph fishing
Dace
Small stream Dutch / German border / Chub / Dace / Roach / Barbel / Brown trout / Asp
Local stream

Questions? message me in English / German or Dutch.

info(at)marcelkarssies.com

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Germany, 24-07-2022

Germany, 24-07-2022

I went out on Sunday to the lower section of the stream once again chub fishing.
Blue skies and hot weather provided ideal conditions for this species.
On the last trip I fished a section where I spotted a lot of fish but this time I spotted
just a few small fish.

I went further downstream and checked out the cascade dams that replaced an
inaccessible weir.
I spotted a big chub but there was no way I could present a fly there due to the
current and plant growth.

At the end of the cascades a tree provided some shade at a small pool, it just looked fishy.
The bank was steep though, about 10ft sheer 90 degree drop off.
I tossed a hopper blindly under the tree and boy a big chub nailed it instantly.
Now I had to figure out how to get down to the water.
Only way was to slide down through the shrubs to land on the rocks.

In the meantime the chub had managed to dive under a deadfall and the leader
was tangled in a branch.
When I tried to untangle the leader the chub bolted and bend out the hook, bummer.
I found some other fish but none where inclined to take the fly.

At what I figured was the best spot I finally caught the first fish of the day on the hopper.
It was not a monster but at least a fish.
Soon I came across a larger fish and it took the hopper with gusto.
The problem I faced to land the fish was once again the steep bank and my silly trout net.
I slid halfway into the water and could land the fish … but I could net get back onto land.
The steep muddy bank just gave way so all I could do was to wade to the nearby bridge and
crawl up to the shore.

I spotted many chub and managed to loose two big fish in the process.
And again I suffered from that early strike syndrome jerking the fly out of the chub’s mouth.
Many times chub would inspect the fly first before gulping it slowly down and then
anxiety would get the better of me.

The last spot of the day was at the feeder stream where the shallow section in front of weir
boasted hordes of chub including two big ones.
I tossed the hopper near one of the big fish and it came cruising for the fly.
This time I waited but too long as I allowed it to spit the fly out before I could strike.

The banks at the last spot where fully overgrown so you could hardly walk let alone spot
the potholes made by the rat population.
I made it a couple feet upstream when I spotted once again a big chub.
The bankside vegetation shielded me so the chub did not see me coming and nailed the hopper
as it landed on the water.
The nearby gauge station boasted a nice stairway down to the water so I could land the fish easily.
All in all a good day for chub hunting.


Germany 17-07-2022

Germany 17-07-2022

As we were on the road to an epic heatwave with unprecedented temperatures I opted to go after the chub.
With clear blue skies, hot weather and the rise op the hopper population it seemed like the thing to do.
Early start was not required for this fishing so I went en route late in the morning.
The plan was to visit the hot spots in reverse order.

While passing a high bridge I took a look down and for sure big chub where moving about.
I made and early stop at a spot were I figured fish would be present.
Unfortunately the high grass on the banks still had not been mowed so access was impossible.
I tried a few casts from the bridge but the chub did not fall for it.

The next mark was a short riffle where some small fish roamed the shallow water.
Although the hopper caused some interest amongst the small fish it was to big for them.
A small palmer dry fly did the trick on the largest fish of the school.

Further downstream a bridge was the next target and it held some big fish.
But again the hopper and even the large mayfly could not draw the slightest interest.
When I finally arrived at my hotspot I was happy to see that some mowing had been done.
The bad thing was they had not collected the hay and it was slippery as hell when you
had sandals as footwear.

I spotted some big fish lying inside a bend of the stream and figured my approach from
downstream was optimal.
As goes for assumptions … a recipe for disaster … the fish spotted me and bolted with
a huge bow wave through the shallow water.

With little wind and the burning sun it was hot at the streamside.
The horse flies had found me and I ended some of them.
On my stroll along the stream I spotted many chub but the best I could muster was that
a fish would slightly look up and inspect the fly.

When I finally spotted a pod of six big fish I thought I had hit the jackpot.
One of them would surely go for the fly but again the fly yielded only a hesitant look.
My last ditch effort to get one of the big fish was to splash the hopper hard on the surface.
It would either scatter the fish in all wind directions or yield a response. Luckily the latter happened and one fish out of the group rose to the surface and sucked
the hopper in.
Now I was connected to a big fish and it immediately took me into the weeds.
The only way to land the fish was to slide into the water from the bank and boy it was deeper
than anticipated.
Then again it was high summer so in the end I could land the fish, mission accomplished.

I tried some other spots after my success but the water was so low that even the landing
of the fly would scare the fish.
Only thing to do was to get some chow, when I finally arrived at the pub it was about 20.00 hrs
with most of the patrons already left.
The ladies of the kitchen had some fun with me was they made my Mexico with an overdose
of  jalapeños … just for fun.
Needless to say I needed a lot of extinguishing fluids.
I made it tough and even managed the obligatory cheese cake with coffee to end the day.

Germany 10-07-2022

Germany 10-07-2022

Sunday I went in search for trout.
The weather forecast predicted clouds but no rain and as I left the sun was just out.
The clouds overtook me though and as I entered the water it was completely overcast.
Main target was trout but at the first pool I only got a tiny golden shiner on the nymph.

I noticed some rising fish under a bridge where I suspected trout so I tied on a small dry fly. 
The fly yielded two fish but again small golden shiner.
I ventured further into the no-go zone but even there no trout to be found.
The water was extremely low so I assumed any large fish would flee and produce a wake
but alas nothing to be seen.

The next stop was the so called guest stretch open for the public that bought a day ticket.
Maybe they had dumped some fish in there.
With the nymph and squirmy not getting anything I tied on a heavier tippet and tossed
a tiny weighted streamer downstream through a deeper pool.
That streamer made the difference and I caught a nice brown trout.

I switched between dries, nymphs and streamer at various other spots.
Most bites came on the nymph from the tiny bottom feeders, the gudgeons.
Since the first pool on the guest stretch had delivered trout in the past I tried
the streamer there again.
And it worked like a charm on the resident rainbow trout.

In contrary to the forecast it began to rain and not only lightly.
I had relocated to another part and without raingear with me I feared it would be
a wet fishing session.
Luckily heavy foliage made it possible to stay more or less dry while fishing.
No more luck though for the reminder of the session.

Late in the afternoon the rain let up and as I was early at the pub I figured I could
spent some time in the mill pool.
Here it was the same as in the other stream, extremely low water.
A film of dirt was covering the surface which did not look inviting.
The water was almost stagnant and nothing was moving.
I pulled a streamer a couple of times through the pool with no results.
A squirmy yielded just a little perch so I called it a day.

Germany 03-07-2022

Germany 03-07-2022

I planned on day two to hit all the spots were I had missed trout a day earlier but
somehow it did not go to plan.
Bites where less and I only spotted one bow wave from a fleeing fish.
It was also Sunday meaning the crowds for out and about, you could encounter
everything from dogs in the water to shady eastern European fisherman aka Ruski’s.

Seemed like the trout where gone and only the small stuff was biting.
To make matters worse I had forgotten to take refreshments with me.
It was in the afternoon that I figured I had to make a plan B and off course it involved the pub.
The pub was crowded, at least the outside dining area was packed with day trippers and bikers.

The staff was running their legs of and some of the inpatient patrons where 
whining about the waiting times of their orders.

For me it was pretty obvious that when the place is packed you have to wait 
but some folks just have a too high expectancy pattern (I used that phrase a lot at work).
I sat inside … was noticed and soon had a cool wheat beer before my nose.
With the hot weather I went for the green stuff with as a starter a refreshing tomato / Mozzarella dish.
Main coarse was the bake feta cheese with a salad, topped off with bread and honey/mustard sauce. 
And when I heard something about ice cream being available I choose that as dessert.

In the meantime the crowds diminished and the sun stood low in the sky.
Since the mill pool was adjacent to the pub I hopped into the waders and tried the pool.
The water was even lower than the other stream and pretty turbid.
I fished a streamer hoping to intercept a pike or a lost trout but it was dead.
Even the nymph hardly got any bites.
Last hope was to fish directly under the mill weir with a squirmy but that only yielded a small perch.

Fishing wise not that great but all in all an enjoyable day.

Germany 02-07-2022

Germany 02-07-2022

High summer and the water table was really low.
Choice of venue was coupled to the weather forecast as it seemed unsuitable 
for chub sight fishing on the lower part of the stream.
My destination of choice was the upper part of the stream hoping to get a trout.

I blew the first chance as I felt the take but missed the fish, the hook came out
so that trout was not going to bite again on this day.
I did get fish be it mostly dace and oddly rudd on perdigon nymphs, squirmy’s and dry flies.
Fish were feeding both on surface and sub-surface.

The shallow water made fishing tough, lots of debris and off course no cover.
It had not decently rained for ages so extreme low water and slow moving current.
The lack of cover was pretty obvious when I noticed a trout making a run
for it well in advance of me trying to make a cast.

Third chance came at a pool where a sunken tree formed a dangerous snag.
I fished a nymph amongst the branches and again caught rudd.
I assumed the rudd came from the syndicate’s pond in the village which
was full of these fish.
That a decent trout was lurking in the branches was a suprise and with 
the light leader I could not bully it around, the hook came out… bummer.
I then tried another approach and tossed the tiniest of streamer through
the pool and behold I caught a trout, not the same but nice anyways,

The last stop of the day was in the forest where it was again rudd and
roach that hit the nymph,
I tried the little streamer for a second time and again a hit of a trout but
also a quick exit of the hook.

It was a warm day so what better than to cool down in the pub.
I opted for the inside dining … closer to the bar so the glass stays full.
Menu of choice this time was the Chili cheese burger … pretty hot.
Dessert was the bee sting cake, with surplus strawberry’s.

Netherlands 26-06-2022

Netherlands 26-06-2022

And Now for Something Completely Different …

I almost forgot about the date today but it was that day when one of our retired palls would do a little guiding for us at an ornamental pond in order to catch carp.

The evil plan was to chum the carp up to the surface with dog biscuits and then use imitations to catch them. Not my kind of fishing but what the heck … one day was bearable.

So the dog biscuits flew into the pond and not long after that the carp came up carefully sucking down the biscuits. 
The Fulling Mill Disco Biscuit fly was by chance a quite accurate imitation of the dog biscuits
fed to the carp.

The fish were wary though and I missed quite a few strikes but I did manage to catch a few fish.
But it was fun to watch the fish come up and most of our group except the guide caught fish.

Germany 18-0-2022

Germany 18-0-2022

With predicted exceptionally hot weather and the low level of the stream I choose to go after chub on Saturday, ideal weather for that species.
I checked out some spots along the way and spotted a few of the bigger fish.
The shallow wide section of the feeder was my target area and when I arrived there plenty of fish where hovering around.

Fly of choice was a big mayfly pattern which would either scare off fish or be attacked instantly.
The shallow water was tricky, algae had formed and reached the surface prevented free movement of the fly line.
After a while I got a good hit from one of the smaller chub on the fly.
The bigger chub however would not look at the fly.

I walked a bit upstream and it was tough, stinging nettles man high … you could hardly move forward.  There was a rather large pike lying motionless in the water and I tried to get it to hit a streamer.
The pike was not interested and shot off to be never seen again.
The upstream section was completely overgrown unfishable for dry fly fishing.

I checked out a section downstream and noticed a few fish but the high banks and high grass
made casting almost impossible.
It was now midday with about 88F and bright sunshine.
The heat was getting to me and I needed a break in the shade.

The next spot was again overgrown and now one bank had been fenced to hold some ponies.
Again totally overgrown banks so just reaching the water was hell in that heat.
I found one open spot and one big chub and boy it went for the mayfly.
But just as it was about to gulp the fly in I struck … too early.
The fly came out and the chub ran off. With little wind and bright sunshine I had to run for cover again and luckily a shade tree was nearby.


One final spot was near a bridge where I recently had success, it was empty of fish though.
The only thing to do was to check out the pub.
The old location was nearest but as I passed it I figured the limited menu and higher prices warranted a longer trip to the new location.

So when I finally arrived at the new location I wondered why the outside dining area was vacant.
That was not a good sign, it either meant the place was closed or a private party was held.
I spotted the landlord an noticed the decoration in one area pointed to a private party.
Turned out most of the staff had fell to covid and a skeleton staff was present to host a wedding party.
Luck had it that I was allowed in and after a couple of cold ones I actually able to get something to eat also, all on the house … despite the slow fishing a good day.

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.