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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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VNV

Germany 28-02-2021

Germany 28-02-2021

Another week with different conditions.
The heatwave had passed, this morning weather was chilly … it was actually freezing.
I opted for a late start and went out when the temperature was just above freezing as I hated deicing guides all the time.
The skies where clear and blue  in the city, as soon as I entered the farmland low clouds and fog rolled in.

Another change from last week was the fact that the water in the stream had  dropped 8 inches and was a lot clearer.
The good spot from last week was worthless, tried everything but could only muster a tiny dace on the squirminator.
The plus side was that I noticed the first small mayfly plus a rising fish.

A spot in the forest yielded more dace with the largest one of the day.
Fishing was slow, to cold during the night I figure.
Trout season starts March 16th. so I hope they toss in a few stockies for some more action.

 

Germany 21-02-2021

Germany 21-02-2021

As the first day of my season yielded fish in difficult circumstances I figured
a second try might be in place.
This time I had more time on my hands to check out the stream

Off course the water was still high and dirty but the spot that worked a day
before fished well in the morning.
Plenty of bites with lots of misses as the fish would often grab the tail of
the squirminator. 
You would feel the resistance of the bite and the moment when the fish let go.

I caught the same mix of roach and dace but this time one of the roach had
had some size to it.
I tried other spots nearby but had no luck.
With the crowds coming out on a sunny warm day I retreated to the forest
where I had no luck the day before.

In the forest I tried a few of the deeper spots and felt takes.
Did not run into any trout but one of the dace I caught had some size to it.
Although temperatures will taper off to more normal values for February
the lack of rainfall will hopefully clear the river for next weekend trips.

Alas no food pictures due to lockdown in Germany for the foreseeable future as all eateries are closed.
Same as in the Netherlands where there also is a curfew between 21.00 and 04.30 hours.  Trying times.

Germany 20-02-2021

Germany 20-02-2021

Within one week we went from a cold snow storm to warm springs days.
As I had to renew one of my fishing licenses I opted to fish the stream for
the first time this year.

Off course it would be difficult as all the snow had melted and all ditches
and stream where in flooding stage.
The spot I choose to start my fishing session had fast colored water.
Whatever I tried I did not get any bites.

I tried an hour or so to no avail, as I had some time to kill before 
picking up the license I did some sightseeing in the area.
I went up what the locals call the mountain which is the first major 
hill in an otherwise flat landscape.

The license process did not take up much time so I had time left over
to spend at the water.
Off course I could not end my first fishing day in a blank so I went to
the one and only spot that could save me.

The good spot also suffered from the high colored water.
The plus side however was the large current seem with slow moving water.
Fly of choice was the squirminator that was heavy enough to get deep and
had a large enough profile to be detectable by the fish.

It took some time before I had the right depth and speed figured out but
then I ran quickly into fish.
Small fish but at least some action in difficult circumstances.
I was happy to end this nice day with the first fish of the season.

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.

Germany 13-12-2020

Germany 13-12-2020

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

Germany 05-12-2020

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

Germany 22-11-2020

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.

HSK 10-2020

HSK 10-2020

The planned holiday in Florida soon became fiction this year.
Plan B was Germany, I was lucky to clear to border a day before travel restrictions where put in place.
As you can imagine the hotel stay and dining arrangements where odd but at the river it was business as usual.

I had the river for myself which, a bonus in these dark times.
My hopes for an warm fall dissappeared as I dogded rain and cold mornings.
Having said that I also expirienced sunshine.

This late in the season the river was ultra clear.
Nymphing did not produce results, dry fly fishing was the best method.
The brown trout where few but grayling where plenty.

The grayling where tough, they where rising on the tiniest of flies.
My fly selection of large segde patterns that had worked in the past failed.
The two size 19 sedge patterns in my fly box that yielded grayling on a frequent basis where treasured as gold.

I had originally planned to stay for two weeks.
With the knowlegde that more pandemic misery would follow I figured
it might be best to extend my stay while it was possible.
In hindsight I am glad I made that move.

Germany 27-09-2020

Germany 27-09-2020

A few days of rain had put water and color in the stream.
I fished the upper section of the stream as the weather was no good for
chub fishing.

Since the mill pool was open again for members with a special permit I tried to catch some fish there.
Unfortunately the lack of water over the past year had filled in the pool
completely so it was to shallow for decent fishing.
Surprisingly the usual present roach and dace where a no show.

Luckily some other sections of the stream still housed some fish with as
icing on the cake a nice brown trout.
The perdigon produced some fish but with the murky water I soon opted
to fish the squirminator.
A borderline fly but it has it’s moments and the many gudgeons I caught
showed it was fished properly deep.

Drawback of the squirminator or squirmy is that you get a lot of tailbites
and that their durability is minimal.
The plus side is that they are easy to tie so you should be able to tie a 
good supply of them in a short time.
I like the original material from Fulling Mill best as it really moves.

Germany 20-09-2020

Germany 20-09-2020

Another sunny day was upon us so again back to the chub hot spots.
As it had not rained for ages the water in the stream was extremely
low and almost stagnant.
I did not manage to spot any large fish or many fish to be precise.

With the sun low in the sky I had again problems just seeing fish.
The many bow waves in the shallow water indicated to me that
the fish had none of such problems.

I finally spotted a collection of fish near a brigde.
The reaction to a dry fly landing in the water was not what I was hoping for.
The fish scattered with even the larger ones running scared.

Switched to a squirmy brought a small chub to surface and later on
a small sedge did the same.
The fish which I did not where totally uninterested in any flies I
offered them.
Hopefully some rain will fall soon to get some action started.