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Germany 17-03-2024

Germany 17-03-2024

First fishing session in March on the stream that has now returned to a more normal flow rate.
The forest floor slowly comes alive and the typical spring flowers like windflowers, cowslip and so on are in bloom or starting to do so.

It is still early spring season though, I scouted quite a section of the stream with no visible signs of fish. In the end one spot produced a few dace on Perdigon nymph and squirmy.
I actually spotted some blue dun flying around but the only thing they attracted where yellow wagtails.

Debris from the trees are accumulating in the water and it should not be long before the algae
bloom starts. Once that happens and the leaves appear on the trees I expect more activity in the water. Since trout season officially opened I had expected to see at least some stocked fish but I encountered none.

The weather was pretty good, glad I ignored the weather service again as they listed this Sunday as the worst day of the weekend because of rain. It was not and there was more sunshine than Saturday, glad I choose today for fishing.

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Harz mountains September 2023

Harz mountains September 2023

I had not been on any road trip this year but just by chance an opportunity came along.
One of my friends asked me to arrange a last minute trip to the Harz mountains.
Since the season there closed down mid September I had to act quick.

Since work was slow it was not a problem to get a few days off.
The plan was to leave early on Sept. 1st and return late on Sept. 4th.
I booked the hotel well in advance and also arranged that the required permits would be
obtained by the folks at the hotel.

There where challenges ahead for us as the main road along the river in the valley had
been closed due to construction work.
It mean longer drives to get to the water but that was not a real problem except for costing more gas.

What was more worry some was that the reservoirs along the stream filled well up to
capacity. In the days prior to our arrival some serious discharges where visible on
the website that monitored river flow and capacity of the reservoirs.

The trip to the mountains went pretty well with just one unexpected highway closure
that was easily bypassed.
When we arrived at the hotel we quickly dumped our luggage, got the permits and headed
for the river.

The river was high but clarity was pretty ok, I guess I preferred the situation to the
more or less low and clear water situation at the end of the summer.
Just as we geared up a fellow Dutchman spotted us as familiars as he recognized one
of the local supermarket bags we had in the trunk of the car.

I had the impression that he was showing off when he mentioned he fished the river
almost 15 years … kind of posing as an expert.
Heck, I visited that place 18 years but found it not a fact to be interesting to mention.
When I asked if he had caught any rainbow trout he declined, that section was known
for them so I doubted his skills.

We started fishing with our expert in sight and boy we caught a lot of rainbows right
away … our expert soon left the scene as he had less “luck”.
Anyways the fishing turned out to be pretty good all over the place with plenty of the
original small browns with their dark colouring plus off course tons of stocked.
rainbows.

What really surprised me was the amount and size of the grayling that I encountered.
These fish had surely grown since I was there last fall.
So we enjoyed four days of good fishing in a very beautiful setting.
The only minor mishap was that I went for a swim as I slipped and fell face first in the
drink. The camera survived … the powerbank not, ego slightly bruised..

Featured
Flyfishing streams on the Dutch / German border.

Flyfishing streams on the Dutch / German border.

Chub

Introduction

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

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

Although I prefer to fish small rivers saltwater flyfishing has always been of interest to me.
Saltwater flyfishing for me ranged from sea run 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
Upper reach during summer

Lower reach during summer

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 by man but some parts are still more or less left untouched.
These streams have a high fluctuation in water level as they are for the most part dependent 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 favorite 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.
The chub fishing can be good in Summer when hopper flies are in demand.

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 back casts.
A short rod like 7ft. with a 4-weight line is best suited for fishing close quarters.
The lower reaches of the streams feature an open landscape with steep banks.
A longer rod up to 9ft. is then more practical to use plus a telescopic landing net with
some considerable reach.
In the upper reaches wading or crossing the stream is usually possible, the lower sections
are often to deep or impossible to get out due to the steep banks.

Brown trout
Dace from a small stream on the Dutch / German border / Small stream flyfishing / Nymph fishing
Dace
Local stream

Questions? message me in English / German or Dutch.

info(at)marcelkarssies.nl

Internal links:
Czech republic
Denmark
Germany
Netherlands
USA

External links:
Sportvisserij Nederland
Fischereiverband Weser-Ems
Fischereiverband Westfalen-Lippe
A&M tackle
ADH Fishing
VNV

Germany 25-02-2024

Germany 25-02-2024

Out and about for another try to catch the first fish of the season.
All that rain still made life extremely difficult, the water now a bit lower than previous weeks
but still too high for decent fishing.

I went to a spot I had not fished in ages, in the middle of a village.
In the first sections the current was so strong and visibility so low that it was highly
questionable that the fly would even reach a proper depth.
It was just all too wild, I moved on to a spot where the current seam looked just
right to make a decent drift with a squirmy.

A jumping fish at the second spot of the day raised hopes, at least some activity.
After trying some different depths I got bites and in short order I landed several
roach and a dace. Action was short and sweet, it died down pretty quickly.

The last spot in the forest did not yield any more bites.
Just too much water and current in my view for a good drift to be able to
get a proper presentation.
Called it a day early and headed for the pub as further fishing made no sense
in these conditions.

Germany 28-01-2024

Germany 28-01-2024

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.



Florida 2023

Florida 2023

Spend October in SW Florida chasing various fish species on the beach.
Fishing was not as great as I had hoped and weather conditions made
life hard on many days.
Still some of the target species (Snook) where caught with as bonus a Tarpon
from the beach.

Germany 27-08-2023

Germany 27-08-2023

I Skipped the Saturday for fishing due to a rising stream caused by rains of the previous day.
On Sunday the water had dropped considerably, the clarity was good.

I was just fishing for half an hour when the skies darkened.
It poured cats and dogs but I stayed dry as I hid under a bridge.

After the downpour I fished the shallow section of the stream with small sedge patterns for the dace. 
That part of the stream had in general a sand bottom, the slightly deeper spots could be found
at deadfalls and near the banks.

At one spot I noticed a rather loud splash which was untypical for dace meaning it could be a trout.
I made a cast to the spot and hooked the trout for a short moment on a sedge pattern.

I was pretty sure that was it for the trout but just to be sure I waited a while and

tossed a small caddis nymph at the same spot.

That worked… hooked and landed the trout, unfortunately the trout wanted to remain
incognito so it slithered to freedom when I unhooked it.

At another spot a trout went for the dace I had hooked on the sedge.
Not sure what the plan was of that trout since it was not that big.
Off course I tried to nail it but it was not to be seen again.

I continued catching dace until I spotted another trout in extremely shallow water.
The sedge was ignored as was the small nymph.
When I tied on something larger the trout was spooked and ran under the bank … game over.

Late in the afternoon I once again noticed dark skies approaching so I choose to visit
the nearest pub … my old haunt.

My friends fishing nearby so I texted them that bad weather was approaching and that 

I sought refuge, they joined me as heavy rains started.

We talked shop and exchanged some information for a road trip next week.
After some drinks they went home, I stayed on for dinner.
As appetizer the Feta cheese with honey and salad, main course pasta with
mushrooms and garlic.

It was a nice fall day… weatherwise of course as it supposedly is still summer.

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.

Germany, 18-08-2023

Germany, 18-08-2023

I had the urge to skip work on Friday to go chub fishing as I had watched the river gauges drop all week.
That in combination with a prediction for hot sunny weather would make it a perfect day.
But… it turned out completely different from what I had imagined it would be.

On Thursday the cloud cover stayed all day and it was not even that warm.
Friday started the same.
Even worse was that the stream was carrying a lot more water than I had anticipated.
Could not spot a single fish let alone catch one.

I had bought a ticket to fish the chub hotspot from the other syndicate but I only encountered
high water and a bunch of kayakers scaling the weir I wanted to fish.

Tried to wade to reach a quiet pocket for nymphing but it was too deep for hip waders.
The kayakers went over the weir but not all made it without a swim.

Not a dangerous weir with a rolling current but tricky enough for bungling tourists to 
go for a swim (3 to 4 ft depth).

The last hope was to try the upper reach of the stream but I not much going on.
Could barely scratch together one tiny perch and a small perch.
The only bright spot was the visit to the pub.

Germany 06-08-2023

Germany 06-08-2023

With a dismal week weatherwise the weekend promised to be the same.
It had rained extremely for several days and a visit to the stream seemed futile.
Then again if you want to catch fish you have to be on the water.
The slight decrease in the peak flow convinced me to go.

Having said that the ditch at the border carried water which it never does
in high summer so that was not a good sign.
The first stream I came along was fully blown out, dark brown water.

When I entered stream number two I could actually spot some bottom
, still full to the brim but it gave some hope.
That hope was of short duration though as I could hardly get any bites.
Tried the mop fly, squirmy, perdigon nymph and streamer.

In the end the squirmy was the only fly that yielded some small roach
and the tiniest gudgeon of the season.
I had really expected a trout but none of that.

Next it was off to stream number one near the pub but dark skies
afar looked like trouble.
The clouds where thick and dark and I was directly heading towards
them.  Did not reach the water in time so I had to shelter in a hut
against rain and thunder.

During a break in the rain I managed to reach the pub and quickly
headed to the mill pool.
The mill pool was full to the brim with duckweed from the section
above the weir floating everywhere.

Still some visibility in the water so I dragged a streamer through the mill pool
hoping for an intercept of a pike, perch or trout.
Not a good fishing day but better than last week because I did not got skunked.

Germany 30-07-2023

Germany 30-07-2023

Tried for chub again yesterday despite the off conditions.
Strong wind and cloud cover really made it difficult to spot any fish.
On the way to the first spot I noticed tons of roach in a section above
a mill. It was however smack in the middle of the village so not
I spot I would fish despite the presence of loads of fish.

At the first spot again loads of chub in all sizes but like previous visits
totally uninterested in the hopper I served.
Tried the mop fly but got no reaction on that pattern either.

A little farther downstream I spotted a whole school of common bream
(Abramis brama), not exactly fish that respond well to flies.
Having said that I have caught them in the past so I drifted a squirmy
through the school … the fish ran off.

Spot nr. 3 had three nice chub that where in casting range.
With the rains we had lately the current was pretty strong.
These fish showed interest in the hopper and came up for it but the
current and wind pushed the fly to fast.
The chub veered off in the last minute so no show either.

Spot nr. 4 was the last spot I visited that day.
The wind was now blowing hard, with the ripples on the water and
the lack of sunlight I could not spot anything.
Only on the spots with a clear sand bottom I could see fish.
No hits though, scared all the fish I encountered.

I encountered a few chub in a deeper pool but those where not
surface feeders as they swam pretty deep.
Tried the mop fly, squirmy and small streamers but again nothing
happened.
So in the end I blanked … bummer.

With all the rain and lower temps I think I will leave the chub in
peace for the moment and concentrate on other fish in the
upper reaches of the stream.