Germany - Harz mountains August 10th.

[Marcel_Karssies]

Last week one of my fellow flyfishingclub members called me if I was interested in
a short fishing trip.
May basic response to such question was always with the counter question “do cows eat grass?”
So that issue was solved, the next issue was where to go.
Basically we would have to choose between a four hours drive to the Bode River in former
Eastern Germany or the Diemel River in the federal state of Hessen.
The weather predictions where extremely bad during our departure, flooding and lots of rain where predicted.
The Diemel River would probably turn into brown soup while the Bode would run higher
but keep clear water, so the Bode it was.


The Hotel.



Early morning at the Bode River.

Since the Bode was a four hours drive from our neck of the woods we would opt for a nights stay
in a hotel so we could fish the next day early.
It was peak tourist season so getting lodging on short notice was difficult but in the end we found a place to stay.
After work we packed our gear and headed to the east.
Late in the evening we arrived at our hotel, luckily the cook was still on the premises so we could get a hot meal.
On the next day we would first go the local trout hatchery to get our license and fish for a while before
getting breakfast at the hotel.

I knew some pretty good spots near the hatchery with almost a catch guarantee, since my companion
Harry had never been to this river I though it would be the best location to go.
We parked the car on the mountain road and got into our gear,
Worrying sounds came up from the mountain; there was a lodging operation going on and the sound
of falling timber made us wonder if it was safe to leave the car there.
We proceeded to the river and as I saw the water I noticed it was almost two feet higher than usual.
The weather was rainy and misty and it looked almost like I had arrived in the middle of fall.
There where no rising insects or signs of feeding fish so I knew fishing would be very tough.


Harry making his first casts on the Bode River.


Almost like fall.

This river we fished in was try to wade and so I warned Harry several times that he should watch out where to set his feet.
It was all in vain though when I heard a loud splash, Harry went swimming but fortunately he stayed sound and safe.
On the piece of water I had chosen it was normal to catch 5 or more fish in a short time but now nothing happened,
even deep-fished nymphs where left untouched.
For me skunk was avoided when a tiny brown trout decided to nail the Czech nymph I was fishing.


Skunk avoided, first fish of the day.

After an hour fished the results where one fish caught, one lost and Harry still fishless.
We had to return to the Hotel in order to not miss out on the breakfast.
After a short break at the hotel we went out again, this time on what I called the senior citizen stretch.




The “senior citizens” stretch.

The senior citizen stretch was a wide slow flowing stretch in a valley with a road on one side and a row of hotels on the other side.
I nicknamed it also a zoo since you where watched by the tourists from almost all sides, the plus was that the
place usually held cooperative fish.
It was normal to see rising fish on this place and even during this high water stage I noticed a few fish rising.
To get a fish to bite was a different story, I received no hits on the nymph.



Harry doing his best.

I had directed Harry to the better bank and he was actually starting to catch fish.
He lost a nice one who decided to make a dash to the weeds.
I continued to fish under the watchful eyes of the tourist and eventually I got a nice Bode trout on the nymph.


Finally a good fish on the pheasant tail nymph.

We fished the place thoroughly but the results where pretty poor.
Since it was almost noon we decided to grab something to eat before we would continue.
After a good deal we where ready to fish the rest of the day.
The question was only where to go.
The senior citizen stretch might improve when the weather would clear a little and insects would
come off the water but we could also visit one of the faster flower stretches and see how things where there.
Since Harry had never been to this river before I opted for the faster flower stretch so he could see other parts of the river.



Fog on the river.

When we entered the river fog was falling down over the hillside and onto the river.
As I waded out I saw to my surprise rising fish and soon I hooked another little trout on the nymph.
Harry was also doing well by catching some of the bigger fish in the river.


A small brown trout on a copper John.

The fish where active for a short while and suddenly all activity season as the fog became thicker.
I headed further downstream and ended up in a slower flowing section where a few fish where rising.
I decided I would try some dry fly fishing and tied on a tan Klinkhamer.
A few fish rose to the fly and I ended up with another tiny trout.


Another small brown this time on the dry fly.

Late in the afternoon we decided to call it a day amidst light rain and fog.
I ended up with four fish caught and Harry with nine fish.
Fishing was quite bad considering my earlier experiences on this river but all in
all I was pretty pleased to be out there again.
Catching fish and preferably big fish is nice but to be in a nice surrounding in good
might be even more important.
The season on this river closed in mid September but we vowed to return before that
date under better conditions.

[snookered]

It's August here and typically slow fishing. Fished West Canada Creek with still, muggy air and rain coming with only one nice fat 12" Brown to my credit. Caught on a waking dark Elk Hair Caddis Dry fly. No hatches and higher water from recent rains. Nice to know others had a similar experience. Cooler weather and shorter days will start the fall runs on Cape Cod, time to start running the beaches at Race Point and searching for the big blitzes.

[Marcel_Karssies]

Oh well, grief shared is half grief
There where a few small bugs on the water but when
the fog was rolling in the buggers where gone.

A rematch is in the planning for two weeks from now.
Hopefully the weather will be less of the roller coaster
type we have right now.