Flyfishing Germany, May 27th 2012

[Marcel_Karssies]

Today I was on a mission – go and catch chub.

I knew that the stream I fished had some pretty big chub in them
but they where so wary that I never even got close to them.
Off course big chub got big not because they where stupid like
the little ones who would grab anything from the surface.

At first I only spotted little chub and subsequently caught a few of those.
Just by chance I ran into a fellow member of the German syndicate who
was also busy flyfishing.
He had done well with mayfly patterns so that might be the ticket for the
day as many naturals where buzzing along the field.

After some searching I spotted a couple of very big chub, the monsters
I had been looking for.
It was almost impossible to fish for them without scaring them off but I
managed some casts with a big mayfly.
It was nerve wracking as I watch many times how a big chub would move
To investigate the fly and open its mouth to inhale the fly.
For some reason they all rejected the fly at the last moment and whatever
Different pattern I choose did not seem to matter.

I left the spot for an hour and tried again later in the day.
The big chub where still around and it looked like they where active.
After a few fruitless drifts the fly suddenly got inhaled by a big chub,
I struck and all hell brooke loose as the chub charged off.

Chub had the nasty habit of diving in the weeds and this one was no different.
I had to get wet to land this fish but luckily the water table was low and access
To the water was more or less easy.
I managed to coax the chub out of the weeds and could finally land the fish.
It may have taken years but I finally got one of the big boys…

[spilunkr]

Well done Marcel, perservearance does pay off. Very nice shot of the big mayfly; what specie is it?

Guy

[Marcel_Karssies]

From Wikipedia

Ephemera danica is a species of mayfly in the genus Ephemera.
The common name "green drake" is used in some parts of the British Isles for this species.

I tried the same spot again today but oh boy was it hot, not much fish to
be seen during the day, only managed a couple of small ones.
Oddly the mayflies and damsels where all parked in the grass, must have
been the wind that has kept them down.

[Hillbilly Boater]

Marcel, Nice report and I loved the pictures. The one is a picture of a stork isn't it? That's cool. I have never seen one since we don't have them in the US. Gee, I wonder where babies come from over here?

[Marcel_Karssies]

Yes, it's a Stork probably on it's babydelivering break

Actually when pastures are mowed you will find storks and more commonly
herons on them as they hunt for mice.

Actually I have seen storks in Florida, Woodstorks...