Jindra
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Thursday, December 1, 2011
The last trout of 2011
The 2011 trout fishing season in the Czech Republic is now officially over. Today the trout waters closed, not to open until April next year.
The winter frosts have arrived, and cold weather is slowly making fishing unpractical. The night temperature on upper Vltava, which has brought me so much sport in September and October, has dropped to -10°C and the river is thick with ice; the ice cover makes the grayling safe from raiding North Sea cormorants though, which is not entirely bad.
For my closing day fishing trip I decided to visit the river Ohře. It is a tailwater fishery, with relatively warm water flowing from the Nechranice dam. As such it had a decent hatch of Blue Winged Olives even in late November. But the fish were already feeling sluggish and the steady flow of #18 duns was met with very few rises.
After trying the dry fly for some time with no success I determined that my last good chance to get in contact with a fish was a deeply fished nymph. I tied on a heavy pink bug, looking as a cross of a maggot and a strawberry, and was rewarded by a couple of fish. This brownie, caught at half past 3 on November 30th was my last fish of the 2011 Trout season.
The tie:
#12 TMC 2302 hook, debarbed
3,3 mm Tungsten bead + flat lead underbody
red Benecchi thread
pink embroidery thread for the body
The winter frosts have arrived, and cold weather is slowly making fishing unpractical. The night temperature on upper Vltava, which has brought me so much sport in September and October, has dropped to -10°C and the river is thick with ice; the ice cover makes the grayling safe from raiding North Sea cormorants though, which is not entirely bad.
For my closing day fishing trip I decided to visit the river Ohře. It is a tailwater fishery, with relatively warm water flowing from the Nechranice dam. As such it had a decent hatch of Blue Winged Olives even in late November. But the fish were already feeling sluggish and the steady flow of #18 duns was met with very few rises.
After trying the dry fly for some time with no success I determined that my last good chance to get in contact with a fish was a deeply fished nymph. I tied on a heavy pink bug, looking as a cross of a maggot and a strawberry, and was rewarded by a couple of fish. This brownie, caught at half past 3 on November 30th was my last fish of the 2011 Trout season.
The tie:
#12 TMC 2302 hook, debarbed
3,3 mm Tungsten bead + flat lead underbody
red Benecchi thread
pink embroidery thread for the body
Sunday, November 27, 2011
An Order Clearly Spoken
While browsing the wares of an embroidery shop I discovered a spool of olive thread. And the thread just spoke to me; it felt like a scene in a film, when an old relic speaks to an ordinary guy and he goes to pull a sword from a stone or what not.
The word the thread spoke to me was "Baetis". I dared not disobey such a clear order, and so I purchased the thread and went home to tie some medium sized olives.
Baetis parachute
#16 Dohiku 301 dry fly hook
8/0 UNI thread tan
Coq de León tails
Olive embroidery thread body
Tiemco Aero Dry Wing wingpost
Hare dubbing for thorax
Olive dyed rooster hackle
Monday, November 21, 2011
The end (of 2011 season) is nigh
The season is definitely getting to its close, and it will be soon that I will turn in my season's tickets and reduce myself to the tying table only. But until that time comes (the Czech season closes on November 30th) I am trying to get as much fishing as possible.
As thick layers of smog descended on Prague I headed with some friends to fish the river Ohře in north western Bohemia. This river, also called Eger in German, is one of the finer Czech tailwaters fisheries. The days of its former glory are past now, but it still retains aura of certain mystique as river where it is possible (though unlikely) to catch brown trout in the 50+ cm range.
It is also notorious as a moody river, where blank days happen to even the best fishermen. The news we had through the fly fishing grapevine was that a hatch of olives was going on and that the fish were rising freely. Thus we overcame our natural laziness and temperature just slightly above freezing and headed to the famed river.
The the reports turned out to be correct; but one thing the grapevine failed to mention was that even though the fish were indeed freely rising they were awfully choosy in what they put into their little mouths. The sound of fish splashing carried well over the waters and the huge riseforms were impossible to miss. But the wily fish utterly ignored all my fancy offerings, only to rise again once my imitations passed. Frustration rode high.
At the end - after trying out most of my grayling fly box - I decided the imitative approach had failed and turned to attraction. First with my pink Barbie dun and then a little Goldie fly.
The Goldie, while not imitating anything particular, turned out to be just what the fish wanted. Why should the fish prefer such thing to #18 Olive dun when #18 Olive duns were drifting by and being eaten is one of the great mysteries that make fly fishing so alluring.
I was rewarded by several fine grayling and also some rainbow trout. This one has evidently suffered a close encounter with a predator (perhaps a small pike?) in his youth.
Little Goldie Fly:
#14 Hanák 130 BL hook
tan elastic tying thread
UNI 1/32 " tinsel Gold
3 natural CDC feathers
As thick layers of smog descended on Prague I headed with some friends to fish the river Ohře in north western Bohemia. This river, also called Eger in German, is one of the finer Czech tailwaters fisheries. The days of its former glory are past now, but it still retains aura of certain mystique as river where it is possible (though unlikely) to catch brown trout in the 50+ cm range.
It is also notorious as a moody river, where blank days happen to even the best fishermen. The news we had through the fly fishing grapevine was that a hatch of olives was going on and that the fish were rising freely. Thus we overcame our natural laziness and temperature just slightly above freezing and headed to the famed river.
The the reports turned out to be correct; but one thing the grapevine failed to mention was that even though the fish were indeed freely rising they were awfully choosy in what they put into their little mouths. The sound of fish splashing carried well over the waters and the huge riseforms were impossible to miss. But the wily fish utterly ignored all my fancy offerings, only to rise again once my imitations passed. Frustration rode high.
At the end - after trying out most of my grayling fly box - I decided the imitative approach had failed and turned to attraction. First with my pink Barbie dun and then a little Goldie fly.
The Goldie, while not imitating anything particular, turned out to be just what the fish wanted. Why should the fish prefer such thing to #18 Olive dun when #18 Olive duns were drifting by and being eaten is one of the great mysteries that make fly fishing so alluring.
I was rewarded by several fine grayling and also some rainbow trout. This one has evidently suffered a close encounter with a predator (perhaps a small pike?) in his youth.
Little Goldie Fly:
#14 Hanák 130 BL hook
tan elastic tying thread
UNI 1/32 " tinsel Gold
3 natural CDC feathers
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Aspects of Angling
I have recently experienced two very different visits to upper Vltava. On my first I travelled alone and had a great sport - the conditions were just perfect: a sunny day after overnight frost brought up a strong BWO hatch, the fish were active on the surface and my size #18 Olive Quill met their appetite exactly. I had great time, having caught several fish over 40 centimeters on a dry fly.
The next week I returned south again with two friends. I had shared my enthusiasm with them, so naturally the expectations ran high. Martin and Dalibor were looking forward to some quality grayling fishing and I wanted to play the perfect guide.
Unfortunately the fishing conditions did not repeat themselves. A cold front was passing over the Czech Republic, which brought a strong wind and put a stop to the BWO hatch. The fish were loath to rise and sudden gusts of wind made havoc of our light lines and long leaders. We really struggled to connect with any fish, and the big ones were out of the question.
The surprising thing about all this was that the second trip turned out a great success, but in a different way than the first. The misery that we all shared has brought us all together and as the fishing was no good we could afford to take some time off, enjoy a streamside lunch, tell stories of better fishing and really drink in the eerie beauty of late season Šumava.
The sun cast long and dramatic shadows over the dry meadows, the willows were already bare, the birches still full of colors and the three of us were about as far from civilization as is possible in our densely populated country. We enjoyed ourselves immensely, despite the fact that the fish turned out rather uncooperative.
The next week I returned south again with two friends. I had shared my enthusiasm with them, so naturally the expectations ran high. Martin and Dalibor were looking forward to some quality grayling fishing and I wanted to play the perfect guide.
Unfortunately the fishing conditions did not repeat themselves. A cold front was passing over the Czech Republic, which brought a strong wind and put a stop to the BWO hatch. The fish were loath to rise and sudden gusts of wind made havoc of our light lines and long leaders. We really struggled to connect with any fish, and the big ones were out of the question.
The surprising thing about all this was that the second trip turned out a great success, but in a different way than the first. The misery that we all shared has brought us all together and as the fishing was no good we could afford to take some time off, enjoy a streamside lunch, tell stories of better fishing and really drink in the eerie beauty of late season Šumava.
The sun cast long and dramatic shadows over the dry meadows, the willows were already bare, the birches still full of colors and the three of us were about as far from civilization as is possible in our densely populated country. We enjoyed ourselves immensely, despite the fact that the fish turned out rather uncooperative.
Thursday, October 20, 2011
No Hackle Olive Quill
A new tying sequence has been added to my SBS pages - No Hackle Olive Quill. It is a neat little fly, a great favorite of Czech grayling and sure to work wonders when the autumn generation of Baetis sp. hatches (i.e. about this time of the year).
I will award a special price to the first person to correctly guess the currency on the picture! :)
Monday, October 17, 2011
October Optimism
The gloomy days of early October have passed, and the mist and drizzle were replaced by sunny, if crisp and cold, autumn days. Nothing awakens grayling appetite like a combination of overnight frost and a good BWO hatch, so I headed to the mountains of Šumava to pay a visit to what is arguably the best grayling fishery in Czech lands.
By the village of Dobrá the Vltava river meanders through fields of sedge (locally called "pineapples", quite challenging to pass through). In its gentle flow grows ranunculus and other plants, supporting a variety of aquatic life. The banks of the river are littered by concrete bunkers, now overgrown by the forest but still serving as mementos of darker times.
By about noon a mixed hatch started, with blue winged olives and little stoneflies. Even an occasional big sedge (Rhyacophila sp.) could be seen, but it did not seem to find any risers. The most productive imitation were #18 green quill & CDC mayfly and #18 Hare's mask emerger. Especially the green quill was very hard for the grayling to resist.
Over the stretches of Ranuncul I caught several fine fish on a dry fly The surface activity peaked by about 2 PM, but I could see occasional rises until about 5 PM.
The fish showed a surprising variance in color - some were very light, with only a few blackish scales, while other were of very dark complexion.
By the village of Dobrá the Vltava river meanders through fields of sedge (locally called "pineapples", quite challenging to pass through). In its gentle flow grows ranunculus and other plants, supporting a variety of aquatic life. The banks of the river are littered by concrete bunkers, now overgrown by the forest but still serving as mementos of darker times.
By about noon a mixed hatch started, with blue winged olives and little stoneflies. Even an occasional big sedge (Rhyacophila sp.) could be seen, but it did not seem to find any risers. The most productive imitation were #18 green quill & CDC mayfly and #18 Hare's mask emerger. Especially the green quill was very hard for the grayling to resist.
Over the stretches of Ranuncul I caught several fine fish on a dry fly The surface activity peaked by about 2 PM, but I could see occasional rises until about 5 PM.
The fish showed a surprising variance in color - some were very light, with only a few blackish scales, while other were of very dark complexion.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)