HSK 08-2016

Please share your reports from other Country's, we love to see what other lands have to offer and the adventure of how you hunt your fish.
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Marcelk
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Joined: Thu Aug 25, 2011 7:01 am
Location: Enschede - Netherlands
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HSK 08-2016

Post by Marcelk »

As my last trip to the so called Hoch Sauerland Kreis in Germany was pretty enjoyable
I soon schemed for a second go. I had some unfinished business down there.
That big trout that I lost was still edged on my mind and I just had to return to give it
another try
Also the presence of the big grayling intrigued me and I sure wanted to catch a few of those.
At the last visit I had only partly scouted the river and my intention was to at least see
the full length of the river I was allowed to fish in.
The hotel was also a blast with the excellent catering and the ideal location regarding the river.

I tried to convince some of my friends to tag along but as was often the case they lacked
either the funds, time or sheer will to go.
As I was determined to go I made arrangements to stay for 5 days at the same hotel
as on the last trip.
To my surprise one of my buddies who was also present at the first trip decided in the end that he could join me for at least a couple of days.
Off we went on our way down south again.

The check in at the hotel was smooth as usual and after filling out the paperwork we where
ready to gear up and start fishing.
The river was carrying even less water than on the last visit so catching fish proved to be
tricky at times.
Even the weather played up during our stay with a sudden plunge of temperature and rain,
in fact it got so cold that the temperature in middle August was on par with that of Christmas last year.

The big brown trout eluded me but not my buddy as he told me he had caught the fish at the
same spot I had lost it due to a breaking leader about a month ago.
He managed to get the fish from out of its lair and measured it at 60cm in length.

I could skip the big trout for now and concentrate on the grayling instead.
The trout fishing went fairly decent even when the rains raised the water and introduced some
reduced visibility in the stream but the grayling where a whole different cup of tea.
I just could not get any of the big fish to eat a fly.
I got the small ones and had a lucky break when I found a spot with readily rising grayling but generally
the big ones just would not look at the flies I presented.

Every evening the grayling would rise in their typical vertical way dipping their noses through the surface and
although I got a few on small spent fly patterns and small sedges I never got any of the big ones, it almost drove me mad.

After the higher water from the rains the weather improved and the river cleared up again.
Fishing became tougher, at the spot behind the hotel I could spot the grayling, trout and chub but
hardly ever got bites.
At the last visit I had boldly remarked that in the tackle shop that if I would fail to catch fish in this river I would pick up golfing …
during that first day a month ago blanked fearing the worst.
Now I was finding golf balls in the river and I was becoming afraid … a sign from above … hell fishing became worse.

One day number four I really struggled with the low water and the afternoons session seemed like
a bust. I opted to fish the end of the stream where I had done good business with the trout to at least
save the day and even there I could not get into fish.
When I was halfway up the river again I made a bad cast and got the leader tangled in the brushes of the riverbank.
When I pulled the line free I saw to my amazement that I now had two flies in my hand, on the one hand the nymph
I was fishing … plus a CDC sedge from somebody else who had obviously lost his fly in the shrubs on an earlier occasion.
I decided that this must have been divine intervention so I tied on the CDC sedge and guess what …
I started catching grayling and trout.

Hoping that my luck would continue on into the evening I made my way amongst the rising grayling again
but by now the magic charm had lost its power.
Still I pushed on as I did not want to leave the river before catching a fish and so I was still at it
when the light was gone and the moon was shining.
The break came as it was already dark when a small trout nailed the dry fly and so I could
end the day on a positive note.

On the final day I still struggled with the low water and wary fish but at least I had now scouted the whole river.
At the last spot which I had not fished I got a break when a nice brown trout nailed the sedge while I was fishing in a shallow pool.
That was the sign to pack my things, head back to the hotel and call it a day.

Are we finished at this river … no … in the days I spend at the river I got some new insights in the
grayling fishing and thought that there was still plenty of room for improvement.
So when I checked out at the hotel I vowed to come back in the near future.
I will overcome and adapt and in the end I will get one of these big grayling and maybe even that
big trout as I now know where it is living.

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The light outfit, 2 weight rod

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In the beer garden, very enjoyable :-)

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Small lunch, Strammer max

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Overgrown section at the top end of the stretch

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Beginning of the stretch, some big grayling near those stones ... they eluded me.

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Top end of the stretch

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The pony's and horses of the nearby holiday hotel, a blast for kids ...

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During the rainy day we where allowed to enter the pub, with waders and all ... no problem for
the hotel staff :-)

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A big grayling, instead of eating my flies they where watching me :-)

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Smaller grayling which did take a fly.

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One of the better brown trout in the river.

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Dessert time, the Strawberry salad with mint, rhubarb compote and icecream

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On the rainy day
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Low and clear water again
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Hell to come ?
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Himalayan Balsam, an invasive plant ... pretty though
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The found fly .... by divine intervention

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A late hour trout
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Last fish of the trip
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The parting gift from the hotel ... lucky water ... with lots of alcohol :-)

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