Bernd Ziesche | Wednesday, 30 September 2015
I met a lot of fly fishermen only fly fishing in their holidays and on a few long weekends. Some of them seemed to be happy to just fish some days per year, while most told me not to have any proper possibilities to fly fish near their hometown. The truth was that a fair number of these fly fishermen didn’t find out about having some great opportunities to fly fish within a small circle around their home.
During the past 20 years I have fly fished in most German areas. Seems fair to summarize that there isn’t any none fly fishing area available in Germany! I believe the same holds true for many countries!?
Yes, not all countries offer perfect fly fishing for Atlantic salmon, Steelhead, Sea trout, Brown trout, Bonefish, Permit or Tarpon. But if you add some more species of fish to the list, I am pretty sure you’ll have some of them nearby. I for example live half an hour northwest from Hamburg, Germany. Within an hour drive (by car) I can reach different waters offering great fly fishing for carp, asp, pike, pike perch, perch, ide, rudd and bream. I also have possibilities to fly fish for Sea trout, Brown trout, and Atlantic salmon.
Let’s have a look on fly fishing for asp. There are a lot of similarities to Sea trout. Asp fight a little stronger in the beginning though. They also often take the fly more aggressively. Asps are located in many countries throughout Europe. But still there is very little serious information about how to fly fish for them available - very opposite to fly fishing for Sea trout. Maybe we all need TIME to feel a proper connection to fly fish for a new (additional) species of fish first!? Of course only few of us have much time for fishing available, right?
No, wrong, I think!
Yesterday I was teaching fly casting all day long. Well, that’s my job. Afterwards I had half an hour left before darkness. I decided to have a few casts on pike perch before dinner. And indeed I had a fantastic fishing – catching two nice pike perch. How often have YOU been out after work to just fly fish half an hour in your home waters?
Most fly fishermen I have come across rarely go fly fishing after work within the (working) week. Again this is mainly related to not knowing about the fine fly fishing possibilities nearby. I have been located in my home town for 41 years now. And it was just last week when I found out about a spot in which I can have an excellent fly fishing for carp in the large Elbe River. I am pretty sure I have been the first fly fisherman ever to have caught a carp on fly in the lower Elbe though. Why nobody (expect myself) fly fishes here? I don’t really know. Maybe it’s because there are no Tarpon available!?
Hopefully I could inspire some of you to have a closer look on your home waters. I bet it’ll be worth it!
Great fly fishing week to all of you!
All my best
Some pictures from the last days…