Fly Fishing Fabisch, the Weekly Picture Archive 3 - 2017

weekly picture 26 2017

Whether a beginner is preparing for his mandatory test (yes, that´s the law in Germany, notwithstanding exceptions for fishers from abroad) to obtain a state fishing permit, looking for equipment in a sporting goods store or in the bar at the end of the day, when it comes to flyfishing, people start bitching about a perceived lack of opportunities to flyfish. Most of us live within about 50 miles from Nuremberg, and while we don´t have fly-fishing rivers coming out of our ears, we suffer no lack of such waters either. Almost all fishing clubs have such fisheries, some of them definitely spectacular ones. Unfortunately in many of them spinning lures are also permitted. But still, our region is blessed with opportunities for fly anglers. Walk a couple miles in any direction, and you´ll probably fall into a good flyfishing spot.

weekly picture 28 2017

We have been moving around the Salzach near Zell am See for six days now. Fortunately our goal was gold panning, not fishing. Current water levels and conditions (high and dirty) keep us from even thinking of flyfishing. Even gold panning is pretty rough with a visibility of less than 1 cm. Daily thunderstorms and several construction sites quench all hope of a better situation. The funny part: 4/5 of the day the weather is quite fine. We´ll have to take care not to get sunburned.

weekly picture 29 2017

Berchtesgaden and its fisheries are among a flyfisher´s dream destintions. Many years ago the German magazine Fliegenfischen featured an article dealing with my flyfishing clinics in Berchtesgaden. These clinics used to start on May 1st, lasting up to six days. Unfortunately, they had to be discontinued for this time of the year after about twelve years. During the first years the water conditions had always been just about perfect around the beginning of May, in later years this season showed more and more problems due to snowmelt/spring runoff, resulting in high and troubled water.

weekly picture 30 2017

Again we have booked our flights and RVs. Again there are some little details to figure out. Will our flies and nymphs be enough for the entire trip, have we packed enough leader material? Before you risk running out of supplies you better get the old vise working and stock a few extra spools of leader material. Those who travel to Canada more frequently usually have friends over there who will stock a few boxes of supplies for them, this way you don´t have to carry rods, waders, and wading boots on each and every flight.

weekly picture 32 2017

When speaking of Alpine regions, I mean also rivers in Alpine promontories, as e.g. Alz, Ammer, Isar and Loisach as the most prominent rivers, the smaller ones being rivers like Ramsach and Rechtach. These are but a few samples, there are lots of other possibilities in the Allgäu region to fish for grayling. All this is in Germany, but other countries bordering on the Alps also offer excellent fisheries for grayling. The Isar is my personal favorite, and I´ve been fishing it for decades already.

weekly picture 34 2017

Without any doubt the scenery in Western Canada is breathtaking: mountains, small deserts and gorgeous rivers. On your first or second trip to the same destination you can´t absorb enough of all that beauty and stop every few kilometers for another photograph. This goes on for a few years, wearing off only so slightly. Here I am en route from Vancouver to Smithers by car or RV. This ride is 1,150 km long, so one had better plan an overnight stay. I have driven this route more than 30 times, so I like to take a detour once in a while.

weekly picture 36 2017

If you look around on the web, you will find airfare to Vancouver for around €650.-, and with some luck you might find an even better price. A Dodge Grand Caravan with 7 seats can presently be found for €995,59 for three weeks starting end of September. This way flight, car, and "housing" come for € 1,650.-, provided you sleep in the car. I have done so repeatedly, for up to four weeks. If you decide to bring your own sleeping bag and air mattress, you will have to add to the above the cost for excess baggage. The price indications above are standard and are not to do with my job at Nuremberg Airport. As long as you travel alone, this will work out fine. For two persons you´ll have to find different arrangements.

weekly picture 37 2017

Somehow I keep meeting flyfishers fishing in the best of locations, radiating not the serenity of our sport, but agitation and disturbance. It´s been a long and stressful ride to get there, so they have to hurry to get in a few extra hours of fishing before nightfall. After that they practically empty their suitcase while taking a shower, then buzz off to dinner before the kitchen closes. The permits for the next two days, Saturday and Sunday, have already been bought. The idea to start fishing before breakfast is quickly discarded, because Friday has already been stressful enough: get home from work quickly, pack the bare necessities, and finally drive 600 km on the highway...

weekly picture 41 2017

The West Coasts of Canada are part of British Columbia, a.k.a. BC, so why use the plural? Because we shouldn´t forget about Vancouver Island the largest Canadian island west of the North American continent. The island is almost 500 km long, its western coastline being extremely jagged so the length of the coastline is several times the length of the island. The Pacific coastline of the continental part of BC is also very jagged and has fords of more than 100 km length. It is not surprising that neither coastline has practically any roads running parallel to its course.

Wolfgang Fabisch,    Nürnberger Str. 45,    90542 Eckental/Germany

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