(No) Pike

Date: 29 December 2016
Country: The Netherlands
River: Bernisse
Nearest city/town: Simonshaven
Fish: Pike, Pike-Perch
Technique: Spinrod
Gear: spinners, spoons, plugs, softbaits

We decided to go pike fishing near Rotterdam. The Bernisse is a very nice river that starts from the Spui. The Spui connects the Haringvliet with the Oude Maas. It is not too wide and not too deep.There is a lot of high gras and beautiful pools. We parked our car at the start of the Bernisse (at the Spui) and walked all the way around (we took the first bridge). It was a 10 km hike (15.000 steps) on a cold and foggy day. Along the way we casted as much as possible, changing lures now and again, but helas... not one bite. Nevertheless, it was a nice day out and we will be back here for sure!

Merry Christmas!

Ulf finished the boxes on time and they look great!
Merry Christmas!

Tying a "Tom Special"

When we were in Norway, in August this year, Tom has caught a lot of trout and grayling using this fly. He could let it drift, tug it in, drag it behind the boat... whatever he did, he caught fish with it.
This is my attempt to copy that fly...

Tying for Christmas

I've made a deal with my buddy Ulf. I will tie 10 different flies for 5 friends and he will make 5 fly boxes. That 'll be our present to our fishing friends.
It took me some time and a lot of patience, but I've finished my part of the deal. Now I just have to wait for the boxes... :-)

 

 

Cast away your troubles!

My wife, who is talented at drawing, helped me make this awesome board. I think it looks great. I especially like the fact that there is a little magnet just above the mouth of the fish to present the "fly of week". Easy and fun DIY project.

Fly tying DIY - Pinterest

I've created a board on pinterest with some of the flies I've been tying. Feel free to have a look!

Ourthe - Grayling

Date: 14 October 2016
Country: Belgium
River: Ourthe
Nearest city/town: Nadrin
Fish: Trout, Grayling, Chub
Technique: flyfishing
Gear: 6-weight rod, floating line, 9-foot 4x leader, 5x tippet, dry fly (mayfly, super pupa, caddisfly) & nymph

Today we left early for a +2 hour-drive to the province of Luxembourg in the South of Belgium. We went to a stretch of the river Ourthe that is completely isolated, so we had a nice walk to the river in the morning cold.
We walked down-stream for about an hour before we started fishing up-stream.
Fishing in this overwhelming nature without coming across any fishermen or even other people was amazing.
When the sun got higher and temperatures raised, the number of insects above the water increased. It started with some small sedge flies but in the afternoon there were, much to our surprise, beautiful blue and dark red mayflies on the water.
We didn't catch many fish today but quite a variety: trout, grayling and chub. Again we saw a group of big barbels lying in a pool but we couldn't seduce them to take our nymphs.

Fly tying - DIY

I think it's important to, at least try to, tie your own flies. It makes you to think about the kind of flies you will need and how they look. It will really let you appreciate fly tying much more. The reward to catch a fish on a selfmade fly...
So I've made a board on Pinterest with some of the flies I want to try to make.
I've started with some of the basic fly patterns I think need to be in your fly-box: parachute-mayfly, f-fly, dyret (rough water caddis), sedge fly, some maggot-like nymphs and maybe some terrestrials like ants. Luckily, my fishing buddy Ulf brought a lot of his fly tying stuff with him from Norway and taught me some of the basics. I just hope I will get better at it over time...

Ourthe - Trout

Date: 27-29 September 2016
Country: Belgium
River: Ourthe
Nearest city/town: Nadrin
Fish: Trout
Technique: flyfishing
Gear: 6-weight rod, floating line, 9-foot 4x leader, 5x tippet, dry fly (caddisfly)

We have been taking our students on a teambuilding activity to the Ardennes for almost 10 years now, where they climb and hike next to the Ourthe river. This year I decided to take my fly rod and do some fishing while I was waiting for the next group of students.
I caught some small trout and a medium- sized chub fish (kopvoorn, chevaine). However, the biggest fishes I saw were barbel (barbeel). They were lying in groups in a quiet spot next to a rapid. I tried a nymph (because they were not surfacing) but couldn't catch one.
Definitely a place to come back to!

Freshwater bass - Muysbroeck

Date: 21 September 2016
Country: Belgium
River/Water: Muysbroeck (De Putte)
Nearest city/town: Ekeren
Fish: Bass, Pike, Carp
Technique: Spinfishing
Gear: Spin rod with braided line + 18-35/100 nylon + jighead with twister or small softbait or spinner

This was the first time we went fishing in this location, which is actually nearby. To our surprise the bass in the little pound vigorously attacked the lures we threw in the water. We only fished for 2 hours but we caught 4 bass. Good to know that we don't have to drive long distances to have a fun day fishing!
It's a bit of a shame that vegetation surrounding the pound is not maintained. It's difficult to find a good spot to cast because of all the trees and bushes. We are hoping to fly fish for carp here some day...! :-) 

Oosterschelde - Sea Bass

Date: 16 September 2016
Country: The Netherlands
River: Oosterschelde
Nearest city/town: Tholen
Fish: Sea bass
Technique: Spinfishing
Gear: Spin rod with braided line + 35/100 nylon + softbait (black minnow)

Today we went fishing for sea bass with Tom and his colleague Yannick. We started fishing around 10.30h in the morning. It was a cloudy day and the wind picked up in the afternoon. We started with three different colours of softbait but Yannick caught his first big sea bass on a shiny blue black minnow (size 3 - 25 gram). We all switched to blue lures and we all caught some fish.
Afterwards, Tom went to Bass Hengelsport to buy the remaining stock of black minnow softbaits... :-) 

La Lesse - River Trout

Date: 9 September 2016
Country: Belgium
River: Lesse
Nearest city/town: Tellin
Fish: Trout
Technique: flyfishing
Gear: 6-weight rod, floating line, 9-foot 4x leader, 5x tippet, dry fly (caddisfly)

My fishing buddy Ulf and I went to the south of Belgium to flyfish. First stop was near a place called Anseremme where the river called the Lesse meets the Meuse river. We found a nice spot near Pont-de-Lesse but unfortunately there were so many kayaks on the water that it was near impossible to fish.
So we continued driving South and left the highway when we crossed the Lesse again. We looked on the map how we could reach the river and ended up on a bridge near a place called Tellin. We were very lucky to discover this beautiful stretch of the river. I went upstream and Ulf went downstream. We managed to catch 5-6 river trout each (and lost a few). I even caught a crayfish in my net.
We released all fish back in the river and finished this beautiful day with a beer in the pub, exchanging stories with 2 french-speaking flyfishermen.

Norway - Trout & Grayling

Date: 21-28 August 2016
Country: Norway
River: Rena
Nearest city/town: Rena
Fish: Trout & grayling
Technique: flyfishing from kayak
Gear: 6-rod, 4x leader, 5x tippet, dry fly

We drove 6 hours to Kiel (Germany) and took the Colorline ferry to Oslo. From Oslo it was a 2 hour drive to Rena where we made our bivouac next to the river. Although the weather was nice on most days the fish was only moderately active. Never-the-less we went on the river every day in our kayak, canoe and rowing boat and managed to catch some decent-sized rainbow trout and grayling.
I was very surprised to catch my biggest fishes on a day it was pouring rain using an fairly big attractor fly resembling sedge with a touch of orange.