Wir lebten frei nach dem Motto meines lieben alten Freundes Wimmi Faust selig: „Kein Lachs ist für eine Woche schon eine ganze Menge“. Mit sechs mal dreissig Minuten Fliegenfischen, nur so lange „lief“ der Pool minimal jeweils nach der höchsten Tide, für diese Art der Lachsfischerei darf man auch nicht mehr erwarten. Richtig, die hohe Tide ist ja zweimal am Tag, immer jeweils auch nach Mitternacht. Diese „Chancen“ liess ich immer aus, dann schläft nämlich der HRH. Und wie gut.

Dafür hatten wir die ganzen Tage Zeit und Musse, unsere Lebern in eine Intensiv-Kur zu schicken. Was wurde da geapérot und gedigestift. Dazwischen haben wir gegessen und getrunken. Und vor allem den Herrn einen braven Mann sein lassen. Zudem; in Sachen Beerensuche war ich äusserst erfolgreich.

Immerhin; der „Kretzer-Albert“ hatte als Spinnfischer wenigstens etwas die besseren Fangchancen, weil er mit dem Löffel über das niedere, ruhige Hinterwasser werfen konnte – und er nutzte sie auch – schon nach zwei Stunden hingen zwei stattliche Lachse an der Waage. Sie wogen zusammen grad zwanzig Kilo. Da freuen wir uns jetzt schon auf den geräuchten Wildlachse an Weihnachten.

Wir steigen in den Flieger, der uns von Førde zurück nach Oslo bringt.
Es regnet.
In Strömen.

H.R. Hebeisen

Die Hauptarbeit war Aperitif und Digestifs trinken...

Dazwischen haben wir auch etwas gegessen und getrunken.

Die Ruhezeit war unendlich.

Immerhin ein 12 Kilo Lachs gleich zu Beginn.

Alnwick of Northumberland (GB) war Ausgangspunkt unserer November-Lachsreise an den River Tweed in Schottland. Hier auf dem Bild ist links Bill Hardy und in der Mitte mein alter Freund James L. Hardy.

Am 1. August erreichte uns die traurige Nachricht von James L. Hardy’s Hinschied.

Jim, wie er schon immer von allen genannt wurde, war der letzte Vertreter der Familie, welche dem weltbekannten Unternehmen seinen Namen gab. Mit meinem lieben Freund verbanden mich nicht nur geschäftliche Interessen, die Firma A. & H. Hebeisen war während einiger Jahre Generalvertreter von Hardy für die Schweiz, Deutschland und Österreich, sondern wir pflegten auch einen sehr intensiven, privaten Kontakt, der bis jetzt anhielt. In seinem letzten Brief teilte mir Jim mit, dass es mit 85 Jahren nicht nur allein Freude macht, hier zu sein und vor allem die Arthritis und andere Gebresten zu ertragen. Besonders weil er vor einem Jahr seine geliebte Gwynne verlor.

Ronald Fenger aus Holland begleitete Jim Hardy und mich an den River Tweed.

Ich erinnere mich nicht nur an gute Stunden bei meinen Werkbesuchen in Alnwick, sondern auch viele Tage beim gemeinsamem Lachsfischen an den Flüssen Tweed, Spey and Tay. Jim war auch vor bald 4 Jahrzehnten dabei, als ich 1976 am 19. Januar meinen ersten Lachs des Jahres – und am 4. November des gleichen Jahres im River Tweed meinen letzten Lachs im selben Jahr fing. Ich habe diese Geschichte in meinem zweiten Band des Buches „Faszination Tafelfreuden“ festgehalten. Nun ist es noch eher eine alte Geschichte.

Möge Jim in der Anderswelt ebenso gute Lachsgründe vorfinden.

H.R. Hebeisen

Für den erfolgreichen Lachsfang sind drei Dinge wichtig, das eine genauso wie das andere.

1. Die Wurftechnik – ohne sie geht es einfach nicht, wer es noch nicht beherrscht, schaut sich den DVD „Perfektes Fliegenwerfen“, dort hat es ein ganzes Zweihand-Kapitel.
2. Die Taktik – zu wissen, wo die Lachse stehen, die Wassertemperatur kennen und die Antwort auf die Frage; Wie werfe ich den Lachs an.
3. Auftritt und Tarnung – wer laut auftritt und sich nicht tarnt hat wenig Chancen einen Lachs zu fangen. Dann gibt es aber noch einen 4. nicht unbedeutenden Punkt:
4. Kleine Fangtricks – Das fängt beim richtigen Menden an und hört am Schluss vor dem nächsten Wurf auf. Und genau über diesen (oft Match entscheidenden) Punkt handelt nun der folgende Artikel. Ich gehe davon aus, dass ein Lachsfischer soviel englisch versteht, dass er den Sinn dieses Artikels versteht.

Ich wünsche Euch allen eine erfolgreiche Lachsfischer-Saison 2012. Wenn Ihr Rat braucht, sei es in Sachen Lachsgewässer, Lachsgerät oder Wurftechnik, wendet Euch an uns, wir sind die Spezialisten. Wir haben auch neue, ganz giggerige Lachsfliegenmuster in unserer Kollektion.

Petri Heil
H.R. Hebeisen

Fish before you cast

Can you please offer some advice on what to do when the fly has inished its swim and is hanging straight downstream? I'm never sure whether it's best to start retrieving it immediately, fast or slow, smooth or jerky, and so on.
BILL GALES, VIA E-MAIL.

What works for one fisher might not necessarily suit another. And a lot depends on position and circumstances. For example, is the water belowyou shallow, or is it deep enough to hold a fish and lively enough to swim a fly? Also, how are you presenting the fly? For example, if you've gone for a square and fast presentation with something like a Sunray or Monkey, then it would seem to make sense to keep the fly moving at pace throughout its retrieve.

It's when you're fishing the fly comparatively slowly that you're most likely to encounter a fish that follows the fly as if unsure what to do with it. If you are in such a rush to make your next cast that you whip the fly away, you'll deny that fish the opportunity to do the decent thing...

Imagine you've worked the fly through that productive crease at the edge of the current, and now the fly is hanging in water that may hold a fish. It might be a follower, or it might have been resting there for hours or days. Or it might by now be some distance away; still keeping an eye on the small object that was swimming in front of its nose a few seconds ago. How to tempt it?

One possibility is simply to leave the fly hanging - supposing that the current is strong enough to keep it swimming rather than sinking to the bottom. A dressing with mobile hackles and some strands of angel hair in its soft wing or long tail will practically fish itself in these circumstances. There again, I personally haven't got the patience to do nothing for more than about five seconds - though I've seen others waiting much longer and suddenly their reel has sung. Having waited for however long a time at least long enough to ensure your cast is completely fished out - one possibility is to raise and lower the rod tip so the fly falls back then darts forward. Alternatively, there's the Scandinavian technique. Move your arm back and forth, like a player about to take a snooker shot. Perhaps we could call it "snookering". This can be more effective than raising and lowering the rod tip as it allows for greater variation. Gentle or strenuous, short or long - use your imagination...

Finally, we start to draw in line. You might opt for fairly short and gentle draws, or a figure-of-eight retrieve. Like the auctioneer provoking one last bid with his "Going, going, gone," before bringing down his gavel. How soon you bring down the gavel - how quickly you accelerate your drawing in of the line - is up to you. Some people feel they've done enough after slowly drawing in a yard or so; others insist they get many fish by continuing to slowly draw in the running line until the back of the head, be it shooting or spey, is almost at the rod tip.

In certain circumstances I might let the fly come on to the dangle, leave it hanging for at least a few seconds, and then start snookering it. Next I will make a figure-of-eight retrieve, merging those into some slowish draws, which I will keep going until I feel I have done enough. Only then will I start drawing in the line quickly, prior to the next cast.

How you fish out the fly is just another of those things that reflects whether you are a fisher or simply a caster.

Next month I shall be answering a question on choosing the best wading depths and routes. So where will that leave us? We want to have the fly fishing throughout its swim - on a straight leader at the start, and carefully worked at the end. And ensure it's swimming at the best angle, speed and depth by choosing the best wading route. If we make the effort to get these things right, our catches are bound to improve.

Lower Dean River Steelhead and Wild British Columbia Rainbow Trout

by Jean-Paul Kauthen

proud Flyfisher

What the Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar) is today to the flyfishermen and -women of Europe and the East Cost of North America, the Steelhead or anadromous form of the rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) is to the Pacific Northwestern flyfishing addicts.

Dean River Steelhead are born in the River Dean in British Columbia in Canada but spend approximately half their lives in the Pacific Ocean. They reenter the Dean River through the Dean Cannel - a 100 km long fjord like inlet of the British Columbia coast - and then have to overcome the Dean River Canyon - a natural barrier located 4.5 km upstream of the Dean Channel. Since the steelhead have to face this canyon to reach their spawning grounds, the Dean River steelhead are strong, aggressive and powerful and the fish of the Lower Dean - the stretch between the saltwater of the Dean Channel and the canyon - are known for their freshness, silver colour and stunning beauty.

It was these legendary gamefish that my friend Martin and I were after during the six days from August 13-18, 2011. We had booked a trip through FlyGal Ventures and Blackwell’s Dean River Lodge. Our guides were April Vokey and Steve Morrow.

Dean River Lodge Cabins

How did we get to this most promising venue? First from Vancouver airport to Moose Lake Lodge by charter airplane, next from Moose Lake Lodge to the Dean by small bush airplane. Before landing in the Dean Channel, we flew over the majestic Dean River and could see the pools and stretches in the lower part that we were about to fish and that became our second home in the upcoming days: Cedar Hole, Eagle’s Nest, Upper Tidal, Bill’s, Instant Backing, Cutbank, Archeological, Ross’ Island, Slide, Boat Launch Island. Snow covered peaks, scenic Grantham Falls and quiet Dean Channel were always our marks.

But now let’s get to the fishing. Our boatman and guide Steve and our guide April took very good care of us. Their intimate knowledge of the water and beats we fished as well as their technical expertise were essential during our stay. We were five flyfishermen and both guides got us started and guided us every day on the different beats.

Right on the first day, Martin and I had to realise that our preparation regarding Spey casting was insufficient. Although we had practiced Spey casting a lot before this trip, we simply were not prepared to cast heavy sink tips (T-11 and T-14) together with large and heavy intruder flies. So this was indeed a shock on the first day. But we were able to learn fast, adapt and improve our strokes and cover the distances needed to place a fly in front of a much sought after steelhead. On the first day we thus landed some pink salmon and an occasional Coho salmon.

One of the most hilarious episodes of the trip took place right on the first day at our lunch break. During our picnic at Ross’ Island, Steve, one of the other participants in this week, pointed out to our guides April and Steve that there was a bear behind them. Yes, good joke, very funny. But as everybody turned around, we noticed a black bear and its cub at around 15 meters behind us. They quickly disappeared after our guides scared them off. This reminded us that we were in bear country. Every day we saw many fresh bear tracks in almost every beat and were always aware that we were being watched. Luckily no other close encounter took place. On the other hand bald eagles were almost always in sight.

On the second day, Martin lost a steelhead in the morning and I was lucky to land my first one in the afternoon. It was relatively small but nevertheless was a beautiful fish. On the morning of day three I then had a second steelhead. This one was larger, I was exhausted after it was released and I was trembling for a while. In the afternoon, Martin lost again a steelhead and I was fortunate to catch and release my third steelhead right below the canyon. This one was even larger than the second one, thick, long, a real beauty.

Blackwell’s Dean River Lodge consists of a main building with kitchen, dining room and sitting room as well as three cabins which each accommodate two guests. In the lodge we were very well taken care off by Diana and Dana who prepared delicious meals. We also enjoyed the company of Justin Blackwell who runs the lodge.

On day four, I started with Steve above the island and fished a deeper stretch containing large boulders with a heavy sink tip T-14. After a few casts, I was lucky and could land my fourth steelhead. Martin lost another one in the morning but was very happy to land his first steelhead in the afternoon. The ban was finally broken!

spey casting

Steve showed me how to fish a waking fly - a sort of dry fly fished on the surface and creating a V-shape disturbance on the water surface - on day five. I was lucky to catch a Coho salmon on the waking fly, something that is rather unusual according to our guides. A little later, I was sight fishing for steelhead with April further downstream in bear country, unfortunately with no success.

Day six, our last day, saw Martin losing again a steelhead. I was very fortunate to catch my fifth steelhead in a riffle behind a boulder (see picture above). It was right where I had expected it to be. In the afternoon I made also the experience of loosing a steelhead after playing it for at least a minute or so.

The other three participants Steve, Ira and Tom, all experienced steelheaders, also caught their share of nice fish.

To sum up our steelhead flyfishing days, I can say that this was indeed a trip of a lifetime. Martin and I both enjoyed flyfishing for wild and fierce steelhead in stunning and unspoiled surroundings. The trip to the Lower Dean River is already an adventure. Flyfishing, flycasting, reflecting on the things that matter in life and leaving everyday life behind and just enjoying Mother Nature was an experience well worth it. Thanks to April Vokey, Steve Morrow, Justin and John Blackwell for making this happen.

One thing I have learned or rather has been confirmed during this trip is that flyfishing is neverending learning. In particular casting these Skagit heads or Spey lines with heavy sinking tips and flies is something I have to get into even more. I want to learn how to read steelhead water and present a fly to such a magnificent fish, of the right size, at the right speed, with the right tension, at the right depth. I want to become a steelheader!

steelhead water

After our six days of flyfishing for Lower Dean River steelhead, we took off with our pilot and guide Charley for the next two days in our small floatplane from the Dean Channel. We flew one last time over the majestic Dean River and could see the beats that we had fished the days before.

Charley landed the floatplane on one side of Lake Sigutiat near the outflow of the lake into the River Iltasyuko, a tributary of the Dean. This River holds a nice population of rainbow trout that migrate into the river from the lake. Since downstream there are several falls that render impossible upstream steelhead migration, we were sure that the rainbows we were about to catch were not young steelhead.

We started doing a few casts into the lake and soon realized that the rainbow trout were everywhere. Charley showed us the first stretches of the river and then took off for a couple of hours. Here we were alone in flyfisherman’s paradise. We started casting our dry flies into the river and soon had some fierce rainbow trout on. They fought very well, as a matter of fact, we had never and nowhere witnessed trout fighting as strongly until released. If these wild rainbow trout and the Dean River steelhead have common ancestors, then this might be an explanation why Dean River steelhead fight so well.

We fished downstream and could rise many fish in every pool. Many were small, some of them larger and we soon found out that the largest and strongest fish held in the heavy currents. We fished halfway to the bend that was around 500 meters downstream from the lake, decided to catch two trout for our lunch and then headed back for the lake. Here we made a fire and started to cook our trout. Their flesh had the same colour as salmon. They were delicious. What tastes better than fresh trout cooked on a fire in the midst of Mother Nature?

With Charley, who had returned in the meantime, we headed again downstream and explored the beats near the bend of the river. We could see dozens of trout rising and taking frantically insects from the surface and even in the air. Indeed, we saw many large stoneflies hatch and the trout tried to catch them while in the air and flying over the water. An incredible sight! This made us flyfish with relatively large dry flies.

Unfortunately even the best flyfishing day has to come to an end and we had to continue our flight to Moose Lake Lodge where we stayed for two nights. Moose Lake Lodge is run by John Blackwell and is an Orvis endorsed lodge. We enjoyed the hospitality of John, his family and his staff very much. This was indeed flyfisherman’s paradise.

rainbow trout

After an excellent meal and a good night’s sleep, Martin was up early to place a few casts onto Moose Lake that contains a very healthy population of large wild rainbow trout. Every cast was successful and he landed one fish after the other. Then after breakfast we took off by floatplane towards Blackwater River. In the first stretch we fished, we found hardly any fish. Moreover since it was extremely difficult to walk alongside the river, we soon switched to a more promising spot.

Here we fished near the inflow of the Blackwater River into a lake and were luck to land again one fish after the other. Here the fish were even bigger. Casting was more difficult though since fish were out very far and since a steady downstream wind forced us to do backcasting. As the day before, we decided to make a fire and have rainbow trout for lunch. Here again, the trout we ate was delicious. We also watched a bald eagle catch a fish in the lake. This was very spectacular. These eagles are huge.

After lunch we took a walk and headed through the woods to another stretch. Here we were able to catch a few trout, most of them were quite small and so we decided to head back. We fished the initial stretch a second time and could land many more wild rainbow trout. Then we decided to fly back to Moose Lake Lodge and fish Moose Lake for a while. Here we had again several large fish.

When it was time to head back to the lodge, we realized that we had lived two incredible days flyfishing the nicest wild rainbow trout that you can imagine in complete wilderness and untouched nature. British Columbia really is a place where a flyfisherman or -woman can can live his or her dream and experience fabulous adventures.

Many thanks to John Blackwell for the organization and his support. We also had a great time with Charley, our pilot and guide. We very much enjoyed the flights with him. He made us discover many British Columbia beauties.

For more pictures check out the “My Albums” section of my website http://www.flyfisherjournal.com

Die Skjern Å fliesst quer durch West-Jütland und ist im Gegensatz zu den klassischen Lachsflüssen Norwegens oder Schottlands eher ein ruhiger, grosser, mäandrierender Wiesenbach als ein reissender Strom mit Abfolgen von Rauschen und Pools.

Die Gegend um das Städtchen Skjern war bis ins 20. Jahrhundert hinein ein sumpfiges Marschland. Mitte des 20. Jahrhunderts wurde der Unterlauf des Flusses kanalisiert, das Brachland urbar gemacht und der ehemals reiche Lachsaufstieg brach ein. Im Jahr 2002 wurde der gesamte Unterlauf renaturiert und der ursprüngliche Flussverlauf wiederhergestellt. Zusätzlich wurde ein Aufzuchtprogramm initialisiert, um den Lachs- und Meerforellenbestand zu unterstützen. Heute präsentiert sich die Skjern Å als einer der produktivsten Lachsflüsse Europas, nicht zuletzt auch aufgrund der restriktiven Entnahmepolitik. Pro Jahr darf jeder Fischer nur einen Lachs entnehmen und es besteht ein beschränktes Kontingent. Ist dieses erreicht, darf gar kein Lachs mehr entnommen werden. Auch wird viel kontrolliert, noch bevor wir den ersten Wurf gemacht hatten, durften wir einem äusserst zuvorkommenden Fischereiaufseher unsere Karten sowie die Lachslizenz zeigen. Auch die Widerhaken hatten wir vorschriftsgemäss entfernt.

Um nicht allzuviel Lehrgeld zu bezahlen, buchten wir bereits im Voraus für Donnerstag und Freitag Tommy Olinsson als Guide, einen bekannten Fliegenbinder und profunden Kenner der Skjern Å.

Doch konnten wir es nicht lassen, bereits am Mittwoch den ganzen Tag zu fischen. Ausser einem Take bei Yannick tat sich aber gar nichts.

Am folgenden Tag trafen wir uns um 8 Uhr mit Tommy, der zuerst einmal Frühstück am Fluss zubereitete. Nach ein paar Tassen Kaffee, Brötchen etc. gings dann los mit der Fischerei. Zuvor präsentierte uns ein einheimischer Fischer seinen frühmorgendlichen Fang, einen stattlichen Lachs von etwa 6.5 kg. Wir lernten die spezifischen Standplätze der Fische kennen, die sich durchaus von den üblichen Standplätzen unterscheiden. Zudem statteten wir der Aufzuchtstation einen Besuch ab. Mittags wurde gegrillt und über erfolgversprechende Fliegenmuster philosophiert.

Am Abend befischten wir einen kleinen Nebenfluss der Skjern Å. Kaum zu glauben, dass in einem solch kleinen Fluss Lachse von über 15 Kilo aufsteigen. Wir fingen jedoch nur einige Junglachse und liessen das Fischen dann bleiben.

Da die Skjern Å in mehrere Beats unterteilt ist, entschieden wir uns, am zweiten Tag an der flussaufwärts gelegenen Borris-Strecke zu fischen. Karten sind in unbeschränkter Anzahl für jedes Beat erhältlich. Interessanterweise hielt sich das Aufkommen an Fischern in Grenzen. Meist fischten wir alleine oder es fanden sich nur wenige andere Fischer am Fluss.

Wir befischten verschiedene Abschnitte intensiv, sahen einen Fisch rollen. Ansonsten tat sich nichts. Obwohl die Skjern Å nicht ein Hochwasserfluss ist, in den die Lachse nur nach intensiven Regenperioden aufsteigen, fiel der Run der Winter- und Frühlingsfische dieses Jahr aufgrund der extremen Trockenheit geringer aus als sonst. Trotzdem wurden jeden Tag einige frisch aufgestiegene Lachse gefangen, was uns motivierte, weiterzufischen.

Samstag und Sonntag „pickelten“ wir jeweils von Morgens um 6 Uhr bis in die Mittagsstunden hinein, aufgrund des zu schönen Wetters verbrachten wir die Nachmittagsstunden mit Fliegenbinden und Siesta. Von 16 Uhr bis 21 Uhr 30 stand Abendfischen auf dem Programm. Nicht gerade das was man gemeinhin unter Ferien versteht. Immerhin verbesserten wir unsere Wurftechnik täglich.

Am letzten Tag fischten wir noch einmal die untere Strecke in der Nähe des Städtchens Skjern. Aufgrund der windigen Verhältnisse und der geringen Wassertiefe dort wechselte ich am Nachmittag zur handlicheren Switch-Rute mit einer Skagit Schnur und einem schweren Sinktip. Ein Spinnfischer, der die Strecke vor uns gemacht hatte, berichtete von einem verpassten Biss und so fischten wir äusserst konzentriert. Nach etwa 30 Würfen gab es einen Ruck in meiner Schnur, ich verkneifte mir den Anhieb und auf der anderen Flussseite zeigte sich eine silberne Flanke. Ich hob die Rute an, der Haken sass und sofort zog der Lachs flussaufwärts in die Flussmitte. Mit der leichten 7 er Rute war der Drill ein recht anspruchsvolles Unterfangen, doch nach einigen Fluchten stromauf und stromab zeigte der Lachs erste Ermüdungserscheinungen. Ein anderer Fliegenfischer, der sich in der Zwischenzeit zu uns gesellt hatte, bot sich an mir bei der Landung behilflich zu sein. Dankend nahm ich an, denn an ein Stranden war beim steilen Flussufer nicht zu denken. Beim zweiten Anlauf wurde der Lachs mittels Schwanzwurzelgriff gekonnt ans Ufer befördert. 92 cm, 7,3 kg, Meerläuse, ein Prachtsfisch. An dieser Stelle möchte ich dem Helfer Harry Østergaard von der FFF Denmark noch einmal herzlich für seine Hilfe bei der Landung danken.

Nach Erledigung der Formalien, jeder entnommene Lachs muss mittels eines Formulars und Schuppenproben gemeldet werden, wurde angestossen und gefeiert. Am nächsten Morgen traten wir die Heimreise an, mit vielen gesammelten Eindrücken und erweiterten Erfahrungen in der Lachsfischerei. Auf jeden Fall fahren wir nächstes Jahr wieder an die Skjern Å. Falls Sie weitergehende Fragen zur Fischerei in den Dänischen Auen haben, wenden Sie sich im Laden an Yannick Hartmann oder Manuel Bünzli.

Lachsfischen der Superlative in der Ekaterina Lodge am Fluss Kuchtui am Ochotskischen Meer in Russisch Fernost

Selten hat sich Werbung als so treffend erwiesen wie bei der Fischerreise vom 21.8. bis 2.9.2010, die ich mit den Kameraden Markus G. aus Basel und Hartmut L. aus Sachsen (den ich von gemeinsamen Zeiten in Oesterreich, Yukon und Irland kannte) unternehmen durfte. "Wie Alaska vor 50 Jahren" könnte auch zutreffen, wenn da nicht sogar Handy-Kommunikation möglich gewesen wäre (am Bootshafen vor dem Frühstück wegen der 9 Stunden Zeitverschiebung).

"Fitnesstraining beim Seilziehen" gegen die vielen Mitglieder des Clubs "Lokomotive Ochotsk" (Silber- und Hundslachse) wäre auch passend. Der Fischreichtum war einfach gigantisch, zwei Dutzend und mehr Lachse am Tag lagen drin. 1-2 Seehunde holten sich auch ihren Anteil aus dem Fluss. Die Bären liessen sich (leider) nicht blicken, hinterliessen aber deutliche Spuren und nachts das Gebell der Camp-Hunde.Wir wurden von Irina und Robert, Kolja und Wassilij und v.a. dem Küchenteam Marina und Sergej verwöhnt und von Stefan fischereilich betreut.

Trinken nach Plan (man musste Monate im Voraus bestellen, was man an Bier, Wein, Mineral, Saft und Wodka zu konsumieren gedachte - schliesslich ist der nächste Supermarkt nicht gleich um die Ecke) war gewöhnungsbedürftig, verdurstet ist aber niemand.

Die Reise ist kompliziert und langwierig (ca. 2 1/2 Tage) und die Russen lassen sich kaum eine Gelegenheit entgehen, für Gepäck-Uebergewicht zu kassieren - aber was solls?

 Der hohe Anteil an "Wiederholungstätern" unter den Teilnehmern ist durchaus verständlich.......!

Andres W.

I toured the Gaspé Peninsula from July 31st until August 9th 2010. In a small and counterclockwise loop around the peninsula, I travelled from Gaspé to the Forillon National Parc, Sainte-Anne-des-Monts, Parc National de la Gaspésie, Cascapedia St-Jules, New Richmond, Percé and back to Gaspé.

Many rivers of the peninsula are home to the Atlantic salmon and hence a paradise for the flyfisherman and -woman. Flyfishing was democratised only relatively recently with the introduction of the ZECs (zone d’exploitation contrôlée). Obtaining the right to fish may seem complicated to a European. The different non-private pools of the rivers - or fosses as they are called in French - are grouped together in sectors and for each sector, fishing permits are available on a day-to-day basis or on a 48 hours draw or on a draw on the 1st of November. Check out Saumon Quebec for details. There are also numerous fishing lodges/outfitters - called pourvoiries - that can make all arrangements for their guests. With a permit you are allowed to keep a maximum of 2 fish per day. Catch and release permits are also available.

The first salmon I saw were those of the Rivière Madeleine. Approximately 20 kilometers upstream of the mouth of the river, a huge waterfall of about 20 meters in height stops all salmon. Until the 1960s, they had to spawn somewhere below this fall. In the 1960s, a fish pass was installed which allowed the salmon to travel upstream under ground and reach the river above the fall. Here around 60 kilometers of additional water stretches are ahead of the fish, to the great delight of the flyfisherman. The fish are counted and put manually 4 times a day from the last basin of the pass into the river. On my visit, 944 salmon had passed up to that day this year. The yearly average is 1’000 fish - compared to an average of more than 10’000 for the River Tweed in Scotland. A dirt road of approximately 7 kilometers leads to this extraordinary sight. You can see numerous salmon below the fall, resting before pursuing their journey, and it is absolutely spectacular to watch these wild fish. The river itself above the fall is very broad and majestic and hence also offers a very spectacular view.

Fish pass

Manuel Transfer

Resting pool

Madeleine

In discussions with the locals, I learned that the conditions in all Gaspé rivers had been excellent so far this year since a good amount of rain had fallen in early July. Catching reports from all rivers were excellent and numbers were up from recent years.

On the way from Sainte-Anne-des-Monts to the Parc National de la Gaspésie, I could watch three large salmon in La Grande Fosse on the Rivière Sainte-Anne.

I had booked three days of fishing with the Salmon Lodge. This lodge is beautifully located on the River Cascapedia with spectacular views onto the river. On the morning of the first day I fished the Alder Island Pool in the upper part of the river with guide Patrice. I started fishing the pool with my one-handed rod and relatively small sunken flies and felt a pull after a while. It was only at the end of the morning that a salmon came for a larger fly (Aldo Salmon, one hook) and soon after I could release my first Cascapedia and hence Gaspé salmon. In the afternoon, I fished New Derreen. Here the river is very broad and majestic and I fished my double-handed rod. Unfortunately without success.

Salmon Lodge

Salmon Lodge terrace

Alder Island Pool

On the second day, the guide Clément took Christian, another guest from Quebec who had caught a nice grilse on the day before, and myself to the E sector of the River Bonaventure which consists of the most upstream pools that are available for fishing. Here we fished the pools Kransell, Tom Bear, La Cage and Double Crossing. We fished both sunken and dry flies. The River Bonaventure is very spectacular since its water is crystal clear and since you can see numerous salmon in the different pools. The highlight is without a doubt on sight flyfishing with dry flies.

The level of the water of the Bonaventure had gone down quite a lot during the days before and hence it became more difficult to catch fish. Although in all pools we fished, numerous fish were present, they would not take our flies. We fished the first pool with sunken flies, casting them diagonally across the river and letting them swing around. Then one makes one or two steps downstream. That way, you cover a large area of the pool. I started, Christian followed after a while. When I had finished, Clément took me upstream to a rock ledge above the water. From here we could see 3 nice salmon laying side by side and another even bigger one a little deeper in the water. Time for some dry fly action! I started casting my dry flies and was able to move one or two fish, but they would not take the fly. I tried different sizes and colours, but they simply were not interested any further.

Bonaventure

It was only late in the afternoon, when the very large pool Double Crossing was in the shade, that I was lucky. Clément had suggested another change of fly, from sunken to dry, when, on the second cast, the impossible happened. A very nice salmon took my dry fly from the surface of the water and disappeared again into the pool. I stroke immediately and realised that I had hooked my first Atlantic salmon on a dry fly. Of course, these dry flies - called bombers - are not comparable with the dry flies we use for trout fishing, they are huge and relatively heavy, hence also difficult to cast in windy conditions. Nevertheless it is great fun and exciting seeing a huge fish come up to the surface and take your fly. After a good fight, I could land and release a real beauty of a strong fish. Clément estimated it at 15 pounds.

JPK fighting salmon

JPK and Bonaventure salmon

Bomber

On the third day, Clément took Christian and me to the B1 sector of the Bonaventure. Here we fished as beautiful stretches as the Ruisseau Creux, Molson, Lunch, Emile’s Luck and La Longue. Unfortunately no luck for both of us on that day. Fishing becomes difficult during weekends on the lower part of the river after 10 am since many canoe and kayak float down the river.

JPK flyfishing Bonaventure

Conclusion: The Gaspé rivers are all spectacular and a paradise for the salmon flyfisherman. Although theoretically one could do all the organisation and bookings by oneself, I strongly recommend the use of a lodge or at least of one or several guides. The guides find their way through the maze of dirt roads that lead to the pools that are booked. They also know how and where to fish the pools and are always up to date about catch statistics and pools that hold fish. I personally found their services invaluable. My thanks go to the very professional and friendly manager, staff and guides of the Salmon Lodge for an unforgettable experience.

By the way, to increase chances of survival after releasing the fish, all flies with triple hooks are prohibited from this year on. Furthermore, flyfishing is the only method allowed for catching salmon on the Gaspé Peninsula. Quite remarkable in my view.

Check out the website of the Salmon Lodge. More pictures can be found in the Gaspé section of my website.

Heisst; Augenabstand wie bei der Meerforelle, jedoch konkaver Schwanz und umgekehrt. Aber immerhin, hier sind zwei wesentliche Anhaltspunkte, die man sich gut merken kann.

Vor allem die Schwanzform gibt Auskunft. Beschreibt das Schwanzende eine Gerade oder sogar eine leicht konvexe Form (nach aussen leicht gebogen), dann ist es sicher eine Meerforelle.

Merkt Euch diese Unterschiede, sie sind vor allem dann wichtig, wenn die Meerforelle (wie zurzeit in Irland) geschützt ist, also nicht entnommen werden darf.

Der hervorragende Artikel stammt übrigens aus der neuesten Ausgabe der englischen Fachzeitschrift "Trout&Salmon".

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sind heute aus Norwegen zurückgekehrt und ich bedanke mich sehr bei Dir einerseits für solide fischereitechnische Ausbildung (Lachs auf Einhandrute #7, großer Doppelzug!!! , übrigens Stroft 0,45mm), mehr aber noch für Dein legendäres Rühreirezept.

Es hat uns bei Kräften gehalten und für jetzt wieder kältere und dunklere Nächte entschädigt. War eigentlich ganz zufrieden mit der Ausbeute, bis mein Freund Thomas dieses Trumm von Lachs anschleppte (über 15 Kilo)!

Freue mich noch mehr auf Dein Buch (wichtiger als noch ein Lachsbuch oder eine weitere Rute) und Euch hoffentlich bald einmal zu treffen.

Liebe Grüße

Peter