Fly Fishing - Fly Fishing Gear: L.L. Bean vs. Orvis Products?

Marcel_Karssies · Location: Enschede - The Netherlands

The weather turned wintery again after a few no-freezing days and so fishing is at a standstill.
We still decided to go out today to one of the rivers across the border in Germany just to see how things where looking.
After a break at a fine German Bakery along our route we arrived at the river - still at flooding stage and off course cold and freezing.

The river.

It had rained a lot a week earlier so we where actually expecting some lower water levels - we where wrong.
The main purpose of this day was to try and fish the Czech way, they call it short nymphing also.
Generally you fish a team of nymphs on a long rod and detect strikes by means of a strike indicator that is built into the leader.

My nymph setup.

The rod I used was an Orvis Western 2 10ft 3-piece #6.
Those rods where built for the English market mainly for reservoir angling I believe. The Western 2 series where replaced by version 3 so I got the rods cheap.
The whole purpose of this style of fishing was to fish the nymphs deep and be able to detect all the strikes of the fish.
The fish species I relied on where dormant at these wintery conditions, with any luck I could expect them in a month or so.
Still I go a fish allthough not on the proper way.

Victim of the Czech nymph method.

The critter I hooked was most likely a very juvenile burbot which is a freshwater cousin of the cod. Protected down here so I have to watch out for what we call the green maffia [ Smile

]
That global warming thing has not really materialized this year, it has been unusually cold overhere and it seems to continue this way.
Spring is coming but at snail speed.

Snowdrop

The first migratory birds have returned, the first flowers like snowdrop are emerging.
Off course we did try something else and tossed streamers in the deep holes of the river but nobody answered the door...
All we can do is wait for this winter to finally go away.