Mohne river Germany, April 20th

[marcel]

Last thursday I skipped work and went with fellow flyfisherman Eric to the Mohne river in Germany’s Sauerland region.
We started the day with temps around freezing and clear skies.
Our first stop was the bridge at Vollinghausen which was also the
start of the Mohne stretch we had purchased tickets for.


Eric probing the waters in front of the bridge.

Due to the long winter insect activity was minimal and no fish where showing in the surface.
This situation called for the use of a weighted nymph and a strike indicator.
I saw the first signs of life when a sizeable trout went for the strike indicator Instead of the nymph.
I skipped the shallow stretches of the river and went for a deep hole further Upstream.
To my joy the indictor went subsurface in the hole and I could feel a good size fish on the end of the line.
It was a trout but since it refused to come to the surface I wondered what species it would be.
To my surprise it turned out to be my first brook trout ever.



My first ever brook trout.

A couple of cast later and I had hooked another brook trout.


Brook trout nr. 2

Things where going well for me in that pool.
My last fish from the pool was a nice Roach, a whole different size fish than the sort I caught recently in the urban ponds.



The fish had eluded Eric during my moments of triumph but that would soon change.
We headed back to the car for our lunch break when we fished the bridge again.
The sun had warmed the air and illuminated the river floor.
Somehow the fish had moved to the bridge because Eric hooked two fish in succession and mist a couple of bites.


Eric in action.

After Eric’s moment of glory we headed to the local tackle shop to get our pre-arranged licensed and buy some tackle.
We where fed some tips on where to go in the afternoon.
Off course we visited the beer garden again for pork chops and a couple of beers.
The afternoon session yielded no fish for us in the section of the river where the tackle shop directed us to.



The pretty Mohne river.

In the evening we decided to fish the bridge once more before going home.
I had a good hit but unfortunately the fish threw the hook.
The end result for me was a beautiful day spent in the outdoors and catching my first two brook trout and a nice roach.
I can’t wait for the next trip.

[JayP]

Looks like a great day out Marcel, are the Brookies recently stocked or wild on the Mohne and how do they compare to brownies once hooked?

[marcel]

I suspect the fish where recently stocked.
From past visits I knew a few brook trout where in the river.
I caught two fish in a row and other people on the river also
had stories of caught brook trout.

I had never caught a brooktrout before so the fight was odd, the
fish did not want to come to the surface and stayed deep.
No jumps or other acrobatics from these fish, they where pretty strong though.