The Weisse Traun in June

For the folks who haven't seen the pictures I took earlier this June, here are some pictures. I fished the Weisse (translated: white) Traun in southern Germany during a long weekend in June.

As you all know we have no mountains in The Netherlands, so lack any form of trout fishing in streams or rivers (ah well, maybe a teeny tiny stream here and there in southern part of the country). For my trout fishing I go to Southern Germany, near the border with Austria. Many would say, what about the lake of Oostvoorne? Well, I've tried it several times, but lake fishing (and it's a HUGE lake!) is not my cup of tea. I prefer moving water over still water.

I used to go to the Eifel region, which is near the border of the three countries The Netherlands / Belgium / Germany. But after fishing these streams for more than 15 years, I wanted to go for quality rather than quantity. It's a long drive to southern Germany (around 9 hours, opposed to 3.5 hours to the Eifel region), but it's worth it. In southern Germany there are many other options to fish, including many nice rivers and streams in Austria.

So, this first weekend of June was sunny and hot. Not really the best weather for fishing, but being out in the gin clear water (click on the pictures) and fishing with my bamboo rods was nothing short of pure enjoyment. Too bad my buddy Rolf couldn't come along. Just a week before the planned weekend he pulled his calf muscle.

This weekend I decided to fish exclusively with my bamboo rods. I picked up the idea of fishing with bamboo rods after reading about them for many years. Dunno, but fishing a nice bamboo rod with a matching reel (no modern large arbor reels here please) on a small / medium sized stream has a very 'back to basic' feel to it. I always thought that a bamboo rod was just plain heavy and slow. Boy, how wrong I was. A well built bamboo rod, especially with understated cosmetics, is a thing of beauty. The attention and time that was put into building one, the workmanship that is needed and the material that was once just a 'piece of grass' is just amazing.

I now own two bamboo rods: a Tom Moran 7ft 2/2 (2/2 means 2 pieces with 2 tips) #4 and an Orvis Superfine 7ft 2/2 HDG (I use a #3 on it). This last rod is very special to me. First of all it was built in 1968, which is my year of birth. Second, I bought it from a gentleman who kept the rod all those years in the closet. He was too scared to break it if he fished it. He (RIP) passed away due to cancer. So I bought a brand new 36 year old bamboo rod. Since these Orvis rods all have serial numbers, I mailed Orvis and they could trace the buyer & year they built the rod without any problems!

Since it was the first time I took my Orvis out for fishing, I ended up fishing it 90% of the time. Although rated for a HDG line (similar to a 6 weight), I found it casts a 3 weight superbly. I always loved the Superfine grip on an Orvis, especially finished with two reel rings. 

My Orvis Tippet graphite rod has been my all time light weight rod for ages. This Orvis bamboo performed superbly during the weekend. One other myth: bamboo rods are NOT vulnerable as one might think. Abuse (e.g. sudden stress like jerking the rod after a fly caught a tree, hitting the tip with a bead head nymph or slamming car doors) is something no material will handle well. Playing a big fish with force EVENLY exerted is no problem for a bamboo rod. Check out some of the nice fish and the gin clear water of the Weisse Traun.