Post Danica blues

[martin_b]

Post Danica Blues

I'm sitting here trying do decompress after a couple of pretty intense weeks.

The Ephemera Danica hatches around end of May/beginning of June. This year I saw the first flies on the water on May 27.
Prior to that I have been on the water every day to see when it would happen this year, because you never know. The hatch lasted until yesterday.

I have had very high hopes for this year's Danica fishing. The nymphs have a two-year life cycle, and since two years ago was amazing with lots of flies and fish I was expecting this year to be as good. Unfortunately weather conditions weren't with me this time around. No rain for more than a month, lots of wind and pretty cool temperatures all made for a very unpredictable hatch and some very difficult fishing.

It was hard to find steady rising fish, and if you did, you spooked him by just thinking about casting your line.

I did catch some fish though. But it was as if it never really started, and now the hatch has ended and I'm waiting for other fly-life to appear.

I have a couple of friends from a different part of the country that doesn't have Ephemera Danica hatches come over every year, and this year was no different. My friend caught the biggest fish of the trip, a brown trout of around 20 inches. I myself hooked up with the largest brown trout of my life so far, but lost it midway during the fight. The know had untied itself... During the jumps of the fight we saw him and estimated him to be around 25 inches. There's video of it though for the cold winter nights.

Now I sit here with a sort of an anti-climactic feeling. I had very high hopes for this season and made great sacrifices to be able to fish every day for three weeks, and then it never really began before it was over. Still, fish were caught and friends were hung out with, so why am I complaining?

I guess it just takes a while to come down after intense fishing - lots of fish or not.

Here's my Danica season 2013 in pictures, hope you enjoy.


The Ephemera Danica - or "The Mayfly" as we call it. According to Oliver Edwards we should all call it the Green Drake like the Americans.

http://www.holmbangsoe.dk/webimg/smallstreams/guden13/1.jpg

http://www.holmbangsoe.dk/webimg/smallstreams/guden13/2.jpg

http://www.holmbangsoe.dk/webimg/smallstreams/guden13/3.jpg

One of the spring creeks we fished.

http://www.holmbangsoe.dk/webimg/smallstreams/guden13/4.jpg

A very common sighting along Danish streams during summer. The females are nice, but often there's an angry bull around the cows. This year a bull actually prevented me from reaching a stretch of stream with a good fish rising on the last night of the hatch.

http://www.holmbangsoe.dk/webimg/smallstreams/guden13/5.jpg

The extended body foam flies need dressing..

http://www.holmbangsoe.dk/webimg/smallstreams/guden13/6.jpg

Another one, just because it's so beautiful.

http://www.holmbangsoe.dk/webimg/smallstreams/guden13/7.jpg

http://www.holmbangsoe.dk/webimg/smallstreams/guden13/8.jpg

http://www.holmbangsoe.dk/webimg/smallstreams/guden13/9.jpg

Brown trout...

http://www.holmbangsoe.dk/webimg/smallstreams/guden13/10.jpg

Me casting to that big fish mentioned above...

http://www.holmbangsoe.dk/webimg/smallstreams/guden13/11.jpg

Sleeping area by the stream.

http://www.holmbangsoe.dk/webimg/smallstreams/guden13/12.jpg

Foam Danica.

http://www.holmbangsoe.dk/webimg/smallstreams/guden13/13.jpg

Stream side lunch.

http://www.holmbangsoe.dk/webimg/smallstreams/guden13/14.jpg

http://www.holmbangsoe.dk/webimg/smallstreams/guden13/15.jpg

Slight mishap.

http://www.holmbangsoe.dk/webimg/smallstreams/guden13/16.jpg

http://www.holmbangsoe.dk/webimg/smallstreams/guden13/17.jpg

http://www.holmbangsoe.dk/webimg/smallstreams/guden13/18.jpg

http://www.holmbangsoe.dk/webimg/smallstreams/guden13/19.jpg

Bottle's empty, see you in a year!

http://www.holmbangsoe.dk/webimg/smallstreams/guden13/20.jpg

Martin

[ofuros]

Nice round up martin b....lovely shots.
Good to see a couple of hammocks
for shelter too... :thumbup:

.....via tapatalk.

[Zanko]

Martin,

Always an amazing story and pictures from you. This is the same stream from your video last year correct?

I love the hammocks btw...

[martin_b]

Zanko, yes, most of the stream photos are from the same stream as last year with the video. Good observation :)

[gusstrand]

Sweet story, pictures, memories... Thanks for sharing Martin! Posted to the front!

[Satoshi]

Thank you for sharing the nice story. Not only by the pics of fish and large natural Danica flies, I'm also very impressed by your fly. Do they sell that realistic wings?

[martin_b]

Yes, the wings are bought from JsonSweden and can be found here: http://www.jsonsweden.com/en/jsons-fly-fishing-fly-tying-products/j-son-realistic-wing-material-rwm-m1

They're super pretty, but I won't be using them for next season, as they have a terrible tendency to twist the leader. Besides, the trout can't even see the wings :)

[Brooktrout]

beautiful pics and a nice brownie.