Four Rivers / VierStromen
(Fly)Fishing the lowlands
Directly to the fly patterns
Flyfishing
The expression: "If you want to catch fish, use a net." seems somehow more true when flyfishing than while fishing in any other way.
Flyfishing is the most difficult way to catch fish, it has a steep learning curve and is not particularly effective but... it is a great, great way to fish.
For many the moment a fish takes a fly is unsurpassed. The best of the best is when you see a great big bow-wave home in on your fly, you see the pink of the fish's mouth, the fly disappears in the mother of all swirls and your reel starts to scream that's when... you remember that windknot in your leader, your famously dodgy knots and your habit of buying brandless hooks in bulk on the internet...
Or, another scenario you have been hauling a streamer for some time through a deep hole filled with crystal clear water. You know there must be something there but nothing has shown itself. Then it happens: a big mouth opens up under your streamer. Suddenly that size 8 fly looks feeble and small. The mouth closes, at the same time your line hand registers the pull, it pulls back out of habit. Pull turns into jerk when the hook bites. The line jumps up and flies through the rod-eyes. A second jerk almost tears the rod from your hands when the line tightens on the reel. The reel starts screaming and all this time your brain is telling you "Did you see that?". Thank god for reflexes.
Reflexes are, by the way, also the main cause of error number one when fishing a dry-fly: setting the hook too early.
I think that one of the reasons I like flyfishing so much is because flyrods are very light and flexible, which means that there is a very direct feel when a fish is hooked. And on an off day you can always enjoy the art of casting a perfect loop. Not that it will be perfect, if it were easy everyone would be doing it.
But nil desperandum: onwards and upwards, as they say. I have collected some fly patterns on this page that work well on Dutch rivers. I have chosen patterns from every category to give you an idea of what I use. If you are a tier you could use some of the techniques shown in your own flies. If you have never tied a fly before and would like to try just follow my steps and you should be all right. (If all else fails just send me an email with a photo and an explanation of what you have done and I will try to help.) If you don't feel like tying, don't. There are always enough flies on board to have a go. Or ask for a workshop flytying. I'm sure that within an hour you will have tied your first fly.
Rod
You can use any rod you like. This seems a bit unhelpful but it is true. Of course you might enjoy fishing for rudd with a dryfly more using a 3 weight than an 8, but it is not impossible or even improbable to catch a rudd on an 8. I suppose what I'm trying to say is use the rod you feel comfortable with. If you are one of those people who can cast with a broomstick go with the broomstick that will give you the most distance.
If that is too much freedom to handle, here are some constrains. Do not go lighter than a 3. If you do you will almost certainly be battling the wind instead of fishing. Do not go heavier than 9. Remember we are fishing in a Temperate Zone. Fishes aren't that big or powerful. Changes are that you will be hauling fish instead of catching them when using such a heavy rod.
In length anything around 9 feet will do nicely. A longer rod is not a problem, if you are used to it. A shorter rod limits the possibilities of mending the line and of keeping the line of the water.
I have a collection of flyrods on board for you to choose from, should you want to try a different rod.
Line
Alternative location::
Dace on the Buursebeek
A 3 weight, .10 on the point
a deerhairsedge #20
and tons of sport.
Dace, trout of the lowlands.
To state the obvious: the line should match the rod and your casting style. More to the point: should it be a sinking line? I often use an intermediate that I can turn into a sink-tip by attaching a lead leader. This is not the most elegant combination to cast. It behaves rather erratic. I do own a sinking line but the trouble with it is that it drops to the bottom in its entire length. Water pressure can work on the entire line. This means that you have almost no control over what the fly is doing. Another big problem is that the sunken belly gets snagged. I have lost lines this way. For these reasons I tend to go for a sink-tip and not a full sinking line.
Recently I have taken an interest in modern shooting heads with a floating running line. These lines cannnot be mended or easily picked up , their advantage is in casting distance. On the river more distance will give you more sinking time for the flies. This may make the difference between fishing empty water and fishing where the fish are. So, if you are willing to buy a line for a trip on one of our rivers, take a look sinking shooting heads with a floating running line or one of those extreme weightforwards with a sinking tip.
Leader
The leader can be as simple as possible: 1,5 meter of .18 or .20 fluorocarbon, for example. A delicate fly presentation is not needed when fishing with streamers and heavy nymphs, so a straight leader will do. For the same reason long leaders are not needed and, in fact, will give you less control over the fly.
I use fluorocarbon because I believe in the stuff. I'm not really convinced that it is any better than ordinary nylon but it gives me confidence so I keep it.
Wading
Wading is necessary when fishing from the banks. The reason is that the current seam, the fish zone, cannot be reached from the shore. It is simply to far out.
Just visible: the goldbead-nymph this little asp mistook for food.
Wading in any of the rivers is not dangerous as long as you pay attention. Two crucial points: what is the bottom like and where is the next ship. Between kribben or groins the bottom is sandy and even, however just in front of each krib there is a deep hole called a neer in Dutch. These holes are created by the current and can be up to 4 meters deep. You do not want to wander of in one. Behind a krib the current seam will create a sharp drop-off. In fact the side are so steep that just one step will mean you will be in above your head. Again you want to stay away. So wading here means staying more or less in the middle between kribben and casting towards those steep drop-offs. There is also an advantage in staying in the middle. The current slows down midway between kribben, dropping sand in the process. Water is shallow and the current slow here: ideal for wading. You may be standing knee-deep in water but you are fishing a four meter drop-off.
wading Gear
You could use hipwaders but it is saver to use chestwaders. The trouble is that ships create a lot of suction. At times they will suck almost half a meter of water away. All of it will return twice as fast, creating a mini tsunami. Chestwaders will give you just that little bit more room to get back to shore before flooding.
A wadingstick can be used but is not necessary. As I have said the bottom is sandy and even for the most part. Every now and again you will encounter a clay bank. These feel a bit spongy and are very erratic in shape but they are never more than 30 cm high. So you might stumble if you fall off but that is all.
A stripping basket might come in handy, especially when you use a sinking line. Without it you will spend a lot of time freeing the sunken line from around your legs.
Flypatterns
One of the first patterns I tied myself was a very basic scud pattern. It is a mixture of several scud patterns with a bias towards robustness.
But is a straightforward pattern, an easy and quick tie that almost always brings fish to hand. It is a good thing that it is easy to tie because you will undoubtedly loose a few. It is a weighted pattern that must be fished deep along the bottom.
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An evergreen that should find a home in any flybox: the Pheasant Tail (PH). Again a straightforward pattern that entails only three materials. Because it is simple it just asks for a personal variation. So go ahead tie some to get a feel and then invent your own.
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Every river should have its own nymph. This is the nymph designed for the IJssel: the IJsselnimf. This is about as Dutch as is gets. It is a heavy nymph designed for migrating breams in the IJssel. Every spring bream moves up the river IJssel to their spawning grounds. This Nymph goes down to their level and makes it possible to catch them. But it is not limited to the IJssel in spring. Everywhere you find bottom dwelling fish this nymph will work and not just for bream.
My advice tie a lot because you will loose a lot.
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What you also need is a streamer in your flybox. The most common and widely used pattern I know is the Woolly Bugger. So that will be our next pattern.
This pattern can be tied in any colour you like and you can tie it with or without extra weight. It is a straightforward pattern; it doesn't require fancy techniques or outlandish materials. It is extremely useable for all kinds of fish on all kinds of water. In other words it is a pattern to have.
This is my pattern that is very useful on Dutch rivers.
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