Austria Day 2
It was another bright and sunny day, and I returned to the Ager River. As on all bright days, unless there is a hatch to get the fish up, they stay deep and hidden. Still in the morning I did hook a very big rainbow on a Knotted Egg. It ran upstream through a wing dam, and as the last couple of turns of line disembarked the reel, the fish go hung up on something and broke off. In the heavy flows of the Ager, there is not much one can do when fishing with 5X, even with the German Stroft tippet material (more to come on this a bit later).
After lunch I headed to a spot that Roman Mosier and I had discussed last night. It’s the shallow water on the inside of a bend, The currents spill down over gravel and into a tight corner. Such water is scarce on the Ager, and this is one prime spot. Most angler would ignore such water, but not on the Ager. I soon saw a fish rise, and switching to 5.5X Stroft, I knotted on a size 14 dun and took a nice 45 cm fish. The day moved on, and the fish came grudgingly, but often enough to keep my interest, After a couple of hours I gave the spot a rest for about 1/2 hour. When I returned to fish again, Ed and Cliffie Berg came out of the woods behind me. Just then, another nice fish took my fly. When that one had been photographed and released, I set up Cliffie’s leader and knotted on a size 14 dun imitation. She quickly hooked a 14 1/2 inch rainbow that fought like any 17 inch rainbow in other streams. The trout of the Ager are powerful and use the heavy currents very well. After photos, it was time to head back to the vehicles, We smiled all the way.
The soft inside corner holds many fish.
A 45 cm (17 3/4″) rainbow that took the barbless fly solidly.
Another nice rainbow–44 cm (17 1/4″). Notice the small head and slab body.
Yet another 45 cm fish that gobbled the dry.
Cliffie with a 14 1/2 inch tiger by the tail. The rainbows of the Ager are among the strongest I’ve ever caught.