scuro2

Great report Scuro2. Got any more pics from over there you'd like to share ?

Here are a few more.

morning walk

 

A hike on the mountain which translated is called the "high box".

 

...and the alpine lake below

 

...a view of the Bodensee at ground level. The church is up on the hill.

 

...and finally a shot of the beer tent and ruins behind it. They hold a concert every year up on the hill. This year it was Crosby, Stills, and Nash.

I don't know how to ask you this but there are a bunch of members here who want to know if there are any docks on that lake.

Imagine a lake about 40% bigger than Simcoe is and the only real lake within a 4 hour car ride and also the best lake. Now imagine that 10-20 million people within that radius. We are freer to much a greater degree because we can be. We have the space and the water.

 

I did talk about boats with some people there. Even on the national Swiss holiday that lake was no busier than Muskoka is on any given weekend. They limit the amount of mooring space on the lake and this is how they limit boat traffic. I believe they also restrict personal docks. Each village has it's own dock where I am sure you could keep a fishing boat, it would just cost you a pretty penny. I did see a dock on a property but if I remember the conversation correctly they are "grandfathered". Earlier anyone could build a dock. There are also restrictions on motors and they must be inspected yearly by the government. All of this happened back when they tackled the poor water quality issues many decades ago. Shoreline must be preserved and no new changes can be made. They are very strict about all of this.

 

The other issue that people key in on about Germany is the myth that you have to kill your catch. First of all if I were a German I probably would kill my catch because you are more likely to get skunked than to catch a single fish. Germans also have the mentality of the hunter and catch and release sounds nuts to many of them. You are allowed to release fish, just not injured fish and in no way can you keep fish to be released at a later point. A stringer would be verbotten!! There are catch limits but no worse than in Canada. What was interesting were other regulations like no fishing from a boat at night and no using spoons. My kiwi did very well. What fascinates me is that the important water quality regulations are followed by Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. There is hope for Lake Ontario and Erie.

The Bodensee is Germany's largest lake yet is not even twice the size of lake Simcoe here in Ontario. It feeds the famous Rhine river and was first mentioned before Christ was born. The lake is the drinking source for millions of people and has been inhabited and fished for thousands and thousands of years.

 

Landscapes such as this one, as the lake forms the Rhine, are burned into my childhood memory. We would spend most summers here until my parents separated.

 

The lake is the catch basin for the northern Alps which we hiked as children. Vistas such as this one are also burned into my memory some of which I rediscovered on this trip some 35 years later.

 

Eight years earlier on my last trip to Europe I got my "sportsfischer" license and caught virtually nothing. To fish this lake commercially one has to become a professional fishermen requiring several years of apprenticeship. The blue paper in this pic is my onetime lifetime national German license. The pink paper is the regional license which has particular rules for this region. One has to study and pass a tough fact based exam to get a sporting license. If you hold a valid Canadian license they will allow you to buy a license. The heavily shaded areas on the map are regions of exclusive fishing rights where no one can fish except the holder of these rights.

 

I was lucky enough to meet such a man. In this picture he showing us the waters which he controls. These rights are bought and sold much like our dairy rights are bought and sold in Ontario. His rights go back 500 years and he was given these rights by his father. I asked him if he thought they were valuable and he said yes. The rights also confer upon the holder the right of passage through these waters since the fishermen 500 years ago were mainly the ones who had boats.

 

Before one judges all of this as needlessly bureaucracy consider that Germany has a population of 80 million with only a handful of larger lakes. It is a rules based society and as such works at it's best with intelligent rules that have worked for centuries like the German beer purity act of 1516. In Germany one still buys a literal CASE of beer.

 

...and drinking beer there is an other worldly experience. Try this experiment here in Canada with one of our leading breweries. Take a look to see if foam hangs on the side of the glass after it is poured. This picture was taken 10 minutes after I finished my beer. Kill such regulations and quality would definitely suffer.

 

The fishing has declined on the Bodensee over the last few years and regulations are to blame. The three countries whose shoreline encompasses the lake came to a comprehensive agreement to extensively control the quality of water entering the lake. The lake was going down hill fast in the 70's mainly due to nitrates. The water reminded me of Lake Erie of that time period. Within three decades the water is probably cleaner then it has been in centuries. The lake is gin clear now. The giant weed beds which I used to snorkel as a child have mostly disappeared and protective fish habitat for small fish has disappeared with it.

 

The professional fishermen mostly fish with nets that go down deep before they spread. I should know I hooked one on the troll. In this picture they appear to be spreading a net.

 

You are not allowed to troll with a motor on this lake so fish are caught commercially as they were many generations previously. I never did have a chance to talk to such a fishernen but in this pic I believe he is trolling with a net. I have also seen them trolling deep with a single line. The number of professionals fishing this lake is in a steep decline and they stock a million fingerlings of the choice species every year.

 

For this trip the goal was Felchen which are particular to this region of Europe and if I understand this correctly a subspecies of whitefish. They fish for them like we do walleye. You will find small groups of fishermen anchored on choice spots at a particular time of day. On this trip I learned I that I am definitely not a finesse fishermen with patience. These fish are bought.

 

We did catch eels with my cousin. I'm not to big on eel fishing.

 

New to me was this fish. This was the only larger fish that I saw cruising the shore. It is supposed to be related to the carp yet has silver scales.

 

I did catch pike to the amazement of many over there. I had it dialed in during a hot week with leadcore. One fish surprised me with it's size. I'd say 30 inches or so and it was doing a good job of bending the rod at boat side. I had to let off on the drag due to a borrowed rod so I never got a good look at it. The weather got cold and rainy after that and I never got the new pattern down.

 

Even though I only caught four pike on many tries it was enchanted fishing with a chorus of church and cow bells.

 

This one was a family vacation and one that we all enjoyed.

2 so far?!?? I'd be happy for a 50 pike or muskie in my lifetime.

Freudian slip...this is more of a quack than a quake.

And you can see that they still use cedar boats.

http://www.northtoadventure.com/view.php?lodge=l_l88&page=l88_fishing

Don't you guys know that carp don't take lures?!???!!!! You must have foul hooked him in the mouth.

Half the fun is getting there. Nice report, awesome pics.

Thanks for the info! If you learn something more I'd appreciate that too.

Nice report and I thought the news was that walleye were fished out.

Lovely report, enjoyed it! Looks like my grandma could do well on this lake!

My brother in law doesn't have a credit card. Is there a place he can go to write it, any day of the week, to get his license? He lives in London.

Here is my combo: leadcore/small boat/choppy weather/a small sutton spoon.

Out of Cochrane is True North. http://www.truenorthairservice.com/MoreInformationFishing.htm They have access into Kesagami at very reasonable rates. I was there last year and guys were catching 200 walleye a day. I've been to that outpost and have talked to the new owners. Sounds like a good operation still.

We should start the therapeutic bashing thread. Members could just bash away at everything. They could vent about why female mallards have no colour, why humans form lines....posts wouldn't even have to necessarily be about a topic. Nor would it matter if they were actually attempting to communicate with other members, what would coherence matter on a bash thread?

 

That thread would have a real life benefit, it would save a few dogs in this world from getting kicked every night.

I concur....

It's easy to be an armchair basher, to say all politicians are the same. When one actually talks to those who hold office you learn that it is a tireless and thankless job and that a lot of them sink their life into it. Anyone ever look at the divorce rate of those who hold office?

 

Your civic duty goes beyond whining and spending 1/2 an hour every four years and placing an X on the ballot for someone you don't care about. Instead of bashing, why not get involved? If you believe all politicians are the same, then run for office. Be the example that others can follow.

The faith is lost....I'm in on the Tea Party.

Flappn, you should look into "grants" from some rich ol American sugar daddies, that way you can start up your very own Canadian tea party!!!! I hear that the American tea party got millions and millions of dollars and lots of free TV exposure from one very kind TV network so that it wouldn't run into all the problems that a grassroots movement typically has, eh!

This is getting interesting. I thought it was Kevin who did the TV show and produced a video. Never knew he was the cameraman for Debra. Perhaps he caught a break after working for Debra!

Debra Johannesson

 

I believe she married Kevin Geary of Anglers Kingdom. Kevin posts on this forum and is a knowledgeable guy. http://www.anglerskingdom.com/aboutkevin.html

Lovely looking walleye and they look massive when a kid is holding it. Now there is a pic for show and tell.

Cam caught a carp on plastic and you didn't snag it? I've heard it said it can't be done! Beautiful and healthy carp, nice fish.

Love the nature report that goes along with fish report. It gives me a real sense of what it is like up there.

It's earlier in the season ya don't need minnows. If you are totally afraid and some dinners depend on fish...bring worms and bottom bounce them on a slow troll. Minnows need to be in water and if I were to bring any liquid it would be beer!! Cans weigh less. It's all about weight. If you are near the weight they will let a few pounds go.

 

Walleye shouldn't be a problem jigging or trolling. They will be in shallow 4ish ft of water...then again most lakes up there don't get past a dozen ft. Large pike you will have to work for..look for weeds and some type of lure that will bang er up in there. Could be a buzz bait, large sluggo, weedless spoon.

Nice report.

Thanks for posting the report. I enjoy seeing the pictures and hearing about far north conditions.