Fly Fishing in Germany, Part 5 (Fishing course, part 3)

[note: this is one in a series of blog posts on getting a fishing license in Germany. Click in the link "German Fishing Course/License” to read through all the posts on licenses and fishing in Deutschland.]

I skipped out on church to head back for another session in this adventure they call "Fischerlehrgang".  The only extra bit of anticipation I had was that the instructor for "Allgemeine Fischkunde" [common knowledge of fish species] was a devoted fly fisherman.  If, and I mean if, I could just make it through the day, this guy might be my key to hidden trout waters in the region.

So, I locked up the bike in the Kastel away from the wind and rain and headed in for a long, long day.  I think these sessions pertaining to fish types and fish characteristics are the most defeating sessions in this course.  I'm being challenged at every turn with the new (for me) terms of fish and aquatic animals.  No fun.  But, it did reinforce how beneficial it is to write out the questions and answers at home.  Since going through that process, I'm picking up more of the vocabulary and (hopefully) bettering my chances of passing the tests.

So, we talked about classes of fish, fins, and everything scaly.  I zoned out a ton, mostly because I had no clue to what he, that being Achim, was referring.  The most "interesting" part of this session was that he spent the last hour teaching about fly fishing.  Nothing particularly new for me, but Achim was a gear-head.  It was a show and tell out of the seasonal Orvis catalog.  And, not only did he have the gear, but he's apparently been everywhere.... dang Germans with their 30-days-per-year of vacation time.  We wrapped up the session by watching him cast into the Rhine River.... and it was WINDY!

Afterward, I chatted with Achim a bit.  He passed on his email to me, and I have yet to email him... I need to get on that!  But, I did learn about another obstacle I face in my quest to fly fish in Germany: not only do I need to take the course, pass the exam, buy a license, and buy an "Erlaubnis" but I also need to figure out who owns the land, whether it be a hotel or a farmer or a private business, and get (buy?) permission from them.  I am almost certain one of the ways around this in Thueringen will be becoming a member of the local fishing Verein... they will have specific waters and will also be a good "reference point" when I am trying to get permission from a local.

Next week: Fishing regulations and Specific knowledge of fish. fun, fun.