Saturday, after spending an afternoon earlier that week at Fisch im Netz in Arnstadt getting my Erlaubnis and a few flies (they were great), I headed to Neudietendorf to fish the Apfelstädt river. I unknowingly headed west out of the train station and fished the fly-fishing or spinning rod only section of the river, from about Edelweis Gartens to a few hundred yards above the dam.
Wow. the Apfelstädt is not an impressive river; smaller than the Gunpowder in Maryland, but the fish I caught were abundant and at times big.
I had my share of small browns, but this guy takes the cake. There weren't many deep holes in the river, so I was fishing undercut banks with a light yellow Humpy and an Adams trailing. He went for the Adams, and I didn't know what I had until I felt the pull. It was like he was going to drag me out of the river, down to the town council, and complain that I hooked him. A great fight.
I don't have all the fishing necessities with me. So I made due. I wore some jeans rolled up with thermos underneath, some wool socks, and my Keens. Needless to say, I went swimming, and the jeans didn't stay dry.
A great day of fishing, and I expect to head back to the Apfelstädt to fish the lower section of the river before it heads into Erfurt. I look forward to it!
