Nagold River Browns, Germany

[Kurtis]

I wanted to share some pictures of some browns I caught yesterday. This was a day of firsts: first time fishing in Germany, first time fly fishing a river/stream, and the first brown trout I've caught. I was using nymphs my brother-in-law tied for me and went 4-6. In Germany it's a felony to release a legal sized fish caught in season, so the two fish shown joined me for dinner last night. Sure were tasty!

[Diehard]

Why are you not allowed to release them?

[dude_1967]

Hey Kurtis,

Nagold rocks! A lovely stream on the north side of the Black Forest with lots of beautiful native browns.

There was a lot of water this spring due to heavy snows which fell all winter.

Are you hanging around through spring / summer? I live in the area and do a lot of fishing in the region.

Diehard, catch and release fishing is considered cruelty to animals in Germany. On the other hand, fishing clubs have the duty of protecting native stocks. These seemingly conflicting standpoints cause a lot of debate. I stretch the legal interpretation heavily toward the C&R side, but sometimes I see the point of the cruelty to animals side as well.

Sincerely, Chris.

[Kurtis]

Diehard - from what I understand, Germans believe catch and release is cruel and "...causes undo stress and pain to hapless animals." So, all legal sized trout (10" or larger) must be immediately killed, no suffication. Now, that's not to say a few accidently get away.

Chris - The Nagold is a pretty stretch of water. I live in Stuttgart and will be here till Aug 07. I'm sure my fly fishing proficiency level is nowhere near yours, but I'd like to learn as much as I can about fly fishing the area while I'm here.

[Diehard]

Wow, that is very interesting. Thanks for sharing!