Day 2/2
Back in the canyon
For the second day, I joined Max, Reini and Tobi, who were planning to fish the same three stretches we'd explored the day before. Having already seen what each spot had to offer, I suggested switching up the order a little. The canyon had been far too beautiful to visit only in the fading afternoon light, and I was keen to see what it looked like earlier in the day.
So, instead of saving the best scenery for last, we headed straight for the canyon.
And it turned out to be a pretty good decision.
The fishing was noticeably better than it had been the previous afternoon. Fish were far more active, with plenty of movement beneath the surface and even a few rising here and there. It didn't take long before the guys started landing rainbow trout.
The grayling, however, were nowhere to be found. Perhaps we'd spooked them during the previous day's session, or maybe they simply weren't interested in playing along. Either way, the rainbows were keeping everyone entertained.
We spent most of the morning exploring the canyon, fishing its pools and enjoying the scenery before eventually deciding to move on.
Our next stop was supposed to be the stretch near the dam. But as we arrived, we spotted a Czech fly fisherman already working the water. Rather than crowd him, we decided to continue towards the spot beneath the bridge.
That plan didn't last particularly long either.
As we drove across the bridge, we could already see other fly fishermen down on the river. Apparently, we weren't the only ones who'd decided to make the most of the conditions.
We pulled into a nearby parking lot, took another look at the map and started figuring out our options. Eventually, we settled on a stretch a little further upstream that looked promising.
Getting there, however, turned out to be a bit more of an adventure.
We parked at what appeared to be a deserted farm. It wasn't exactly the kind of place you'd normally leave your car, but the map indicated it was a designated parking area, and after a little searching, we even found a sign confirming it.
Good enough for us.
From there, we made our way through the property and followed a field path towards the river. The trail eventually turned into a short but fairly steep descent through the woods before finally bringing us down to the water.
And wouldn't you know it, there was already another fly fisherman on the opposite bank, a little further upstream.
At this point, we'd driven around enough, changed plans twice and hiked all the way down to the river. We certainly weren't turning around again.
Besides, there was plenty of water to explore.
As I looked around, I realised I recognised the stretch. We'd actually fished this section the previous day, only this time we'd approached it from the opposite bank.
Funny how different a familiar place can look from another perspective.
A change of plans
An unexpected surprise
The guys spread out and began working different sections of the river. I decided to stick with Max, who'd found a promising pool where I'd noticed quite a bit of fish activity the day before.
It didn't take long for the first rainbows to start biting. Most were on the smaller side, but there was one noticeably larger trout cruising around the pool that caught our attention.
The fish was clearly active, moving through the water and occasionally revealing itself, but getting it to take a fly was another story entirely.
Max tried one pattern after another, changing flies and adjusting his presentation, while the trout continued to ignore just about everything he offered.
It took a fair amount of patience, plenty of casts and several fly changes before the fish finally decided to cooperate.
And just like that, another beautiful rainbow trout was in the net.
But there was still something else lurking in the deeper water.
At first, all we could make out was a large shadow moving slowly beneath the surface. Whatever it was, it looked considerably bigger than most of the fish we'd seen that afternoon.
Max carefully cast a nymph in its direction.
Nothing.
Another cast.
Still nothing.
On the third attempt, the fish finally took the fly.
After a good fight, we got our first proper look at it: a beautiful, large char, roughly the same size as the impressive fish we'd landed during the double catch the previous evening.
Not a bad surprise for our final afternoon on the river.
By now, the sun was beginning to sink behind the surrounding hills, sending warm rays of light through the autumn leaves. The whole river seemed to glow in shades of gold, orange and green.
For someone spending most of the trip looking through a viewfinder, it was pretty much everything I could have hoped for. Beautiful fish, good light and an autumn landscape that made it difficult to put the camera down.
Meanwhile, Reini and Tobi had also enjoyed a successful afternoon, landing plenty of rainbow trout along their stretch of the river.
As the light began to fade, they slowly made their way back towards us. It was time to pack up, meet Sebi and Mike and start the drive home.
Two days, plenty of fish and a fair amount of exploring later, our trip to Austria's supposed grayling paradise had come to an end.
As it turned out, the river had shown us considerably more rainbow trout than grayling. But I don't think anyone was particularly disappointed.
The guys had enjoyed two days of fishing together, we'd explored some beautiful stretches of water, and I'd come away with plenty of photographs and footage for the shop.
And while the grayling hadn't quite lived up to their reputation, the trip had delivered everything else we'd hoped for.
Sometimes that's more than enough.
Beyond the catch
