You always hear about the great fishing in Austria. It's true. For this trip we decided to camp out in Mittersill and explore the fine waters offered by the Brarrup Inn. We're talking 135 kilometers of river/stream and numerous lakes.

Mittersill is a five hour drive from our home in Hockenhiem (just south of Mainhiem).   My wife and I took our good non-fly fishing friends, Lisa and Charlie, along to experience Austria and introduce them to the fly fishing life. With the exception of the rainy weather the trip couldn't have been better. We both arrived late on Thursday night. We set up camp in the Comfort Camp just south of downtown Mittersill. The next morning we trudged over to the local fly shop and bought our licenses and a few local flies that were reputed to be working.

The streams and rivers were white to gray with sediments washed down with the rainfall. Understanding that, we chose to start fly fishing in some of the smaller lakes. Charlie and I went to the Hintersee that first evening. It was raining off and on, and the temperature was hovering around 65 degrees. Hatches didn't look promising so I taught him how to cast and spent about 30 minutes fishing the eastern bank of the lake. Between giving pointers and working the shore line with the ever popular "Ugly Fly", I was having a great time. I caught two 12" browns! Hooked a third big on, but lost him to an un-intentional long release. Charlie got a couple of strikes from some little brown with the hookless white Wulf I let him use to practice casting. We left after only a couple of hours and planned on returning for a full day of fishing the next day.

We showed up at the Hintersee the next morning at 1000 hours and set up a forward operating base on the northern bank overlooking the lake and with a view of the 16 plus waterfalls. Super atmosphere and the sun was attempting to break out causing lots of bugs to start appearing. Ann, Charlie, Lisa, and I took turns with the two pairs of waders I brought, and I attempted to assist everyone with casting and catching. We didn't catch that many but with the great view, good food, and super company we had a good time. I caught a little 12" rainbow with a #14 green bodied sedge and another on the Ugly. After a couple of misses, Charlie caught a nice little brown on a sedge. The girls were skunked, but I really don't think they minded too much. Beautiful place...

Charlie and Lisa decided to hike up from the Hintersee to the Platzsee the next morning. It's a two and half hour hike (no roads). I hooked him up with my pack rod, flies, and assorted fishing gear before he left. Ann and I went to the Hintersee for a couple of hours of fishing to see them off. Can you say rain? In a fairly heavy down pour, I was able to catch four browns in the Hintersee in two hours before we went to a Grill Hut for lunch. After lunch I tried my luck at the Elisabeth See and its outlet stream. The Elizabeth See is about 20 minutes from downtown Mittersill. There were fish there. The rain didn't slack off, but you could see the 18" plus Rainbows sitting in the south end of the lake where the inlet stream flows. They appeared hungry, but I could get any of them to bite. I tried everything in my arsenal. They looked a few times, but guess they were smarter than the average bear.

Kinda bummed, I decided to work the outlet stream with a #12 Royal Wulf. Yes!  Two minutes before Ann decided she had enough, I hooked into a nice little brown. Saw him clearly when he jumped. Unfortunately, he made a smart move behind a big rock and he was gone. Maybe next time.  Charlie and Lisa didn't get a hook wet up on the mountain, but they made it back safely. The most important thing. All in all it was a great trip. I just wish the weather would have cooperated more. May have to try again later in the season when the sun is sure to be out.

Anyway, Austria didn't disappoint. Just look at the pictures. I will be back!

What did I learn?

Fly fishing is fun and easy. This is my second experience teaching novices to cast and catch. So far I'm two out of three on the catch and 100% on the cast.

Austria is super! Not only for the fishing, but the total package! Mountains, streams, lakes, glaciers, waterfalls, etc... I would rate it equal with any other fly fishing experience in the world. A definite "MUST DO"

The Ugly Fly works!

Need to work on the weather. Early season trips are nice, but be prepared for rain. I'll have to try it again in August or September.