European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 8, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Even getting skunked can t ruin fishing trip Norm Zeigler a after a Long Layoff i finally got Back on the water a couple of weeks ago. The Day was hot and sunny with temperatures in. The Low 80s. In the 14 years i have lived in Central Europe May has proved to be one of. The Best months for outdoors enthusiasts. April is often frosty and fickle and june can turn Nasty with storms blowing in off the North Atlantic. But with rare exceptions May is blossoms warm dreamy Days and the soft Green of hew leaves. A couple of weeks ago a fishing buddy army master sgt Vic Edwards had gotten a Lead on a new to us Stream. The following week he and a Friend fished it twice. On one trip the Friend had caught a 19-Inch Rainbow an Edwards had landed a Small Brown. The other Lime they had been skunked. It s a funny thing about fish stories. Both in the telling and in the hearing the Skunk Ings Are a a usually glossed Over. Ever optimistic anglers want to believe the Best a put new Waters. For me this one the cer Sprenz had the special advantage of being Only 45 minutes away. We met a Little before 5 . Outside the Gate of the . Cavern in Babenhausen and drove to the River. We knew the Sun was still too High for Good fishing so we spent nearly an hour exploring the approximately 3yi-mile stretch our permits were Good for. The cer Sprenz flows through Grainfield and pastures skirting a Forest in some sections. Here and there it is bordered by towering poplars and gnarly old Alders. Because of the germans penchant for Channel izing and diking we americans Are no slouches on that score either Irr Many parts it looks More like a drainage ditch than a Trout Stream. But the key to fishing is making do with what you have. Those of us who Are really hooked would fish a puddle in our Back Yard if it had fish in it. The cer Sprenz has a variety of fish including Trout Carp Zander european Walley seels and Grayling. It is also Rich in insect Fife especially mayflies because of the Silty Bottom. In most places the River is too deep to Wade. This combined with Steep Banks and overhanging branches makes it difficult to fish in Many  geared up near a shaded Section and began casting to a few rising fish that were obviously no threat to Angling records. I tried a number of flies starting with a sparse Hackle no. 16 Gray mayfly that seemed to match some of the bugs on the water. By the time i had worked up to a big Bushy no. 12 Royal Wulff i had missed one fish hooked a couple of. Branches and nearly slipped in Over my waders Edwards landed one Smalt Chub before we moved upriver. With the Sun getting Low More bugs. Began appearing on the water including some copter sized mayflies that looked like Green Drakes. We picked a Section with some riffles and Back currents. For a Short stretch. It was shallow enough to Wade and t worked several different flies in the current seams and around some obstructions that looked like Good fish lies. But if there were fish there they were. Doing their Best to pretend otherwise. We tried one More stretch before Sunset but this was not to be our Day on the cer Sprenz. Annual permits for the cer Sprenz Are available from  Harre Hausen stoc Stadter Weg Harre Hausen Babenhausen. They Are valid from March 1 to nov. 15 and Cost 85 Marks about $53. There Are no permits sold for Shorter periods. Most of the anglers on the cer Sprenz fish with bait n ight crawlers mealworms or lures not flies. Live minnows Are prohibited. Opening Vay and of Lar Cit Vort it will urn Lapp Good outdoor writing is informative literate and filled with passion. Sometimes if it is very Good it is also funny. Arguably the Best living outdoor humorist is de Zern. Many of us grew up flipping first to the last Page of Field and Stream Magazine every month for his Zany look at the foibles we Hunters and fishermen Are heir to. Zern is retired now but Field and Stream still reprints his columns most of which Are As funny and fresh As they were 20 or More years ago. In his Book opening Day and other neuroses William c. Tapply shows that he can give Zern a run for his Money. Tapply s humor is different a drier and More understated a from Zern s but equally effective. In his introduction Tapply writes that the Book s title came from efforts by his Friend Andy Gill and him Quot to compile a taxonomy of Angling neuroses those manias and phobias anxieties and complexes that Are Peculiar to  chapter titles like Rod envy the depth wish Fly fetish and Midge phobia illustrate their Success Tapply s humor is at its Best when it comes at his own expense and when he is wryly deflating some of the pompous opinions fishermen especially we Fly fishermen fall prey to. In Rod envy he recounts the scorn he encountered when he made his first trip out West with a fibreglass Fly Rod. Quot i Learned that the Rod revealed the Fisherman Quot Tapply writes. Quot everybody had his opinion. Sage men sneered at on. Is men. And vice versa. I did t understand much of it. All casting for Trout in a european Stream is a perfect Way to end the Day. Sas Dave Didlo i knew was that my Little fiberglas a Rod had done irreparable damage to my  toads in the scum line provides a glossary of Western Trout fishing terms that Are often greek to easterners. Opening Day is a Book that can make you laugh out loud. But it is not All laughs Tapply makes Many perceptive and sometimes painful observations. Especially hard hitting is the chapter the Newsweek papers which delineates the antipathy Between outdoors men and animal rights activists. Tapply Calls for cooperation and understanding Between the two groups to help save the threatened environment. Quot please we Are natural allies Quot he pleads. In the most evocative sections Tapply re creates the Joys of getting he liked on Angling at an Early age and expresses his pity for Quot those souls who come to fishing ate who begin with Fly casting and entomology lessons at Orvis or l. L. Bean. They deprive themselves of All the pleasures of getting there and i cannot believe they will Ever properly appreciate the place where they have arrived however competent they  he acknowledges that fishing often seems foolish and irrelevant to non anglers but counters that Quot i have come to believe that the Healthiest and most Normal things we can do Are in fact eccentric and pointless Quot opening Day and other neuroses is published by Lyons and Burford. The list Price is $16.95 in hardcover. E a the South Hessen Fly Fishers will meet at 7 . June 29 at the Darmstadt Rod and Cun club. This is a club for All ability Levels from beginner to expert. Discussion will include Fly tying and upcoming club trips. For More information Contact Victor Edwards in 33 7-6416 or civilian 0611 -9570004 David Lewis Dan 348-3835 or civilian 06073-4510 or Norm Zeigler Dan 348-8230 or civilian 06155-2354. A the Wiesbaden Germany outdoor a recreation Center is sponsoring group fishing trips to a Trout fishing Pond on june 11 and 18 As Well As july 16 and 30 and aug. 6. The trips Cost $10 plus 25 Marks. Equipment transportation and fishing permit Are included in the Price. The Wiesbaden Center is also arranging camping canoeing trips on the Nahe River for july 9-10 and 23-24, aug. 27-28 and sept. 17-18. For More details Call the outdoor recreation Center at Dan 337-5760, a the Aschaffenbur Germany outdoor recreation area will offer All night fishing july 23-24 from 8 . To 6 . The Cost is $15 or 30 Marks. Fishermen must Register by 7 . For More information Contact 06021-96865. A the Hanau Germany Rod and Cun club will offer night fishing at Campo Pond july 2-3. The Hanau fishing club will meet july 6 at 7 . In the Rod and gun club. There will be a special fishing event at Campo Pond july 30 from 7 . To 2 . For More information calf 06181 -51485 Europe outdoors appears today after a More than six month hiatus. The reason for the Gap is the writer s ongoing cattle  disease con it acted from a tick Blat while fishing in the czech Republic. This column can be a useful tool for sharing information among outdoor enthusiasts of you have questions or in Ormarion about outdoor activities in your area or want to talk about your particular interest Contact Norm Zeigler wars and stapes. Unit 29480, Box 265. Apo a 0921 f Telephone Dan 348-8230 or civilian 06155-601230 in a Germany or lax 348-8463. Please include Telephone number in written queries. Wednesday june 8, 1994