Michael, Thanks for another European fishing adventure. You should write a book. I have the title: "An American in Europe - A Fly Fishing Odyssey"
Bob Martin > September 18th Eindhoven celebrated the 60th Anniversary of its liberation > from Nazi occupation in 1944. While the American�s liberated Eindhoven, > Commonwealth forces liberated much of the Netherlands. Through the fall of > 1944 and into the spring of 1945, the southern region of the Netherlands > along the German border became known as the Maas salient. Today this area > of the Netherlands has numerous National Cemeteries filled with soldiers and > airmen that fell on both sides of the conflict we call World War II. > > So what does this have to do with fly-fishing? The celebrations for > Operation Market Garden made me realize just how late in the summer it was. > I had wanted to fish the Belgian Ardennes all summer and now I had hurry > because the Belgian trout season closed on September 30th. Yes, the mind of > this fly fisher works in odd ways. > > I used my best source, Google, to find the Hotel du Moulin in the town of > Ligneuville. Interestingly, Ligneuville is a borough in the municipal > district of Malmedy. World War II buffs and some older folks may recall the > significance of Malmedy in the Ardennes Offensive during the winter of 1944 > � 45. > > There is public fresh water fishing in Europe. However for the most part, > these public waters are commercially navigable waterways such as rivers and > cannels. Otherwise, water, like land, is privately held. To gain access > you need to be a member of a local fishing club or purchase some type day > ticket. The Hotel du Moulin offers its guests day tickets with access to > eight kilometers (six miles) of fly fishing, catch and release (no kill as > it is known here) water on the Ambleve. In this section of the Ardennes, > the Ambleve is a small river, more of a stream. However as it flows > northward, it eventually becomes a part of the Maas River. > > My trip south to Ligneuville would take me through two countries and three > provinces. They are the provinces of North Brabant and Limburg, in the > Netherlands and the province of Liege, in Belgium. That seems like a lot of > area to travel, but distances are shorter here. Driving direct from > Eindhoven to Ligneuville via the motorway takes only an hour and half. Keep > in mind that this is the same as driving from Seattle to Cle Elum (or > Seattle to Ellensburg if you drive like my brother in law). However, > directly in my route were two villages that I wanted to see: Margraten, in > the Netherlands, and Henri-Chapelle, Belgium. They are only ten miles > apart. I also decided to stop by the town of Neupre. That would take me a > half hour out of my way. All three are of significance to Americans and > WWII. > > Making arrangements at the Hotel du Moulin was easy. In English, I sent > them my reservation request in via email and confirmed everything via phone > the day before my departure. Besides my day tickets, I needed a Belgian > fishing license. The hotel offered to take care of this for me. The > linguistic ability of the European hospitality industry always amazes me. > However, I wasn�t so sure about the linguistic ability of the Belgian Post > Office. Since that was where I would need to buy my fishing license, I took > the hotel up on their offer. All in all, my stay would include one night�s > lodging with half board, two day tickets and a fishing license. This all > came to �120 ($145). > > I departed Eindoven just after midmorning and arrived in Ligneuville in the > early afternoon. The hotel is a family operation and the proprietress met > me on my arrival. She checked me in, told me that dinner was at seven and > gave me directions to the Ambleve. She also instructed me to shut any gates > that I opened so that the cows or horses wouldn�t get out of their pastures. > > Near Ligneuville, the Ambleve is fifteen to twenty five feet across. Except > in the deepest holes, it is no more than thigh deep and easy to wade. Most > of the trees surrounding the river are deciduous hardwoods. It all reminded > me very much of the Appalachian Mountains, or the other way around, > depending on your perspective. > > That afternoon I fished the upper 4 kilometers of water. The fish seemed to > like the fast water in the chutes where the river narrowed. I had little > success in the riffles or deeper holes. My most successful fly was a dark > gray case caddis imitation that I had tied using a large tungsten bead so > that it would sink quickly. All of the trout I caught were browns except > for an 18� inch brook trout. Most of the browns were in the 10� to 14� > range. > > Around 7:00 it was getting dark and I returned to the hotel for dinner. The > hotel�s web site makes much ado about its gastronomic delights. I wasn�t > disappointed. My meal, included in my board, was four courses. It started > with a salmon and foie gras sampler, then a fine soup, the main course was > lamb and it ended with a delicious dessert. All of this was accompanied > with assorted wines matching each course. > > The next morning the proprietress had her father-in-law tell me about access > points lower on the river. Between both of our English and German, he > advised me that while there were less fish in the lower section of the beat, > they were larger. He told where to park my car and advised me which pasture > gate to use in accessing the river. His assessment was right. In the lower > section, the fishless stretches were longer. However, where I did catch > fish, I caught quite a few and they had more size, in the 14� to 16� range. > I fished this stretch until early afternoon. Then, wanting to try a couple > of spots I had seen the evening before, I returned to the upper stretch of > the river. Here, while the fish were smaller, every third of forth cast > produced a strike or a fish. Around mid-afternoon, I stopped for the day > and returned to Eindhoven. > > Counting both days, all of the fish I caught were on nymphs except for a > single brown which I took on dry elk hair caddis. An 8 foot 3 or 4-weight > rod is all that anyone needs. The Ambleve has heavy tree growth along its > banks. The canopy completely covers the river in many places. A longer rod > is difficult to cast in these conditions. > > For photos go to the Belgium - Ardennes gallery at: > > http://expat.my-expressions.com/ > > > For information on Margraten, Henri-Chapelle and Neupre go to: > > http://www.abmc.gov/abmc2.htm > > > For more information on events around Malmedy and Ligneuville during WWII go > to: > > http://www.historynet.com/wwii/blmassacreatmalmedy/ > > http://home.earthlink.net/~crcorbin/Lofton.html > > http://www.casanovarestaurant.com/denise4.html > >
