In fact, these fish were extremely fell-fed, to the extent you can 'feel it' by gently stroking their abdomen. They had all eaten some queer thing that felt like a bunch of marbles. Looking up at the tree branches hanging over the river, we realized what they were - incredible number of beetles (which incidentally is called 'Junikaefer' in German, meaning 'June beetle'). Some are giants, reaching 1inch in length, making a substantial meal for the greediest. To imagine dozens of them packed in the stomach was so scary that I couldn't dare confirm my theory with a giant stomach pump even if I had one.

We went also to the upper part of the river, where you can wade in a more varying mountain landscapes. The average size was a bit smaller at 25cm, but the fine alpine scenery and the solitude in the valley make up to it.

While the water temperature remained stable at 11-12c through the day, the air temperature in the sunny corners climbed up to 28c. But the heat didn't bother us thanks to the breeze sweeping across the valley. With the blue sky above, and the friendly trout in front, it was flyfishing at its best.

While looking for those elusive trout, those little flowers on the river banks are quite easy to be overlooked. I often realize them only after we got back home, thanks to Sayuri's digital harvest. Finally I am beginning to appreciate such small beauties around, which increases the fun of outing, irrespective of fish biting or not.

Now, back to our key subject. We had a fantastic fishing on this trip in mid June with a lot of handsome brown trout, including five that exceeded 40cm mark. Of course they do not fight as hard as Rainbows, but their bold take, the substantial weight as you strike, and their beautiful colours with a touch of individuality are all worth longing for. We know we will miss it after our departure from Europe.

Wishing we can come back here someday, to re-live our sweet memories once again, we released the last catch of our visit. The fish took a while of a rest, sticking its head to the whirling eddy behind our feet, and as if he remembered something at last, went back to his favourite pool wagging the tail.

The next morning was blessed withthe brilliant sun. As the last stroke of cloud disappears in the air, we only had a pure blue sky to look up to. Even while taking our usual short walk after breakfast, my mind began planning today's fishy agendas. With all the fish we've caught yesterday, we can never have enough of the sinful act!

Since laying a hand on a new digital camera, Sayuri has been into taking photos of little things that appeals to her aesthetical sense. On the other hand she firmly refuses to shoot other unworthy things - such as the colony of half a million June beetles. This emerald beetle was granted a rare exception, even if beauty is but a skin deep!

It was still late May when we visited here last year. Due to the rather cold water back then, the fish were not particularly active, we had to rely on heavily weighted nymph. Those bottom dwelling trout, once caught, showed off plump pot berries stuffed with enormous quantity of mayfly larvae.

That in mind, we scheduled this year's visit slightly later in mid June. That incidentally is the time when we visited here first, back in '03. The fantastic dryfly session on that trip is still vivid in our memories, and our intention is of course to re-run the show.

And here they are, all looking up for windfall meals. We just had to tie a big terrestrial pattern on the 3X thick tippet, and cast to the silhouette of those holding fish one by one!!

Having had rained for a few days, the Stuiben waterfall was diving in a roar.

High water makes fishing difficult. With a bit of anxiety we drove down to our favourite spot in the village of Umhausen.

We needed not to worry. Almost as soon as we wet our lines, a handsome trout close to 40cm jumped out of the fast current to grab at our floating offerings.

For the next few hours, we were probably the happiest fishing couple in the world.

The well-fed trout, averaging 35cm some over 40cm, were all eager to entertain us. Nobody said life is easy, and flyfishing life is by no means the easiest. But at times, it is!!

The 4th visit - June '05

All good things come in three, so they say in German. If I were to summarize the beauty of fishing in Europe in three, I'd name the landscape, the beer and the pretty browntrout.

The former two need no further remarks and, Gott sei Dank, they're plentiful in Austria. However the last one, and when it comes to "big" brownies, you'd need a bit of researching where to go.

With that, no wonder why people repeat visiting same places once they discover their honey spot. And so we love Horlach, deep in the middle of rugged Tirolean mountains.