Archives of the Old Rhine - Flyfishing in Alsace with Claude Behr

With the downstream of Basle(Switzerland), until Rhinau, in extreme southern of the department of Bas- Rhin (Alsace/France), a part of the river’s water circulates in the channel of Alsace; but there remains a wild part, wedged between this channel, at the french side, and the german motorway, which average width of 50 meters, the power of the current, the richness of watery fauna, make forget this tribute paid to the modernity.

The graylings were the florets of the Rhine: they are splendid, of complexion nervousness and size: exceeding 33 cm regularly, the fish between 40 and 50 cm were not so rare before 2003. Cause of this rarefaction, fishing for graylings is verbidden til 2023. But one takes also sometimes large powerful brown trouts and the whitefish colonize the calms, with their usual predators, which are the pikes. The atlantic salmons are also coming back.

When you find yourselves in autumn on the gravel pits of the Rhine, you are taken in a true enchantement: attentive of the banks, the blossomings or the fish, you don’t notice the noise of the cars wich circulate on the nearby motorway.

IMPORTANT: Classified in 2nd category of the public domain, fishing is accessible to any fisherman having discharged his piscicultural taxes (french yearly fishing license)

Fishing is not easy there: power of the current, rollers slipping, blossomings sometimes too sparse, other times superabondant, difficult fish, inaccessible stations, etc.. All these conditions discourage sometimes the amateur, but don’t put off the enthusiast.

I hope to be pleased of meeting you a day there, to exchange , like all the flyfishers of the world, our anecdotes which ponctuated our course in this splendid passion of flyfishing

News of the month : january 2024

happy year 2024 !

The website from Claude Behr about flyfishing in Alsace

I’m residing in Alsace (France). My name is claude Behr, and I have a passion for fly-fishing . This art gives as many emotions as feelings. It develops humility and respect. Wild waters and their rustic settings allow his practitioner to feel in harmony with nature.

Fly fisherman since 1982, I invested in fisheries management in 1987. In 1998, I created my first website to promote fly fishing in Alsace. In 2010 I finalized a version witch became a great succes by flyfishermen all aroud the Word. Since November 2015, it is complemented, as part of my company Claude Behr Favorites (C.B.F.), by an online shop.

After 20 years of existence without discontinuity, you find in 2019, this new version of my website dedicated to different aspects of fly fishing in Alsace. The “regulars” will not be too distracted by the content, because they will find most of the old sections, in a more modern site (wordpress), more secure (https), more user-friendly (guestbook and comments) and adapted to both PCs. to tablets or mobile phones (responsive).
It does not matter whether you are former visitors or newcomers, here you will discover many aspects of our common passion, fly fishing in Alsace.

ln freshwater fishes can be caught with the fly, and this everywhere, but here, you will discover some special aspects of fly-fishing in Alsace.

You will more particularly find useful informations about:

flyfishing is my passion. I like to share it with all flyfisher — Claude Behr

My last fishing session at the old Rhine

Posted on 24 January 2019 by Claude Behr

Fishing with Claude Behr in the old Rhine

Last fishing session at the old Rhine

Saturday, April 07, 2018: As part of the C.B.F. accompaniment, I accompanied, on the old Rhine in Fessenheim, Frank, a German flyfsherman eager to confront with a big river and perfect his technical baggage. The weather was beautiful and rather mild for the season (+ 22 °). The level of the old Rhine was perfect for fly fishing (see photos) But the water lightly tinted with, already, filamentous algae from here and there. A careful observation throughout the day only allowed to see a few rare chironomids and no rising fish of the day. It was obviously a pity, but of little importance, because the program was determined. Reading the posts on a very large river, introduction to the techniques of wet fly fly and the streamer, that Frank did not master yet. Painting the currents with the aid of a sinking lind, we have extensively tested the NTO and TVC-1 in wetfly fishing and then the streamer CBO (Olive-brown sculpin). Attentive and diligent, Frank progressed throughout the day, but no bite came reward his efforts. The midday snack accompanied by an excellent cahors wine added a positive touch to this day rich in experiences.

The beautiful weather accompanied us but the fish did not bite

The level of the old Rhine

Posted on 11 January 2019 by Claude Behr

To plan a fly fishing day at the old Rhine, it is important to know its level. I created this page in the idea that it can help you to see more clearly.

In the absence of certainty concerning the old Rhine, it will allow you to know in real time (with relative reliability) the level of the old Rhine at the moment when you visit the page. With thanks to the data, in German, of the “Hochwasser-Vorhersage-Zentrale Baden Württemberg “(HVZ).

To fully understand the data that will appear on your screen, here are some preliminary explanations, under which you will find an explanation table!

The German webpage displays the levels of the Rhine in meters, under the tab “Messwerte“, over the last few days. The levels are measured at different rain gauges (“Pegel” in German). The one we are interested in is that of Rheinfelden, located on the Rhine upstream of Basel, conditioning the fishing on the course of the old Rhine, located downstream. They are displayed as a table, by clicking “Wasserstand als Tabelle” in the top menu. This data is also available in graphic form, by clicking on “Wasserstand als Grafik”. A forecast (trend) is also available under the tab “Abfluss“

Attention! These values, if they determine the release of dams, indicate only the level of the Rhine, and not that of the old Rhine.

And, in order for these figures not to remain abstract, I have prepared a small explication table, the data of which are generally reliable.

	data in meters	Flyfishing in the old Rhine
	2,50 bis 2,65	Water releases are rare and short-lived. Good conditions for flyfishing
	2,65 bis 3,00	Very frequent water releases, random levels.
	3,00 bis4,00	Large releases of water. Fly fishing is not possible!
	4,00 und mehr	Opening valves in large, it's the flood! (record 6.67 m the 2/05/1999)

Click here to access the German site with the above indications.

In summary, as soon as the level of the Rhine is around 3 m, be very careful, especially if the trend is on the rise. Warning: The Kembs dam is always open around 3.10 m (= + or-1400 m3/s).

In any case, be vigilant, as the water rises very quickly. I advise you to take landmarks on the bank and keep an eye on them.

by flifishing on this course it's important to know the level of the old Rhine

Map of the access to the old Rhine

The old Rhine is a majestic river. Bordering between France and Germany, it is not always easy to access it. So you need a map of the access to the old Rhine.

Here You will find the location and access to go for the interesting fishing places of the old Rhine on google map.

The level of the old Rhine is changing, and it is advisable to venture carefully into the river if we do wading. You can find information on the levels by clicking here.

Tag Archives: Old Rhine

The Rhine and the old Rhine

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