The Bruche

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Offen predictable, sometimes surprising, the Bruche is my river, that I generally court, which sometimes fills me with joy, sometimes afflicts me, but, always enchants me.

Taking its source at an altittude of 680 meters, on the top of the Climont, in the granitics Vosges, the Bruche runs during 78 km to its confluence with the river Ill, just before Strasbourg. Up to Dinsheim, it is classified in 1st category (salmonidae dominant). Rich in watery insects (baetis, rithrogena, ephemerella ignita, caddis..) it presents a succession of flats and currents, typical of the piedmont plains.

It is well populated with brown trouts, to wich are added white fish (chubs, daces, spirlin, bleaks, gudgeons..). From Heiligenberg, the graylings are well established and it contains some rainbow trouts. The trouts are not enormous there; a fish of 30 cm is a beautiful specimen (my personal record with the fly is 45 cm there), but they are wild, and defend themselves with vivacity and malignancy. The graylings commonly reach 30 cm and some specimens of more than 40 cm were already caught. Sinceyear 1999, the salmon comes also back again in the Bruche.

There are a lot of associations on the Bruche and it’s not always easy to get a fishing licence. But since 1997, the fishing association “haute vallée de la Bruche” has created a fly fihing course in Schirmeck. On this place, where the fishing is no-kill way, from the 1st may to the 31st august you get sometimes the chance to catch brown trouts of more than a kilogram. In 2003, a new fly fishing course has opened in Muhlbach on Bruche ! daily licenses are also avaible in Urmatt, Dinsheim and Molsheim.

You can get fishing cards for most of the fishing sectors on the web: http://en.cartedepeche.fr/

-by fishing store BRUCHE- NATURE: 3, route de Strasbourg , 67130 SCHIRMECK … tel: 0033 3 88 97 89 45 for the fly-fishing course from Schirmeck.

-by fishing store NATURAMA, Zone de loisirs “Le Trêfle” 67120 DORLISHEIM. tél:  03 88 04 81 81. for the sector of Ergersheim-Dachstein-Wolxheim.

News for march 2024

News: the river got a lot of water during all the winter. the river will be strong at the opening of the 1° category, the 09 march 2024.

There are of course other interesting rivers for flyfishing in Alsace. Moder, Eichel, Lauter, Sauer, Giessen, or Andlau in the Bas-Rhin, Fecht, Doller, Ill, Lauch, Liepvrette or Thur in the Haut-Rhin, but the Bruche is one of the most beautiful, and it is dear to my heart.

If you want information on any of these rivers, take a tour on the site of the Federation of fishing associations of Bas-Rhin, or that of the Federation of Haut-Rhin.