Christian Geiger
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I was born in 1965 in Munich and grew up in the Oberföhring neighbourhood. Insiders know that a 10-year old on a bicycle only needs 1 1/2 minutes to reach the Isar Valley. There, at the low dam where the noses of spawners form immense groups, you have to become a fisherman. I encountered my first fly rod in a tent camp for young fishermen where Franz-Josef Schäfer was our casting instructor. |
| I am still convinced that he whispered in the ear of every single one of us that we were "naturals" at casting. So, talent couldn't be wasted and a new item was added to the Christmas list. Fishing with worms was over when, 12 months later, I had the first grayling on my fly line. My "Santa Claus" was also a fly fisherman and he gave me a Regal fly vise 2 years later. From then on, nothing under water was safe. Since 1986, I have fished only with my own flies on nearby lakes and streams in the Munich area and in Austria. My fly-fishing world was fully okay until, one day, a good friend was infected with the Huchen "virus" and then infected a number of his companions. My infection manifested itself in the form of enlarged and swollen "do it yourself" flies which grew from an original 2 cm long to well over 20 cm. Ever since, I have not been able to recover from tying big flies. Fishing with large-caliber flies is often an exhausting, sweat-drenched effort. Anybody who has fished with a "Big Bunny" for hours knows the work involved in hooking a fish. This has been the driving force behind my many-year effort to produce easier- and easier-to-cast streamers without sacrificing attractiveness and material variety. Fortunately, I can say "thank you" for lots of inspiration and suggestions for improvements to my diverse prototypes. |
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