Although there were no fishers in my family my interest in fishing became apparent at a very early stage. When I was about 7 years old, I would watch our neighbour and his son go fishing at the Altrhein on Sundays. There were a lot of boys in the neighbourhood so that I only managed to come along with my neighbour about twice a year. But I would never miss when they returned from fishing because I wanted to know what they had caught and how. Recalling those days I feel like I felt back then. Those were the beginnings of my passion for fishing.

Then followed the years where I could fit my fishing gear in the back pocket of my pants so that I was able to run faster when I was in danger of being caught. I frequently had a black spot on my nose, a sign for youths who had been caught fishing without permission.

At 16 (the minimum age) I passed the fishing test with 100%; though I have to admit that they forgot to read through some pages of my test. The following years I fished the traditional way, and had already begun to take extensive notes on air pressure, temperature and thermoclines. My colleagues took note and would ask for advice here and there.

I first got into contact with fly fishing when I was 28 years old and it was more of a coincident than a deliberate decision. A friend of mine who worked in a fishing store had purchased fly fishing equipment the previous year and was now looking to purchase better gear and therefore tried to sell his old gear to me.

I asked him “What am I supposed to do with this stuff?” and he said without hesitation “Go fly fishing.” So I bought his gear for 130 German Marks, which was not too bad considering I got a carbon fibre rod, line, reel and a couple flies.

The next weekend he gave me the following instructions: “Over there maybe 40-45 feet away is where the fish come up. The fly should land softly in front of the fish. The line should swing backwards and the forwards until you have the right length then stop it and the fly is where the fish are. Good Luck!” And he walked away to go fishing. There I was with my first (and last) casting course. Those five minutes would change my life as a fisher completely. After two years I had completely switched to fly fishing. The first couple years I only used dry flies then I would add nymphs and streamers. Today I can fly fish for any type of fish. And what about fly tying?

I owe that to the very same friend. After my first year as a fly fisher, it was spring he came by, his one arm in a cast and a tool box in his other hand. I thought he needed me to help him fix something when he opened the box and there were no tools but hooks, thread, feathers, etc. My response was similarly perplexed as the year before when he showed me the fly fishing gear and his answer was similarly short “Tie flies. There is also a book with instructions.” Thetitle of the book was “Zwanzig Fliegenmuster reichen aus“, (Twenty fly patterns are enough), by Kretschmer and Rubel. Much later during a meeting hosted by the magazine “Der Fliegenfischer” I found out that Rudi Rubel and I were born and raised in the same town.

I would soon put the book aside and start using my own tying techniques, which were published in “Der Fliegenfischer”. All tying reports are still available from Jochen Schueck publishing, though “Der Fliegenfischer” is now published exclusively online. I also published a book on fly tying “CDC Fliegen” (which is unfortunately out of stock.)

I would like to take this opportunity to point out that the many positive encounters and moments that I have experienced through fly fishing are giving me the strength and passion to continue my efforts. In the last years I have focused more and more on keeping the waterways clear and preserving biotopes. The next generations should be able to enjoy fly fishing as well.