Published Aug 14. 2017 - 6 years ago
Updated or edited Oct 28. 2021

German Traun

The Traun is a typical, pristine, clear watered alpine river running through the foothills of the Chiemgau Alps, running from south to north.

From the bridge in Siegsdorf
From the bridge in Siegsdorf
Břetislav Kašpar

I heard bits and pieces about fly-fishing in Iceland, Brazil, New Zealand as well as streams in black India, but surely I never wanted anything else than my beloved river Vltava. But...
There is a difference between happiness and curiosity. While happiness seeks healing and wholeness, curiosity, on the other hand, is satisfied by moments. So, even if I love my home waters, I would also like to fly-fish in any possible water on planet Earth. No doubt…

The Traun is a typical,

pristine alpine river running through the foothills of the Chiemgau Alps, running from south to north in southern Germany, close to the Austrian border. It is a 27 kilometer river flowing past the regional administrative center of Traunstein. It is a tributary of the Alz. Alz is a tributary to the Inn. And the Inn flows into Donau (the Danube).

Preparations
Some of the flies
Preparing
Břetislav Kašpar

The upper Traun

is a private fly-fishing only water. The administration is in hands of well known German fly angler Rudi Heger. Heger and his company (Traun River Products) is located in Siegsdorf, which is a small town on the road (highway A8) from München (Munich, Germany) to Salzburg (Austria). You need to find the company house on Haupstrasse on the river bank, near the bridge. When you take a look from that bridge, down into gin clear water, you will know that you are in the right place.
You have to go there for the licenses anyway.

Shallow and clear
Hookup
Clear water
Břetislav Kašpar

But remember, you have to make a reservation before!

I made a phone call a few weeks before a trip and asked about that specific date to come and buy a licenses. I had been assured that it was allright... well.. when we arrived, things were a bit different.
We were almost sent home, due lack of reservation!
I had to read the info on Rudi Heger website better, that's for sure. But... I would also expect that the first thing the guy would tell me on the phone would be like "You need a reservation, would you like to make one?" So after a little (basically friendly) quarrel, we made a deal with Lady Heger.
The only reason that I'm writing about this little misunderstanding is just to tell you that unfortunately we were not able to choose a section of the river, which we wanted to fish. After all, this booking system is a good thing, because there is just up to 4 people per day allowed to fish a particular section.
But first things first. Before you can buy your permits, you need to have your German state fishing license. For a Non-German resident it costs 22.50 Euros, and it's valid for 3 months during 1 year or 3 trips a month for a period of one year. You can get it in any German town hall. There's one just round the corner from Rudi Heger's shop. You will need a passport photo and a passport. Other types of ID will do if you are a European Union resident.

Releasing a trout
Viadukt in Traunstein
Traun impressions
Břetislav Kašpar

There are four sections to fish:

Deutsche Traun - "Weisse Traun" (from river kilometer 33.8 to 28.8)

This is the highest part, running through Siegsdorf, by Rudi Heger's company house. It's a markedly smaller stream than lower parts of the German Traun, because there is water stolen by mills many places. The lower part of this section flows together with Roten Traun (Red Traun).
The prize is from Euros 50.- per day.

Deutsche Traun - "Hochberg" (from river kilometer 28.8 to 24.8)

It starts right on the confluence. We fished this part for the first day of our 3-day trip, and right on the confluence we saw a nice evening rise with brown trout over 55 centimers. However, the biggest fish we caught was a rainbow about 50 centimeters that day. Unfortunately, this part is located very close to the road with heavy traffic. After about 2 kilometers of the newborn Traun (Weise+Rote = Traun) there is a pretty high weir, but the water above it is quite shallow.
On the flat bottom you can see nice trout, and even nicer ones come for short visits from the channel, which starts here. This channel will take off most of the water during regular water level, so the following part of the river is really a tiny stream. You are not allowed to fish in the channels.
The prize is from Euros 55.- per day.

No dress code
No dress code
Břetislav Kašpar

Deutsche Traun - "Traunstein" (from river kilometer 24.8 to 22.7)

This part running completely in the city of Traunstein.
There is an other weir and also a mill. And that's basically everything I can tell you about this part. We have not fished this sector.
The prize is from Euros 50.- per day.

Deutsche Traun - "Traditional" (from river kilometer 22.7 to 19.6)

This is a part where we spent the other two days of our trip. It offers a nice view on an old Traunstein viaduct.
After about 200 meters you will see an other mill and the river becoming a bit larger. This part of the river runs out of the city. Along the river runs a footpath, where you will meet a lot of friendly locals greeting "Halo" or "Servus" to you.
The prize is from Euros 65.- per day.

The rules are the same for all parts:

  • Fly-fishing only.
  • Only One Fly (single fly).
  • Barbless hooks.
  • Fishing with jigs, streamers, bread or bread flies is prohibited.
  • Chest waders must be rolled down to waist height. Hip waders and wading boots are allowed
  • Tippet no thinner than 0.14 millimetersm (5X).
  • Fishing in the channels is prohibited.

Along with the permit,

you will get a map of every part, and along the whole river, there are river signs for every 200 meters.
Please notice that all prices above are "from" and there are "additional fees” for prime time (May 1st to June 21st) and additionally for weekend and public holidays.
We paid 490.- Euros for 2 people in 3 days (Friday, Saturday and Sunday) from June 9-11, 1 day on "Hochberg" and 2 days on "Traditional". This does not include the German state fishing license.
This price includes a "Fishmarker". You are allowed to keep one trout from 30-38 centimeters per day. If you don't use this right, you can return the marker and get 10 Euros back - or you can mark your significant other with this bracelet...

Spotting fish
Anither catch
Fishing
Břetislav Kašpar

What I like most about these Alpine rivers,

is their gin-clear water, even after a night's light rain. It allows you spot the fish from a very long distance. These fish are not really that shy, however. You will fish from a comfortable distance most of the time, and you can fish downstream. Fish will also rise well to a dry fly, even during a bright summer day.
These waters hold a lot of beautiful trout. Rainbows will not be as big as you could probably wish. The biggest we took was about 55-60 centimeters. But these are strong and healthy fish, and they know how to use the stream while fighting. And you will catch enough fish to tire your hand before dinnertime.
We had no luck with grayling, maybe because we used a lot of big dry flies on hooks size #10, for a majority of the time.
The ratio between rainbows and browns was like 2:1 sometimes 1:1, which was a nice surprise for me. And these browns were the candy of this trip, even if we did not take a trophy one.

And a typical German Traun brownie
Healthy brown trout
A typical German Traun rainbow
The fish
Břetislav Kašpar
The beaver
The beaver
Břetislav Kašpar

Fishing downstream in cold and crystal clear water

is beautifully relaxing, with no holes deeper than hip height. Just make sure you have good boots, because the bottom can be very slippery here.

Even if you can't consider this as a trip to the wilderness, it is a nice river with clear water. I saw really huge stoneflies, a beaver and ‘Old Nog’ the gray heron who was probably out searching for his supper.

People are really friendly. Surprisingly most of them speak English quite well. You will get a warm welcome from most of them. Food and beer is good. And the landscape is like a garden.

So what to say at the end?

If you are thinking about a fishing trip to the German Traun, and still aren't sure, consider words of Linus Carl Pauling: “Satisfaction of one’s curiosity can be one of the greatest sources of happiness in life.”

It will not be my every year destination, but we had a great time, and one day.
Auf Wiedersehen!

Like a garden
The Garden
Břetislav Kašpar
.

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