Last year, unfortunately, the violent storms threw a spanner in the works and so the planned fly-fishing combination Donnersbach/Untertalbach had to take place separately. This year in mid-June the time had finally come and our 2024 family fishing vacation in Donnersbachwald – Schladming-Dachstein region – could take place as planned. Attentive readers of my reports already know the accompanying team, Renate, Gregor and Patrick.

After planning our fly fishing trips in early fall and always being confronted with very clear water and cautious salmonids at this time of year, we turned the tables this year. We arrived in Donnersbachwald at the start of the season after the snow had melted and were also the first fishing guests at the “Zur Gams” inn in 2024. Host Roland Rüscher greeted us warmly with a welcome drink. The “home-brewed” tasted excellent and after moving into the comfortable rooms, he immediately showed us his beautiful, approximately 9 km long fly fishing route. Incidentally, he does this with all his new fishing guests. He has leased the stretch exclusively for his holidaymakers for over 10 years.
The Donnersbach is a right tributary of the Enns and is formed by the confluence of the Beireutbach and Schwarzabach streams in the Wölzer Tauern. From here, the stream flows in a north-north-westerly direction until it flows into the Enns at Irdning. The Donnersbach is a typical mountain stream. Extensive shallow trickling stretches alternate with some deep outer bends and smaller pools. Cut deep into bizarre rock formations, the river forms cascades and pools. There are also several backwater areas in the stretch that are suitable for less experienced fly fishers. The main fish is the brown trout, but rainbow trout and brook trout can also be found. Unfortunately, there are hardly any grayling left.

The in-house route begins in the “Riederschranke” storage area with a striking large brown stone. It then ends at the Verbund intake structure. In this area, sporty and challenging fishing is the order of the day, as there are large stones and deep pools. The stretch is accessible everywhere. Some of the best spots are also in the immediate vicinity of the accommodation, so that nothing stands in the way of fishing even without a vehicle.

Valuable instructions from the guide
Roland is an enthusiastic fly fisherman himself and prefers to stalk fish with a dry fly (with glitter effects). Angler friends support him in offering fishing courses, as the “passionate chef” no longer has time for this. There are courses for beginners as well as perfection courses for advanced anglers. All courses start at the hotel’s own fish ponds, where Roland raises some of the stocked fish, mainly brook trout.

The sturgeon up to 40 kg that live there are also impressive to look at. Casts are taught or perfected on the meadow and in the ponds. We also started our fishing vacation with such an instruction. We would also advise every new fly fishing guest to do this, because not only does it refresh your knowledge, you also learn a lot about the water, the best spots, the most catchy lures and the most successful methods. The course lasts 8 hours, which can be taken in one day or split over two days. The courses can be booked individually. They are therefore mostly individual lessons, which allows for even more intensive learning. What’s great is that if you book a fishing course and stay a few nights longer at the inn, you can fish for free for the rest of the week!

Beautiful brown trout and magnificent brook trout
Roland’s fly fishing route is reserved exclusively for guests of the Gasthof “Zur Gams” ! The fishing pressure is therefore very manageable and the daily number of anglers is limited to a maximum of 7. The fish stock is made up of wild fish and stocked fish. Due to the unfortunately increasingly severe weather events, it is not possible to stock only wild fish. Roland therefore stocks several times a year with specially bred brook trout and brown trout from a farm in the Hohe Tauern. Fish of all sizes are caught. The larger specimens weigh around 80 dag, although a brown trout weighing 3.60 kg has also been caught.

Moody fish
The weather gods were very kind to us this year, perhaps even a little too much, as it was sunny and very, very hot for the entire stay. This is probably why the fish were lazy to bite and struggled to get a bite. Another reason was probably the abundance of natural bait. A fishing colleague from Graz had taken a brown trout to have it deliciously prepared by Roland and found a whole bunch of earthworms in his stomach when gutting it. Logically, they were less interested in our flies, nymphs and streamers. Nevertheless, we still caught plenty of fish and, most importantly, all of them were over the catch limit.

Favorite spot near the backwater area
During our 4 days of fishing, we tried a lot of places, but our clear favorite spot was in the backwater area about 1.5 km from the inn. One of the benefits of fishing there was that you could fish without waders, which is an advantage not to be sneezed at in the hot summer temperatures. The stream became much calmer before this backwater area and it was easy to spot the fish in the clear water. The most fun was to cast directly at them and watch them try to catch the fly or streamer. This practice also proved to be the most successful and each of us was able to record a “Petri Heil”. Beautiful brown trout of around 40 cm in length and beautifully marked brook trout ended up in the landing net after a good fight. As usual, Gregor was in the lead and was particularly successful with the streamer. Patrick and I, on the other hand, struggled longer with dry flies and nymphs. On average, however, we caught more than 10 fish per day.

Styrian delicacies from our own production
For breakfast and dinner, we were spoiled with hearty, home-made products and Styrian specialties. These included game specialties from our own hunting grounds and freshly prepared (and, on request, home-caught) fish. Sausage, ham and bacon specialties from the house butcher’s shop, as well as homemade jams should also be tried. The chef himself cooks in this house!

Natur pur-Urlaub
Roland also offers special services for anglers. There is a small store with accessories and plenty of fly patterns. Wet fishing gear can be dried in the drying room and for those who want to take the fish they catch home with them, there is a vacuum sealer and a freezer. Numerous hiking, swimming and sporting opportunities provide a change from fly fishing. In the idyllic guest garden, there is also an asphalt stock track with rental sticks for guests in the evening!