There are always some things you should do and some things you shouldn’t do. Within this chapter I want to tell you what are the real musts and what can be skipped.

Dos
1. Follow your instinct for the unknown! There are spots that might offer the fishing of your lifetime. The pikes might have not seen a fly ever before and are willing to take it without hesitation. And if you don’t hook it they might come again fot another attack. Incredible how stupid they can be sometimes when they have not been caught ever before.
2. Always fish directly in close of you! This sounds strange but when you have stripped your fly all the way back up to the leader just move it a few times directly in front of you or aside. You can believe how many takes we had directly just a few feet in front of us. I would even say that one third of the takes we had just 2 meters next to us.
3. Wear good clothes! Only the goons and the poors are freezing. You need good clothes to survive on the Rügen flats, otherwise latest at noon you are deep frozen. Imagine you are standing a few degrees cold water up to your belly. The wind is blowing constantly, the cold creeps into your clothes. Wear a good thermo-underwear plus a thick fleece BIB and on the upper body similar and depending on the conditions another fleece. A good wading jacket is also essential to protect from rain and wind.
4. Don’t fear the exhausting fishery You will feel your body every evening, I promise. You are wading the whole day through a mix of sand and muddy ground, waist to belly deep in the water. Of course this is not the easiest fishery of all. But when you light a fire in your fireplace, having a good dinner, all efforts of the past day will be forgotten.
5. Eat the local fish We experienced last year the first time local caught cod. I only did know it from imported fish that travels days through whole Europe. That doesn’t sound bad but nothing compared to fresh caught one. The best source of fresh caught cod is Gager harbor, roughly 16:00 to 16:30 the local fisherman is landing. You can directly buy from him for a bargain!
6. Use Google Earth for exploring the island! As already explained before in a previous chapter. We explored new spots with Google Earth by just looking for direct transition from light to dark ground. It is a great help for escaping of the mainstream fishery.

Don’ts
1. Don’t take unnecessary risks! What comes in my mind is a foggy day. On such days you should always stay close to the shore and have always the path back to shore in your mind. Being lost out there not knowing in which direction to wade is fatal. A lot of people die each year taking unnecessary risks while fishing.
2. Don’t think one pair of clothes is enough! Always have some backup clothes with you in the accommodation. You might need it after a short swim. Usually if you wade carefully you are save but it can happen that you lose balance on the muddy ground or you made one step to close to the drop off and you take a short bath. You can dry your clothes but they might not be fully dry the next day. Never go out with something wet. It gets super cold during the day in the harsh environment.
3. Steer clear of groups of fisherman! What motivates somebody to stand in a group of 5 to 10 fisherman on one spot. This is bullshit. On Rügen you are never far away from civilization and especially then I would like to get away from other fisherman. Enjoy peace and silence and have a good fishery apart of the fishing groups. Spots where you always meet a lot of people are Lietzow and Ralswiek.
4. Don’t take a less equipped accommodation! We always rent a full equipped accommodation that offers everything from kitchen, fire place till the sauna. After a cold fishing day you need a balm for your body and soul. The price is often not the argument, try negotiating a good price. The seasons there is dead except for the few fishermen.
5. Don’t expect too much from local food! The German cuisine is not as half as good as the Austrian one. Try it out but don’t expect a experience of delicious. If you are in a group of people cock on your own and celebrate dinner. Do it as we did it. Eat the food that can be found on your way, fish, mushrooms “Macrolepiota procera”, ducks ;-)

greets
Philipp