Many did not think this summer was so great, it was too cold and too wet.
The fishermen and anglers of the Pilsensee-Wörthsee fishing club, however, were happy about every drop of rain.
Because it has done the lakes good, for whose protection and care they feel responsible.
Walchstadt
- The small boat hut in Walchstadt am Wörthsee is not only home to the Pilsensee-Wörthsee fishing club's motorboat.
A large eel also lives there.
He can feel safe, because the fishing club isn't just about fishing and angling.
“The fishing hobby is one side,” explains Thomas Büdel, who has been a member of the board since March.
“Water protection is the other.” And this is increasingly presenting the association, which has 465 members, with challenges.
The unrest has increased tremendously.
Board member Thomas Büdel
Wörthsee and Pilsensee are among the most beautiful bodies of water in Upper Bavaria and have the best water quality. This steadily increases the number of those who want to enjoy it too. "The unrest has increased tremendously," says Büdel. Above all, thanks to the SUP riders, who are out and about with their boards on the lake and its sometimes sensitive edges at all times of the day and year. The delicate reed areas around Mouse Island and on the banks are suffering as a result. Every year in spring, the volunteers go out to mark the endangered areas with fences. They also distribute buoys that are collected and cleaned again in autumn. "We left them inside in the Corona winter," says Büdel. Several immediately disappeared. Annoying, also because each piece costs around 300 euros.
But neither Büdel nor Stefan Kosian (head of fisheries) and youth leader Martin Lehnigk want to get upset about it.
Rather, they have acquired the confidence of people who rely on education.
On this October afternoon they take the motorboat out to inspect the reed fences and check the buoys.
From the north the boat glides to Mouse Island.
Like the lake, it is owned and leased to Count Cajetan zu Toerring-Jettenbach.
Because the leaseholder of the island is dependent on a wheelchair, the count had a kind of flat bridge from Bachern to the Mausinsel built for the supply in the 1980s.
The fishing club is very happy about this jetty.
When I then say: You swim through the carp's living room, they show insight.
Youth leader Martin Lehnigk on swimmers and stand-up paddlers in the reeds
"If it didn't exist, people would all drive around Mouse Island all the time," says Büdel.
That would be a disaster for the reeds and the ecology of the lake.
Because there, between Mouse Island and the shore, “that's where our fish grow up,” says Kosian.
This is the area where the water heats up the fastest in spring, and the fish that spawn there also like this.
"This is where the population of the whole lake arises."
Wörthsee and Pilsensee have a rich fish population.
Pikeperch, pike, char, whitefish and trout, carp, perch, catfish and many more cavort in them.
The fishing club lays out up to 30 nests for the pikeperch.
These are carpet-like structures that are located above the mud, on which the fish lay their spawn and which they also guard.
Back to the sensitive reeds. Only the association takes care of its maintenance. “The count has given us that,” explains Büdel. The tall stalks and the dense network of roots are an important filter and a complex ecosystem. Before the footbridges for the Oberndorf recreation area were built, there was a closed, lush belt of reeds. Little is left of it. The problem with SUPs and swimmers is that they break off the stalks underwater. “Then the stalk is broken and cannot keep up,” explains Büdel.
Stefan Kosian turns off with the motorboat, past the Mausinsel and onto the open water. The men count the buoys. “There's one missing,” Kosian notes, once again. The reed fences along the Mausinsel seem to be intact as far as possible, the reeds look intact. Kosian sets course for the entrance to the small marina in Bachern. The boat glides through a canal, it looks like in the Everglades in Florida. Very beautiful and seductive for uninvited guests. The boats gliding through this small jungle do not disturb the fish. Quite well, however, blaring and stand-up paddlers who stir up the shallow water with their paddles.
The way back is along the Oberndorfer Stegen. A young fisherman is standing on one. Does he have a permit? Fortunately, the men know him and don't have to ask. Increasingly, they encounter anglers who cast their bait without permission. The penalties are too low, there is little control, complains Büdel. This also applies to stand-up paddlers or swimmers who get lost in reeds and water lilies. "If you talk to them, they often get sloppy," says Lehnigk. Often times people just don't know what the problem is. "When I then say: You swim through the carp's living room, they show insight."
But one cannot begin with the education early enough. For this reason, Lehnigk runs the club's youth group with 40 young fishermen very courageously. From the age of ten you can become a young fisherman - and take the state fishing test at 14. They meet regularly and learn how to fish anglers, but above all how to behave in a way that is appropriate for fishing in the water. This also includes respect and protection when a fish is caught, cared for and possibly killed. "Then I would like the group to be quiet and alert, they know that too," says Lehnigk.
In the bank area, large shadows can be seen underwater, from catfish that stand motionless in shallow water. Kosian's son Tim (18) caught a particularly big one in the summer. In the night. “At three in the morning he called me, totally exhausted, and said: I finally got him in the boat, but I can't get him out,” says Kosian. The 2.23 meter long fish weighed 72 kilograms. "We'll find out how old he was."
Waller felt good in the lakes. “They reproduce well and clear away everything else.” Because humans have intervened too strongly over the years, Pilsensee and Wörthsee do not function without protection. "If we didn't do anything, there would be overpopulations and diseases," estimates Büdel. “So we have to network in such a way that the fish population is doing well,” he explains. The whitefish caught in this way are sold on the club's premises next to the campsite on the Pilsensee, "but we do not operate commercial fishing and we do not earn much from it."
In addition to looking after and caring for the reeds, the members of the association regularly go out for clean-up activities.
They have already found everything in the lake, fridges, car tires, rusted pedal boats.
The new problem is masks in which waterfowl and fish can get tangled.
It goes back to Walchstadt.
The members' rowing and electric boats swing on the club's jetty, 104 there are on both lakes.
The association operates two motor boats and would like to switch to electric motors.
“It's our turn,” says Büdel.
It's getting quieter on the lake.
The fishing season is over, and you won't be able to fish again until May 1st.
There is enough to do in between and especially in spring.
The three are very satisfied with the summer weather.
Lehnigk was worried about the Pilsensee after the two hot summers.
“It was about to tip over, from eight meters there was no more oxygen.” Both lakes have only a few inlets.
“When the Ammersee has little water, it draws water from Pilsen and Wörthsee,” explains Büdel.
The water level has fallen steadily in recent years, "this year it has recovered".
The house eel is waiting in the boathouse.
It meanders elegantly out of a rubber mat on the lake bed and disappears under the boat.
The fish are also preparing for winter.
Your metabolism is reduced and your body temperature lowered.
The carp falls into a kind of paralysis.
Even more reasons to allow the lakes to rest in autumn and winter.