Scharmützelsee (fishing lake)

The clear water of Lake Scharmützelsee with its remarkable visibility depth of up to four metres attracts anglers as well as other water sports enthusiasts such as divers, sailors and bathers to the region. This means that an excellent infrastructure is available. When anglers and sailors raise their hands during the day to greet you, there’s a good chance you’ll bump into them again in the evening when you stop off for a bite to eat at one of the many restaurants on the banks of the lake.

But before the meal comes the catch – and here, management by Storkower Fischgenossenschaft ensures you have a wide range of options. Nearly all fish species of interest to anglers can be caught in Lake Scharmützelsee. Boat anglers have an advantage since many of the shore areas are privately owned or dedicated to other uses. Unfortunately, these extensive sections are not available for shore anglers. But search and thou shalt find – with a little pioneering spirit, you may be lucky enough to find an inviting spot here and there.

• Size/depth: 1,200 hectares, 30 metres deep
• Tenant/operator: Fischerei am Scharmützelsee, Inhaber Oliver Kobelt, Birkenweg 11, 15864 Wendisch Rietz 
  
  Tel: 033679 429956
• Fish species: eel, zander, pike, carp, tench, catfish, perch, common bream, roach, rudd
• Sale of fishing permits: From the tenant and at the tourist information in Wendisch Rietz, as well as in the tourist information Bad Saarow
• Tourismusverein Scharmützelsee e. V., Geschäftsstelle & Tourist-Information Wendisch Rietz, Kleine Promenade 1, 15864 Wendisch Rietz, telephone: +49 (0)33679 648420, tourismus@scharmuetzelsee.de
• Tourist Information Bad Saarow, Bahnhofsplatz 4, T. +49 (0)33631 438380

Boat anglers will find exactly what they are looking for at Lake Scharmützelsee. Whether rowing by sheer muscle power or gliding conveniently with a motor: an echo sounder makes the search for interesting underwater structures much easier. The average depth of the water is around 9 metres, and the areas around the sloping edges, the underwater mountains and the deep gullies are of particular interest. For a long time, Lake Scharmützelsee was considered excellent for zander but now, thanks to its clear water, a remarkable pike population has developed here, too. And the fact that large schools of perch feel equally at home in this lake is no secret among local anglers either. It is no coincidence that anglers speak of a “perch mountain” when they come across a prominent elevation below the water surface. Pieskower Unterwasserberg (located approximately in the middle of the lake), Diensdorfer Berg (between Radlow and Diensdorf) and Radlower Barschberg (located before the village of Radlow) are all elevations that are considered to be top spots for catching this tasty, spiny fish. Once the perch have been found, things often happen fast. Swiftly guided lures or rubber fish up to 8 centimetres encourage the perch to bite. But be careful! Pike and zander with their powerful teeth are not far away and can grab hold of the lightweight perch tackle any time.

Speaking of zander: you can expect good-sized specimens in Lake Scharmützelsee at any time. Night time and the twilight hours are best. Be sure to be equipped with a steel leader so that a biting pike with its razor-sharp teeth doesn't slip away. And what applies to zander is just as true of the pike in Lake Scharmützelsee: a real whopper can bite any moment.

If you buy a night fishing permit for Lake Scharmützelsee in addition to your day, week or year permit, you can expect an even bigger catch. Not only zander go on the prowl in the dark: eels are also an excellent catch on warm summer nights. A finger-length bait fish or a fresh earthworm or red earthworm will attract the mysterious wriggler with its extraordinary sense of smell even from a great distance. There is a particular attraction to watching a luminous float sink to the depths under the starlit Brandenburg sky as the bite is made – only to pull an impressive specimen out of the water a short time later. And things get even more mystical here. Several anglers have had one on the hook, but only a few have come out on top: here we're talking about the catfish – the largest of our native freshwater fish. Adult catfish can grow to a length of more than two metres – even a much smaller specimen is quite a monster. So the catfish is no easy opponent. In addition, it lives in hiding most of the time in the murky depths of the lake, going on its nightly raids after nightfall.