Dawn chorus: With fisherman Rolf Meier on the lake

For over 20 years, professional fisherman Rolf Meier has chugged out onto Lake Constance at 4 am every morning in his little fishing boat. On board, he has his fishing nets – and sometimes, guests getting a close-up glimpse of the fishing trade. The secret star of the show: Lake Constance.

Dawn gleams in the night sky

Rolf Meier and his green polyester boat conjure the first waves onto the calm surface of Lake Constance: he’s hauling in the nets that he cast out the previous night. The fisherman's working day begins between 4.30 am and 5.30 am – 51-year old Rolf, who has had his fishing licence for 29 years, hasn't needed an alarm clock for a long time. At some point, the night sky begins to brighten, with bands of yellow illuminating the darkness to a soft blue. It won't be long before the birds wake up and give full voice to the dawn chorus.

This is one of the moments that Meier still finds very moving, even after all these years. “It's so beautiful – I love every morning on the lake”, he says, and the happiness in his voice is so evident that you have to believe every word. Even in winter, when there are soft snowflakes melting into the warmer lake waters, he loves his trips. Following his obligatory schooling, Meier trained as a trout breeder. He then completed a year's internship with a professional fisherman. He was then fully equipped for his dawn work on the lake.

«It's so beautiful – I love every morning on the lake»

He catches the most in July and August

But even in the remaining months, Rolf’s nets are never empty. Between two and 60 kilograms of fish per day find themselves in his nets. Some of them end up in his wife's restaurants, where you can find whitefish, perch, pike and sometimes zander on the menu. He says: “A fisherman nowadays needs another string to his bow. Mine is the Seegarten Restaurant”. However, before the fish can be served, he prepares them. The fishing is only one part of the fishing profession: cleaning is another, explains Meier.

This includes gutting, filleting and smoking. In fact, Meier has a third string to his bow: over the last year he has been taking tourists along onto the lake. Early in the morning, just when he is always on the water. “They get to see the fishing profession and experience what it's like to work with nature”, he says. He mentions two qualities necessary for a fisherman: sensitivity to nature, and patience. The former has increased in importance as the fish population has fallen. “If you can sense where the fish are, you can still net a good catch”, explains Meier. He doesn't want to complain.