Trip Report: Fall Brown Trout

After not fishing much over the past week I got out this morning before the Packer game! I fished near Preston for about four hours. I tried fishing hoppers but fish only followed it down stream while inspecting it, refusing to strike.

I tried fishing near the headwaters of the stream first but caught only little minnows. I hoped that the burning bush signaled good fishing but it did not. I moved to a spot further down stream and presto!

This mean lookin' brownie came from an unassuming run where I'm sure a hundred other fisherman have passed by without a cast. I caught a few more on a size 24 midge emerger trailed behind a pink squirrel of prey before switching to a hares ear with the same fly trailing.

This guy took the hares ear after another from the same run came to hand. The browns are staging to spawn in this area as evidenced by their colors.

 The fish face is from the above pictured trout. You can tell it is a male by the slight curve of its jaw. The other pic is of a female. She was heavy with eggs and will likely spawn within the next few weeks. It was a nice day to get out but with the browns preparing to spawn and the extended season ending on October 15 I'm not sure how much I'll be able to fish.

Old Trip Report: Misc Fishing

I started a new job this week! I've neglected to post reports but I still managed to hit the streams a few times.

The only hatch I ran into was this little midge hatch. It was pretty intense but the fish were not looking up for these tiny flies. I did try a skittering caddis pattern a few times and it worked well early in the week before a cold front passed through.

 On this small stream the brookies and browns were eager to chase the caddis across the surface. After the cold front passed the fish were less eager to hit the surface and had to be coaxed from the depths with the pink squirrel of prey nymph.

 When the sun came out the wife came along to document. The rainbows came out to play too! The waters have been cold and clear and the fish have been eager to pack on the feedbag while in pre-spawn mode.

 The rainbows that I caught this week were all above average size while the browns ranged from average to very small! After walking around for some time I found more than just fish.

 Speaking of above average this toad was huge! He looked like he ate a mouse. This leopard frog was pretty big too. My wife spotted a big garter snake also. It had definitely eaten two little mice as you could see two bumps in its stomach.

Fishing was good this week but I'm looking forward to fishing Minnesota's extended catch and release season which runs from September 15th through October 15th. We also have a winter season beginning January 1st! Stay tuned: the fishing season is coming to an end for most but I'll be taking advantage of Minnesota's various trout seasons.

Old Trip Report: Paddling The Mighty Root

Last Saturday the wife and I paddled a branch of the Root River. We hit the water by 9:30 am in search of sunburn and trout! My wife volunteered to be the photographer for the day.

We paddled along bluffs and over rocky riffles and sandy pools. We saw very few trout scatter as we approached but they were there! I tried fishing dry flies, although very few fish surfaced. I quickly switched to the pink squirrel of prey after a few fishless minutes. It was a good choice!

 I caught some fish from the kayak but found it much easier to pull up on shore to fish. I hooked into a few nice fish ahead of me in deep runs but the fish were easily able to outmaneuver me. 

This brown came, along with a few others, from a fast riffle that emptied into a slow flat. It was much easier to fish from my feet but it took more time and I could have spent a week fishing all the water we passed through. 

I caught about half browns and half rainbows. None were especially large but I did hook into a few decent fish that were able to shake me! We paddled 12.75 miles and caught around 2 dozen fish. It was nice to get back into the kayak and hopefully we can try it again before the season is over...I have a lead on some good smallmouth bass waters in our area.

Trip Report: Triple Play

 Today I fished some new water close to home and was rewarded with the Minnesota Driftless triple play; a rainbow, brook, and brown trout! With overcast skies and chilly temps the fish were actively feeding and finding them required little stealth. In total I brought around two dozen fish to hand fishing from 9am to 4pm. I met a fella on the stream and we talked fishing for some time before continuing together upstream. 

I saw this dogfish swimming downstream and snapped a quick pic. His presence likely reduced my catch rate but it was fun to see! I hope to get out fishing soon so stay tuned!

Trip Report: Riffles and Chocolate Milk

 

This morning I fished a local stream that I checked on yesterday. It was still running high but it was a lot more clear than yesterday. At about 8:30 there was a good hatch coming off but the water was stained enough that the fish were unable to really key in on them. I fished the pink squirrel of prey exclusively today. 

For the first two hours all I caught was a few rainbows. The stream cleared as the sun came out and the fish moved into the riffles. I have never focused on the riffle sections of streams but realized today that often fisherman move directly from pool to pool. Fish often move into riffles to feed in the morning and late afternoon and are often overlooked by anglers.

This chunky brown came out of a long, rain-swollen riffle. He fought hard, diving behind rocks and toward vegetation, but came to hand after a short fight. I approached the same riffle and again tied into a fish.

This speckled beauty ran down the riffle into a run before settling at the bottom of a pool. He was strong but not stronger than the St. Croix! After a quick photo he was released to fight another day. In total I caught around 1 1/2 dozen fish with all but 6 being browns. I'm eager to fish more heavily pressured streams to test my theory that riffles are often avoided by anglers.

Some Flies

After all the success that I have had with the pink squirrel of prey I thought I'd post a picture!

This fly doesn't imitate any particular fly. I have found it to be more effective than the pink squirrel fly which is tied without the wing and tail material that I use. I fish these flies in a size 14 with a tungsten bead head. 

Pictured above are an olive, cream, and black zelon midge in size 24. This has been the most effective midge pattern that I have fished and can be used year round. Below them is a stripped quill midge emerger. This is also a great fly.

Trip Report: Brookies!!!

Today I decided to try a headwaters portion of my home stream in order to find clean water and brook trout! I arrived on stream at about 9am and found clear water after a few inches of rain over the last few days.

This section of the stream was beautiful. The stream wound through a pasture and had lots of small springs pouring into it. I didn't have to fish from the water but had to cross a few times and the water was cold! As I walked down stream the banks exploded with hoppers. It was neat to see hoppers float downstream to eager brookies and browns. I was, however, unable to connect with hoppers.

 These brookies came on the pink squirrel of prey. I fished midge emergers, bwo dries, and hoppers with minimal effectiveness. These brookies came out of a shallow run but bigger fish lurked in pools.

This guy hit the squirrel of prey and immediately dove for the cover of a big rock. I steered him away from the big rock and he ran into an overhanging branch. After a short dance he came to the net. After about 4 hours of fishing I caught more than a dozen trout with half being brookies and half browns.