More Flies

With another day off of work I decided to tie some of the old reliable flies as well as some more experimental patterns.

 I can't wait to try these out on the fishes. I tied a few variations of these patterns before moving on the tying mouse patterns. I've never tied these before but had little trouble getting the hang of it.

This summer I saw a few little mice swimming by on the stream but I never saw the fish show any interest. Mouse patterns are typically fished under the cover of night so I'll scout a few spots during the day before going out. I'll also try fishing them during the day just in case.

Fly Box

It's been pretty damn cold for the last few weeks here in Southeast Minnesota! I haven't gotten out fishing but I have been busy at the vice. After looking into my fly box during my last trip I new I needed to tie some of the old reliable as well as some new patterns.

 These flies were only a few of the patterns I worked on. I typically pick a pattern and tie around a dozen before moving on to another pattern. The reason for this is because it is more efficient when I don't have to change materials.

 This skittering caddis and foam hopper have produced on streams from the Midwest to Montana. I had great luck on hoppers at certain times this season and can't wait to fish 'em again.

These flies are about 1 1/2 inch long. I can't wait to try fishing them through undercuts and deep pools. I tied these in a bigger version with a black tungsten cone head that's about 2 1/5 inches. These flies are supposed to look like minnows and sculpin.

After tying more traditional patterns I thought about all the leopard frogs that I scared from the banks. I often wondered if those frogs ever fell victim to an opportunistic hog of a trout. If they do this is the fly that will prove it! 

Stay tuned. Temps are supposed to rise over the next week and I'll fish in anything in the mid 20's!

Trip Report: Minnesota State Park Season

Yesterday and Today I got out fishing on a total of three of Minnesota's State Park Season trout streams. Yesterday my future bro in law and I fished two creeks in a State Park. With the streams running low and clear, temperatures in the low 40's, and bluebird skies it was hard to sneak up on the fishes! 

He caught two fish on his first time fly fishing! One came on a beautifully roll casted presentation and another came on a more traditionally presented cast. 

Fish rose most of the afternoon hitting little BWO Mayflies. I tried to coax them on a BWO pattern that I've tied recently but they wanted very little to do with it. I had two strikes and I failed to set the hook effectively on both. I finished the day with around a half dozen trout to hand, none over 14 inches. Most fish came on nymphs fished deep and slow.

 This is the headwaters of the creek that we fished. The water comes out of springs within the cave. We spotted no trout in the cave but many downstream! I'd love to see the water pumping out of there in spring.

After hiking and fishing a few miles we turned our attention to another stream. We saw a little luck on this stream and as the sun began to set the fish began to surface. We were sufficiently exhausted by the time we returned to the car.

 

Today I went to another State Park for a short trip. Temperatures hit the mid 50's this afternoon and again it was sunny. Fish were again easily spooked but i managed another half dozen fish caught on nymphs, a sz 22 bwo ermerger, and a sz 20 midge emerger.

 Both of these fish had great colors. Most of the trout I caught today were about the size of the brown trout pictured above. At one point I hooked into a fish that felt pretty nice but after two strong head shakes he was free. Fish rose consistently on midges for the afternoon.