Trip Report: Before the Storm

With a foot of snow in the forecast for today I thought about staying home and tying flies. Then I went fishing! The park still had a few inches of crusty snow on the ground and water levels continue to be around seasonal average. I hoped to see some fish rising to midges so dedicated the entire outing to fishing midge patterns. With no risers spotted I used the zebra midge.

What a day to be fishing! I don't usually fish with gloves but I was glad to have them today. My hands got numb on a few occasions and now I'm trying to think of a good way to dry my hands while on stream. Handling fish really sapped the heat!

This colorful trout but up a decent little fight. You can barely see the size 18 black zebra midge sticking into his beak! In this spot fish were stacked up in slack water below a muddy flat, feasting on midges no doubt.

This colorful little guy had purple cheeks and a nice red stripe on his side. He must've eaten somebody's fly because he had some tippet sticking out of his butt:(

 I ended up catching around a dozen trout, all rainbows, in about four hours. None were exceptionally large but what these fish lacked in size they made up for in pretty colors. They all came on the zebra midge fished deep below a small indicator. The snow began and picked up throughout my outing and by the time I hit the road to come home the roads were covered with snow!
 

I'll be working and tying flies this week but stay tuned-I'll be fishing the winter opener next week in snow shoes!

Back at the Vise

I worked a bunch over the last few days so I stayed around home rather than visiting family and friends for Christmas. I've been on call as well so while I could not fish, this left me a decent amount of time to tie flies!

 I call this fly the Pink Butted Pheasant Tail. These are tied on a size 14 curved caddis hook with a 1/8 tungsten bead. I used this fly a few times in fall and had outstanding luck. In heavily pressured waters the fish see this fly and can't resist!

 This is my size 14 deer hair Skittering Caddis. I cast this fly down stream and twitch it up. Often the fish will make a noticeable wake as they chase the fly!

 This fly is a size 18 Griffiths Gnat. I've never used these much but I hope to test 'em out over the winter. After tying a few I couldn't stop so I wasted the entire 100 pkg of hooks. Next I'll continue tying skittering caddis and, once I get hooks, the size 20 Matts Midge.

Stay Tuned: I have off work tomorrow so I hope to chase some trouts in the blizzard (we're expecting around 10 inches of snow and 30-40 mph winds). Or maybe I'll stay in and tie:)

More Tying Than Fishing!

This is where the magic happens. Next to this tv tray converted to a portable tying desk I have two cabinets full of tying materials. I've been tying for a few hours almost every day after work and below is some of my progress. I hope to tie a few hundred more flies and build a couple rods before getting things in order to start a small business/fly shop website. It'll be pretty basic at first but hopefully it will provide as a decent little part time gig!

 This pattern is called the Hippie Stomper. These are tied in size 14 and worked very well last summer and early fall. They're supposed to look like a cricket, hopper or other terrestrial.

 This fly is my pink squirrel of prey. It's a bird of prey caddis with a pink collar. I also plan to tie up a ton of pink butted pheasant tails the same heavy tungsten bead. These flies get down deep and hook lots of fish!

 I haven't fished scuds much but they are always mentioned among the areas top winter fly patterns. I hope to test these out soon. These are tied on sz 14 hooks. I hope to tie some in size 16 as well.

 I don't fish the brassie much but when I do it catches fish. Pictured are brassies in size 16 and 18.

The wd40 is another fly that I rarely fish but have found very effective. The grey ones work well during a midge emergence and the olive and grey work well as a BWO imitation. These are tied on size 16 and size 18 hooks.

 The pheasant tail emerger is a fly I have not yet tried. They look pretty awesome though! These are tied on size 18 and size 16 hooks.

 I've always had great luck on these size 24 stripped quill zebra midge emergers. If I can find more size 24 emerger hooks I'll tie up a bunch of black parachute midge/trico emergers. Last summer I killed 'em on the midge/trico emerger but they're really hard to tie!

 This fly killed 'em any time there were mayflies around. I've been enjoying working with CDC.

Of course I've also tied a ton of zebra midges! I have a few other piles of flies laying around and in the coming weeks I'm going to focus on a few more nymph flies and some midge dry flies. Stay tuned for more info on when I open up shop!

Trip Report: Quick Fish

Today I got out for a quick fish while the wifey made Christmas Cookies! With cloudy skies and temps in the mid 40's around noon I hoped to find a good midge hatch. Upon arrival at the river I found no fish rising and a few midges buzzing around. I tied on a brown streamer and immediately tied into a decent brownie.

This guy surprised the heck out of me. He came out of a spot chocked full of stocked Rainbow trout. He didn't put up much of a fight but it was nice to hook into a stout brown right away. I landed a few small rainbows on the streamer before heading upstream. A little ways up I spotted a good number of little midges fluttering about. A few seconds later the trout took notice and began rising. I tied on some 5X tippet and a size 24 parachute midge emerger.

I landed around a half dozen little bows in short order before the hatch died. I hooked into one really colorful bow but the hook pulled out as I steered him to the net. I quickly moved on. With no more midges coming off I tied my streamer back on and landed a few more bows and this little brownie.

I probably landed over a dozen trout with all but three being Rainbow trouts. I ran into a pretty good number of anglers today and parking areas were well occupied. Hopefully this warm weather will stick around into the new year when the general early season begins!

Trip Report: Warm Wet Winter Weather

I got out fishing in the rain for a few hours this morning before the Packer Game! I've been working on my midge game and today shaped up to be a pretty good day for fishing the midge. I arrived on stream to find some stocker rainbows rising sporadically. I tied on a black zebra midge and launched it through the mist.

I landed four or five of these guys before making my way upstream, further into the mist! It rained steadily which allowed me to move around with ease. I tied on a streamer for a little bit and landed one small brown. I had another decent one on and had a vary large brown chase the fly to my feet. Upon entering a long flat I re-rigged with the zebra midge and tossed it toward a decent fish I could see holding to the bottom.

 Got him! After a decent fight on the four weight he came to hand. I've been tying up loads of these little zebra midges sz 18-22 to sell online so I decided to load up my fly box when I got home.

I want to frame this picture and hang it in my trout room! After a brief pause in fishing spent enjoying my surroundings I continued upstream. 

To my surprise a little Brookie took my fly. Today I landed the triple play of MN trout-a brookie, brown, and rainbow trout! I was pretty satisfied with this considering I did not expect to find a brookie. I continued upstream a short ways but found only a few more tiny browns. I turned around glad that I braved the rain but chilled to the bone.

Midges came off the water intermittently but very little surface activity was seen. I saw no other fisherpeople today in a place that is usually crawling with them on the weekends. I'm guessing the rain kept 'em away.

I fished briefly on Friday afternoon and caught my first Tiger Trout, a brook and brown trout hybrid. He took a pink squirrel of prey. I thought I hooked a little brownie but upon further inspection noticed the markings of a tiger! The pic was taken with my flip phone...I wish I'd have had my good camera as this fish had spectacular markings.

Trip Report: Some Fish November:)

After tying hundreds and hundreds of flies over the last few weeks I found some time today to get out fishing. I hoped to test out some new dry fly midge patterns today but with cold and clouds there was very little surface activity. Instead I tied on a black size 18 zebra midge and prospected a promising run.

 I hooked into this rosy cheeked rainbow almost immediately. Shortly after this other little guy took the midge. I pulled in six trout out of the first long run that I fished. After 30 minutes or so I ran into a new friend that I'd met on this stream a few weeks ago. We fished upstream together.

This picture is of the rosy cheeked trout above! We continued upstream finding a few smaller trout here and there. I fished the pink squirrel of prey on some prime runs and dredged some deeper water with very little to show for my efforts. I decided to shorten up and see if a trout would chase the squirrel in a shallower run.

This decent brown took the fly in about two feet of water and put up a decent fight. After darting around submerged rocks he swam gently into my waiting net. After a few quick pics he was returned to the ice cold drink. Check out that sweet side pony tail flowing from under that hat...and those dumpy looking waders!!! After hauling in a few more little ones we called it a day.

Stay Tuned: I'll be getting out a lot more (hopefully) once the Winter Trout Season begins on January 1.

No Fish November:(

I have fished a few times this November, but not much. I've spend hours and hours behind the vise in preparation for the launch of a website dedicated to selling flies, fly rods, and some accessories. I hope to have it up and going by spring. While I'd love to spend all of my time tying flies I do have to get out in the field for product development!

This bow took a pink butted pink squirrel of prey. It's quicker to tie that the squirrel and works just as well, maybe better! The first part of November was unseasonably warm. BWO's continued hatching until last week when temps dipped below freezing.

This little brown fell for the size 24 parachute trico/midge. This fly gets tons of strikes but it's tough to get a good hook set with such a tiny hook. The trick is to let the fish take it for a split second before lifting the rod tip rather than to set the hook hard. This fly is my go-to dry fly for the winter season. I hope to develop a good Griffiths Gnat and another basic dry midge pattern to try.

I got out this past Friday and pulled in around a dozen average sized browns. The fishing was pretty slow and I got snowed on for the first time this winter. With the holidays coming up I'll likely continue to spend more time behind the vise than on stream but come January first I'll be strapping on the snow shoes and chasing 'em.

Also, I spoke with a buddy a few days ago and he told tale of a 20" brookie that he caught out of a stream with no brookie stocking. He spoke with some fellas at the local hatchery and learned that they never stock brooders either. He has a picture that I'm dying to see. I believe him 100% even without seeing the photo and if he said it's 20 inches it's probably more like 22!!!! I'm so jealous!!!Stay tuned: My 20" brookie is on it's way...

Trip Report: Chirpin' Squirrels and BWOs

Over the last few days I've gotten out fishing at some of the only open waters in my area. I got a new pair of neoprene waders from Fleet Farm on Friday so I had to break 'em in. I spend a decent amount of time prospecting with the Pink Squirrel of Prey but found some of my best fish this afternoon fishing with deer hair parachute BWO's. 

I caught a few little ones on a size 20 RS2 but the overwhelmingly preferred the size 18 parachute. 

I pulled in more little browns than I'd care to count. This is a good sign for the future of the fisheries but makes for some mediocre fishing. The trout pictured above ate the RS2. I stood in one spot and picked of a dozen or so before moving on.

This guy, along with a few of his friends, took the pink squirrel of prey bounced on the bottom. This stream was around a foot and a half lower than when I fished it last November.

On Friday night, just before I stopped fishing, I hooked into what I though was a nice Brown Trout. After a short fight I pulled in this dumb sucker! I was pretty disappointed...

This was the big fish from yesterday. Not too big but certainly pretty! I hoped to arrive on the stream early enough (during the rain) so I'd get to fish the stream first. I pulled in behind two nice fellas who offered to let me fish with them. I fished a few other spots but caught up with them quickly and the three of us proceeded upstream. We didn't do too well but just before turning around on of the guys, Kyle, flipped his streamer in front of a nice brown and the fight was on!

For the size of the stream this fish was a trophy. After a quick pic he was released to provide another fisherman with delight. I decided against heading to another spot as we walked to the car but decided I'd go fishing today (Sunday).

I landed a ton of little rainbows and a decent number of smaller browns. All browns came on dries and all except one bow hit on the pink squirrel of prey. Oh, and one decent little brown came on a purple snocone zebra midge. By around 2:00 BWOs started coming off pretty strong and within a few minutes fish rose to the surface in a flurry! I targeted one nice trout that looked to be around 15-16 inches surfacing in a prime run. He took the RS2 twice, a sz 16 parachute adams once, and a deer hair parachute BWO dry three times. I missed the hook set every time! With frustration mounting I turned my attention to another decent riser.

This guy went aerial as soon as I set the hook. It was neat to see him launch out of the water but he didn't put up much fight after that. After a few pics he was returned to the drink. I took a few more casts at the other biggun but couldn't get him to budge. I instead targeted a few of the smaller trout surfacing all around. After pulling in a few more I called it a day.