Trip Report: Testing Out New Fly Rod Build

On Saturday I built a 8 foot 5 weight fly rod in order to replace the Okuma 5 weight that I used while in Montana. After tilling and finishing off planting the garden I decided to head to a rain swollen river to chase trout with the new stick. 

I bought the components and rod blank on Ebay for 75.00 using some of the money I made on a recent fly sale! The blank is a dark green which shines great in the sun. The green thread that I've been using on rods blends great with the blank color. This is the fourth fly rod that I've built and it easily came out the best of any thus far. My area got over an inch of rain Thursday which left the creeks slightly overflowing their banks. I decided to hit a stretch close to my house where a spring fed tributary pumps clean water into a mucky main stem. I tied on the Pink Squirrel of Prey and dredged the bottoms of deeper runs on the murky stream while making my way towards cleaner water.

 The fish were hungry but care had to be taken to avoid hang ups. As I approached the clear water tributary I spotted some rising fish. I decided to continue subsurface and was rewarded with a nice trout.

I hooked into a few nice fish, one of which pulled me into an undercut bank and snapped my line. Most of the fish I caught today were pretty small but what they lacked in size they made up for with color.

This funky lookin' trout bit on a black CDC caddis pattern that I just started tying. I believe I'll tie some more! In total I caught around two dozen fish with most measuring around 10 inches with the largest topping out around 14. After getting the new rod on the water I decided I like the 8 foot rod but would maybe prefer it in a 4 weight. This rod casts beautifully but has a little too much backbone for some of the quick runs these driftless brownies take!

Trip Report: Fishin' With Mike

Today I had the pleasure of fishin' with Mike. Mike is a big time fisherman and my soon to be brother in law. I built him a fly rod to commemorate the occasion of his wedding but I couldn't wait for him to see it! 

 The "Pannie Snatcher" is a 7'6" three weight built to snatch panfish from the depths of L.G. Lake. This build turned out much better than my previous two. My goal is to always show some improvement through each fly rod built. Anyway, Mike and I got this morning and eagerly checked the weather with hopes that storms would not be in the forecast today. They were after studying three or four weather websites but we decided we'd brave the elements whatever came at us. We headed a few miles from home and hit the stream around 11am. This was Mike's second time out and he's getting good at casting. We casually fished a few long slow pools before approaching a nice little scour hole with some good current. Mike took a few casts and had some trouble getting a drag free drift. He handed me his rod and I demonstrated how to flip the line into the current a little in order to get the longest possible drag free drift. Near the middle of the drift my indicator bobbed under the surface and I set the hook.

This nice trout fought hard but was no match for Mike's great work on the net and a few crafty moves on my part to keep the fishing from disappearing under a nearby undercut. After a few quick pics he returned to the water and swam to the depths.

Next, we entered an overgrown pasture where Mike tied into this beast. Hey, a trout is a trout! The fish on the left flopped out of Mike's hand and landed perfectly. This section of the stream sees good pressure and as windy as it was Mike was laying down casts like a pro. We continued up stream catching a few fish here and there.

This powerful trout came on a long cast with the sun shining. I had a good feelings as the fly landed perfectly beyond a big submerged rock. Again some crafty net work and a little dancing to keep him from escape. We continued upstream with the sun shining and wind blowing.

This chunker fought valiantly but came to hand pretty simply. 

Most of the fish I caught were bigger than usual and it was great to get out fishing with Mike! All fish were caught using nymphs drifted deep. Total we pulled in around 12-15 fish combined, all released to fight another day.

Trip Report: Early Memorial Day Fishin'

I took this photo a few days ago while fishing and morel hunting. I found both morels and trout! Anyway this is not where I fished today. I arrived at the stream around 3 and fished until 630. At first only a few bugs were coming off but after slayin a few in the riffles on a pink squirrel of prey I switched to trying to match a few of the now emerging flies. First I tied on a big puffy deer hair skittering caddis to get a few that were smashing flies on the surface. 

 I missed more than I landed so after getting refusals I switched to a comparadun pattern and again caught as many as I missed. The fish didn't hit this fly as hard but they fought like they meant business.

This guy measured over a foot. He sipped the fly from the surface after inspecting it a few times. After a few more fish and a bunch of hits and misses I started noticing some little mayflies coming off. I tied on a BWO CDC emerger and began slayin 'em again!

This chunker was one of many to suck down the emerger fly. The fish struck more subtly and I waited a second before setting the hook. I still got refusals but not as many. I tied on the emerger after fishing the caddis and comparadun on each run I fished and caught fish on all three flies. Today it paid to match the hatch.

No huge fish today but this stream always produces a larger than average sized average. I caught around 20 fish in less than 3 1/2 hours. I also met a fella on the stream who ties with a group of fellas from the twin cities called the Laughing Trout Fly Fishers. We bs'd a bit about trout fishing before parting ways.

Trip Report: Deep Hiking With Bro

Yesterday I had the pleasure of fishing with my brother! I grew up fishing with my brother all over southeast Wisconsin. We started chasing trout on the fly rod after a trip with dad and our uncle to Bennet Springs State Park in Missouri. There we first flung flies at wiley trout. Of all the people I've fished and hiked with he is one of the few that is willing to go on a good adventure. We've had some epic days of slaying trout and some really rough days. I consider yesterdays trip as one of the former.

We hit the water by around 7 am and had tied into fish almost immediately. I pulled in a nice little rainbow and my bro had caught a few browns before I tied into this guy. He put up a decent fight before getting scooped into my net.

The water had a perfect "green" to it. We didn't have to worry as much about sneaking as in addition to the green stain clouds covered the skies. No fish came out of this pool but a few yards up stream...

Bro was on fire and I had a pretty good day myself.

This football took the pink squirrel off the bottom of a deep, slow pool. Most fish were hooked at the very tip of there snouts and we missed a good number that were probably only tasting the fly. We walked a ways beyond the furthest point I'd reached previously and turned around after 5 hours of fishing and hiking. It took an hour of strait walking to get back to the car. We moved on to another stream as the forecast rain did not materialize. We hit a nearby brook trout factory and pulled in a few brookies a piece. Upon approaching a deep pool my brother skittered a caddis to a really nice brown that snapped him off instantly. We got a good view of the fish as he exploded from the water to tackle the fly. He probably measured around 16 inches and was easily the biggest fish in this section of creek. We came home for lunch before hitting another nearby stream. We planned to chase bigger browns and hoped to find a good caddis hatch. We found no consistent hatch but I pulled in a really nice rainbow, probably 15-17 inches. He put up a great fight. I managed to pull in another decent brown before being chased of the water by a downpour.

Trip Report: Perfect Conditions

I have to work for 12 hours tomorrow so I cut out of work early today to do a little fishing. I headed for a spot near work that I don't get to fish too often. The stream flows through a beautiful pastured valley and into the Mississippi River. It was cloudy, rainy, and windy today which made sneaking up on the trouts much easier in this small stream.

I started off targeting a nice riser with a deer hair skittering caddis. The fish ignored it a few times before striking it with vigor. I set the hook only to find that he missed the fly. After some choice words I switched to the tried and true Pink Squirrel of Prey and began tying into fish consistently. 

 I caught 5 or 6 average sized fish before hooking this chunker. He hit the fly at the beginning of the run and darted around a deep pool before coming to hand. Most of the fish I caught came from faster moving water. I turned a few fish toward the middle of deeper pools but they seemed to only be nibbling the Squirrel.

 This guy came to hand in a similar fashion. I caught around 18 to 20 fish today with the two pictured being the largest. I hooked into one really nice fish in a short run but he immediately pulled my fly into a bunch of submerged branches and snapped my line. I'll be back for him before long!

There was limited insect activity on top but a few spare caddis came off as I was pulling away. Stay tuned: My brother's coming this weekend and were hoping to chase some big trouts!

A Creekside Stroll

This morning the wife and I went for a creekside stroll along one of the most popular trout streams in SE Minnesota. I brought the fly rod along with the wife took a few pictures.

 After catching a few little guys I tied into this ugly beast. He pulled hard and darted between boulders in a deep run before coming to hand.

He came on a pink squirrel of prey. I managed a total of 6 fish this morning with the one pictured above being the largest. We ran into a surprising amount of people on the stream considering it's mothers day. They all reported having a slow day.

Trip Report: A Short But Fruitful Outing

I really need to stop saying 'I won't be getting out fishing for a while'. With as many trout streams as I have within a short drive the odds  that I'll get out fishing on any given day is pretty good! After work today I headed out to a headwaters stream less than 10 minutes from home.

 I liked this tree! I spotted some Sulphers and midges hatching but I decided to take another route. After a short hike I tied on the skittering caddis and tossed him downstream twitching him down and across. I immediately began tying into brookies. 

 Fish spooked with every step so on this small stream only the longest and most precise casts landed fish. I caught around a dozen smaller brookies and four that measured around 9-11 inches.

This brownie came from beneath an undercut to slam the Skittering Caddis. By this point I spotted a few spare caddis coming off. After catching around two dozen fish (most very small) I called it a day and hiked back to the car.

Stay tuned: The forecast changed and now tomorrow looks to be cloudy and a bit chilly, but without storms.

Trip Report: A Full Day of Fishing

Since I have to work tomorrow and there's lots of rain in the forecast for Sunday I decided to fish today! First a buddy and I headed to a spot that neither of us fished yet. We pulled up to the access point only to find a stream of chocolate milk, off color because of the heavy rains last night. We decided to backpedal a little and fish a nearby stream that we noticed was clear-ish on the way. We each managed 6-7 fish. This guy was the biggest.

We fished from 8ish until around noon. My buddy and I BS'd for a while before parting ways. By around two I was on the next stream, a small stream full of little browns. 

I headed down the hill and began flinging a streamer as I worked downstream. After seeing a few flashes I hooked into a really nice one. I tried to horse him a little and he took a calculated run which snapped my 4.4 lb tippet. I tied on a gray deer hair skittering caddis and skated him upstream as I continued down. I caught a few smaller ones before heading back upstream. I tied on a Pink Squirrel of Prey and began pulling 'em in almost immediately. 

I fished to an audience as I hauled in this little chunker. I like his spots! The cows were pretty cool and even though they had some babies with 'em they didn't mind my presence. 

 After hauling in a couple decent little browns I hooked into another decent fish. I only saw a muted flash as he pulled under a deep lunker structure and snapped me of on a rock or sumthin'. 

This guy was the biggest fish of the afternoon. He put up a great fight but I was able to steer him to shore in short order. Notice the big mark on his side. It makes him look mean.

A few casts later this guy came to hand. He ambushed my fly on a well placed cast between two big rocks. After a few more casts I decided to call it a day. I almost crashed my car on the way home after finding three ticks crawling on my legs. I've heard from a few people that they think its a bad year for ticks and I concur. I hope to catch some more fish soon but it'll be hard to get out before next weekend.

Trip Report: Quick Afternoon

After saying goodbye to the parents and tilling and planting the garden I headed to a spot just downstream of where we fished yesterday.

This pic is looking back to where I came from. I only fished for a little bit and didn't work too hard as my back and arms were sore from tilling and planting. When I arrived on stream skies were sunny with temperatures in the low 80's. I wet waded with no problem..

This guy put up a great fight. During his first run I thought I hooked into a really big fish! I only managed three fish today but it was great to get out. Also if your out there bushwackin' be sure to check yourself for ticks. I found 3 on me today and 2 yesterday.

Clouds built as I drove out of the valley and thunderstorm warnings were being transmitted by NPR for locations north of here. Earlier tonight we got rained on good and hard so bigger streams will be running a little higher and slightly off color tomorrow. Tuesday could be ideal conditions on the stream and I have a brookie spot in mind if it's not raining.

Trip Report: Fishin' With The Father

The 'Ol Man and I got out for a short fishing trip this afternoon on a heavily pressured stream close to home. I expected to find some caddis coming off the surface of the water and found some fish surfacing. We rigged up with nymph rigs and began targeting deeper pools.

After turning a few nice trout but not landing 'em I hooked into this guy in a deeper run. He put up a great fight before coming to net. After hooking into this guy Pops got in on the fun!

He pulled a 12 or 13 inch brown after missing a few (probably monsters!) We plied the waters for a little longer in this area before I hooked into this guy.

He sucked down a Gray sz 12 Deer Hair Caddis with vigor. I caught another 3 or 4 on the caddis dry. I really enjoyed getting out fishing with Pa and hopefully we can fish together again soon. The first fish that I turned will keep my mind occupied for the next few days but I will return to this section of stream soon and I will catch that fish!

Stay tuned: I've got some gardening to do tomorrow and there are afternoon storms in the forecast but if those storms don't materialize I may chase a few trout.