Trip Report: Fishin' This Weekend

After a long week of warmish temps and no time to fish I finally got out this weekend to enjoy a few select streams. Yesterday I planned to hike a good distance with hopes that the fishing would improve as I got away from the road.

 I immediately landed three little rainbows before deciding to hike for a half hour before again wetting a line. I found easy walking on massive ice shelves and a decent amount of fishable water between runs similar to the one pictured above. Fish seemed pretty sluggish today as water temps were on the drop with air temps slowly melting the snow.

I landed a number of smaller browns and one brookie before realizing that I had a decision to make. I hiked a little further than I've ever fished up this way and decided rather than walking back (around three miles) I'd push forward to the next bridge (three more miles). Around 1:00 the fishing seemed to shut off so I only fished promising looking water. Around a mile of the walk was spent only in the water as it passed through private property, the access to which I did not have permission. I finally made it to the bridge and called my wife who drove the 10 minutes to get me and bring me to the car. I'm a lucky guy!

I spotted at least 6 beavers and more dams than I'd seen since the last time I fished the area. I wonder how long it will take for them to have a detrimental effect on the trout population? After a hot shower, a big meal, and a good night of sleep I got at it this morning on another stream close to home. 

This condition of this stream was way different than the spot I fished yesterday. No ice shelves, a slight stain, and slightly warmer stream temps made the fish much more active. They were pretty spread out but most of my catches came from the middle of runs.

This trout was the big boy of the day! He took the pink squirrel of prey drifted deep at the very head of the run. I landed another four fish from the same spot.

Most fish came on the orange scud although five or six fish took the PSOP. With sore legs and an empty belly I decided to call it a day after around two dozen fish to hand. On my way back I peeked over the bank at a spot that I'd walked around on my way upstream. A few dozen little trout darted around but I noticed one big fish just sitting on the bottom. I took a few casts at him before he lumbered away and hid under a nearby logjam. I would've loved to tango with that beast!

 

It was nice to get out with temps in the mid thirties both days. We have a front coming through at the beginning of the week and forecasts are calling for around a foot of snow! It it pans out I'll be wearing snow shoes on my next excursion...stay tuned!

Trip Report: No Bigguns

I got out fishing for most of the day yesterday and a few hours this morning before coming home early to tie some flies! I caught none over 13 inches but yesterday I landed 31 and today 9. Yesterday all but two were Rainbows and while today I caught no rainbows.

 One brown from yesterday and one from today. The stream I fished yesterday had very little shelf ice. The stream was pretty off color, likely due to some farm work going on upstream. I found clearer water later in the day. The stream I fished today also had very little shelf ice and fish seemed fairly spooky yet aggressive.

I caught this little football, I call him "Stubby," when he emerged from an undercut (ice shelf) to snap up a pink scud. I landed five or six cookie cutter rainbows at this spot.

The reason I didn't fish all day today was because the wife and new puppy wanted to come along! She had tons of fun and got to sniff her first trout which she liked. And before you comment, yes she's wearing a pink cape, yes she has matching booties, and no, I had nothing to do with that!

 I'm still keeping busy at the vise. This week I ran out of hooks so while awaiting my order I tied up some foam hoppers and this funky little comparadun mayfly tied on a curved hopper hook! When the hooks come I'm planning on tying at least a hundred of these for sale.

Stay tuned: it looks like the worst of the cold is gone (for now) so I'll be getting out fishing at my next opportunity.

Still Tying Away!

 I fished briefly on Friday afternoon but with temps dropping sub zero (and not looking to rise to the mid 20's any time soon) I have been and will continue to tie tons of flies!

 Today I tied up a bunch of these Cinnamon Stimulator dry flies. I used these a ton while living in Montana but no so much since moving to Minnesota. I hope to rediscover this pattern next summer into early fall.

 This fly is called the rubber legged Stimulator. I call my variant the Red Ass Stim-U-Hopper. I fished a similar pattern last fall with decent success. I plan to use these to entice small stream brookies into my net.

 

 I tied up 50 of each of color of these Matt's Midge flies. This is another pattern I haven't used in a few years but when I fished 'em in the past they produced very well. I hope to fish these as soon as I can get on a stream with a good midge hatch!

Stay tuned: These flies and many more will be available for purchase on a site that I have in the works!

Trip Report: Continued Success

I got out fishing again in the snow! This stream was a little off color and running a little above average flow for this time of year. With cloudy skies and temps in the mid 20's conditions were good. I rigged up an orange scud fished under a pink squirrel of prey and worked upstream.

 I immediately tied into a few smaller browns on the orange scud. These guys both came out of a deep pool with good current flowing through. The takes were subtle and the battles short lived.

After catching five average trout in a deep, slow run I tied into this guy! He put up a great fight before slowly swimming into my net. After a few quick pics he was released. I'd guess he measured around 16 inches.

I continued working upstream and landing smaller trout before hooking into this guy. He darted around the run and under the bank before coming to hand. Like the fish pictured above he took the orange scud. By this point my legs were rally tired from trudging through the snow, however the promise of another decent fish kept my feet moving.

This speckled chunker also took the orange scud bounced along the bottom. He came from the head of a plunge pool. After this guy I decided to turn around. At this point I caught 20 trout, 1 brookie and 19 browns. The walk back was a death march so I took a few breaks and landed 4 more browns for a total of 24 trout! There's no better way to start the new year than to fish the first three days!

Trip Report: Starting the New Year Right!

After freezing my butt of yesterday I decided to hit a spot close to home where a buddy gave me a hot tip about the stocking of rainbows just prior to the closure of the general season last fall. I figured they'd probably be dumb and hungry if someone hadn't gotten to them yesterday. Well nobody got to them yesterday!

I arrived on stream around 10:30 and immediately tied into a few colorful little rainbows. They were certainly dumb and hungry with many coming up to bump my strike indicator. I pulled seven fish out of the first deep run before continuing upstream. 

I tied into a few more average bows along this snowy rocky hillside and had as many bump my indicator. Hoping to hook into a few larger browns I decided against putting on a dry fly. Immeidately upstream from this spot was a great pool. I landed another four or five trout from that pool including this, the biggest brown trout of the day.

He wasn't huge but a nice change of pace. I caught a few more rainbows and some tiny browns (4-5 inches) as I worked toward my exit point. One of the last little pockets I fished in this section of stream yielded this, the biggest rainbow trout of the day.

By noon I caught 18 trout and it was on to the next stretch. I immediately caught a few really small browns from a few shallow runs. I caught a few and missed a few before approaching the last long, deep pool. In this pool I landed over a dozen fish, mostly average sized bows. 

Lots of these guys! I ended the day with and outstanding 38 trout to hand. At times my hands were so cold that they hurt but I'd hook into another and have to dip 'em in the water again. The sun helped though. Flies used today included the Pink Squirrel of Prey, Grey Zebra Midge, Orange and Pink Scuds. The Orange Scud outproduced all other flies but I lost my last one pretty quick!

Proper clothing definitely made this outing more enjoyable than it could have been. On top I wore an undershirt, long sleeve shirt, sweatshirt, and windbreaker. On bottom I wore pj pants with regular pants over them, both tucked into heavy socks. I brought gloves which I tucked into my neoprene waders but only wore them periodically as action was fast. Temps reached the mid 20's again this afternoon. Stay tuned: I hope to get out again for a bit tomorrow! Starting out the new year right!

Trip Report: New Years Trout!

What better way to ring in the new year and the opening of the C&R winter season than to go fishing! I woke up late, ate a quick bite, and headed for the stream. Temps measured 24 degrees and winds were light but biting. Early clouds gave way to sun. By 10 I was trudging through 10 inches of snow headed toward a section of stream that treated me well last fall.  The stream had no ice except for the vary edges. I rigged up a pink squirrel of prey with a orange scud trailer and tossed it in.

This little guy was my first fish of the new year! He took the squirrel of prey bounced along the bottom. After catching two more very small fish on that fly they began to key in on the orange scud.

 This guy, like most of the fish I landed today, was barely hooked. After catching a few more I switched to a size 18 grey zebra midge. I landed two trout on that fly with both measuring less than 8 inches. I returned to fishing the scud squirrel combo.

 This guy snatched the orange scud from a slowly moving run. Just prior to hooking him I tied into a decent trout but pulled the hook after a very short fight. A few steps further upstream I did the same thing, missing another decent trout. With frustration mounting I landed a few more small trout.

They continued to only taste the fly. Subtle take was the name of the game today. In all I caught 14 trout with all measuring smaller than 12 inches. The guides on my fly rod didn't ice up too bad today but enough to be a nuisance. Overall it was a great day to be out fishing. I felt a little chilly for most of the day but nothing that couldn't be handled. I spotted four eagles on my drive and while fishing but couldn't un-holster my camera quick enough to get a good pic. Stay tuned-I plan to spend a good part of tomorrow fishing as well!