Trip Report: A Little Fishing and a Big Fish

This was the plan for today. Bigger flies for bigger trout. John and I both eagerly awaited the weekend. We discussed a few options and settled on walking around and swingin', twitchin', strippin', and dead driftin' bigger flies on a few stretches of much beloved waters. I tied up a half dozen of the flies pictured above and carried a small container of midges, scud, and some small midge emergers just in case. A few heavier tungsten beaded nymphs made the trip as well.

 We both landed a few fish by the time this stout brown trout chased down my fly. I fished a 9' five weight that I've been diggin' lately. The rod typically performs really well but I'm using heavily saturated line and found casting to be difficult at times. These were tight quarters so we fished close together, often switching per fish.

John used a bunny leech lookin' thing with a deer hair collar (I think). Once we started tying into 'em faster John remarked that fish struck much more aggressively when the fly was swung and twitched against the current. We both thoroughly enjoyed fishing this stretch of water and toyed with the idea of continuing on. We decided instead to check out another spot that has been haunting my waking moments for the past year. I had a good feeling we could find a biggun. We hiked in a good distance before starting. After tossing larger flies for around a half hour I decided to rig up a pink squirrel of prey. A few 12-13 inchers came to hand before I hooked into a log.

I set the hook, she let of a great flash, and the fight was on! John came over the net the beast with a tiny little net. To his credit John wielded the net with extreme precision, likely cutting the fight by a little bit. After a few quick pics she was sent back to the depths.

After landing a few more little ones we headed to town to have lunch with John's wife. She put together an awesome little picnic lunch. They headed on a hike after lunch and I headed to a nearby stream to try my luck again on the big fly. I landed many between 8-12 inches and rolled a few slightly larger. I arrived home to find my pictures from last night still on my camera... So here they are!

Solid brookie on a size 18 pheasant tail emerger trailed behind a size 18 tung beaded zebra midge. Fish were not overly aggressive but I did manage to lose two nicer ones to long distance release.

This guy took the big fly! Only a few took the streamer.

Trip Report: Guide Trip- Ed and Dave

Today I provided my services to guide Ed and Dave on a couple driftless gems. We met up at Kwick Trip (where else!) before taking a short drive to one of my favorite little spots. We rigged up with nymphs while hoping for some dry fly action. Temps hovered in the mid 60's and slowly grew cooler as a front came through. Skies were overcast and a gentle breeze became progressively more bothersome as the day went on.

After a few smaller fish came to hand Ed took this deep bodied brook trout. Things were slower than I expected and we never really found one fly that got 'em going. They ate various nymphs and slashed at a wolley bugger and quill mayfly. Fish rose infrequently yet skies were clear of bugs. A steady breeze didn't help either. But Dave didn't care...

He landed this above average brown trout with Ed and I looking on! This stream was way weedier than usual and some of the pools that usually fish well were void of trout. Pictured below is Ed launching casts through the wind with precision.

After a few fish to hand a piece we decided to head to another area stream that the guys hadn't fished. Ed landed a few tiny browns out of that stream but fishing was slow there too. Overall it was nice to spend the morning out of doors and with fellow fly fishing fanatics. Fish were not as aggressive as typical for this time of year. I've been hearing the same from the last few fisherman I've spoken with. I suspect fish are still recovering from the last two cold fronts and heavy rains the area has seen over the last few weeks. Get out there and fish if you can. The late c&r season ends October 15th. After that the trout fishing season becomes restricted to a few State Parks and handful of streams located within city limits.

Two New Builds!

The first is a 9 foot four weight four piece. It is built on a Hook and Hackle Ftx blank with components from Proof Fly Fishing.

The next rod is a 10 foot three weight euro nymphing rod. It is built on a Hook and Hackle Xi blank with components from Proof Fly Fishing.

These are both for sale at Whitewater Valley Flies for $225.00.

Trip Report: Only Two Fish (and a Rod)

The wife and I are headed to Viroqua for the afternoon but before we go I wanted to check out a spot that's always really productive for me this time of year. I arrived on stream by around 8am and fished until 930am. This spot requited a little hike made more strenuous by saturated soil along the banks. I managed to stay upright while tempting two nice trout beyond their restraint.

 After trying numerous heavy nymphs fished deep with no success I switched over to a streamer. The first cast I ripped through the pool and on the second practiced more of a dredging slow twitch presentation. This fish ate the fly on that second cast. After a good battle the 5 weight proved overpowering and she swam right into the net.

 This fish put up a great fight as well. After around 45 minutes without success I headed home early. On to Viroqua! By the way, the fish I've encountered have not been spawning yet but they're sure getting ready. That means fish are hungry and aggressive. We only have a little over a month before season changes restrict our stream options in Southeast Minnesota.

 This rod is for my friend Jim who I met in college. It's a 7 piece 8ft 3wt backpacking rod that Jim plans to use while chasing trout in the alpine lakes of the Sierra Nevada range in California.

I really like the look of the brown thread on top of the green blank. I just got a bunch of blanks to work with including a 4pc 10ft 3wt euro nymphing rod. Can't wait to get started on those!

Trip Report: Post Storm Tiger Trout

Today I hit a spot for an hour or two after work, arriving on stream at around 545pm and leaving by 8pm. Clouds of midges, a few olive mayflies and some spare caddis fluttered about. The fish ate midge dries, mayfly emergers, and the trusty zebra midge. The stream was clear but not crystal. The banks, soggy!

One of the first fish to take the midge dry was a little tiger trout! This stream is pretty evenly populated by brookies and browns with this spot right in the middle of the range in which they overlap. Shortly after landing this specimen and a few others I tied on a mayfly emerger.

 This pretty brown trout put up a great fight after taking the mayfly quickly after it hit the surface.

If ever there was a good evening to fish instead of mowing the lawn tonight was it. I've been kind of busy lately limiting me to frequent yet brief outings. Fortunately fishing has been great.

 These two came to hand in brief succession. Fishing was pretty fast tonight with fish coming to hand every few minutes. Changing flies and presentations to match all the different bugs yielded continued fish out of only a few pools.

In the end I always tie on the san juan worm to dredge up a last fish! Temps measured in the high 60's while on stream and tonight is fixin' to be pretty cold. Today I even spotted a tree that had half orange leaves. Fall is close and with that comes fall fishing!

Trip Report: A Little Bitty Stream

My Dad and I went out this morning to chase trout for a meal before he and my Mom headed home from their MN vacation. They hit up the North Shore and ran into happy customer, and author of the book Heron Thieves, A Bat Out of Hell, and Other Fly Fishing Stories, Essays and Poems, Jim Holden! Dad and I sorted through some fish on swollen and murky stream and brought 4 home. We made wild rice and trout before the parents headed eastward. After hanging around home for a couple hours I decided to chase trout on a tiny little brookie stream that got a little washed out by some of the heavier rainfalls we've had over the last week.

This was never a waterfall before! Even this tiny stream was a little clouded from the rains we received last night. I immediately noticed fish surfacing and bugs flying as I made my approach. Little bwo's, midges, the occasional cranefly and the occasional caddis fluttered about throughout my time on stream. I started off casting a size 18 quill bodied mayfly which worked well.

This stout brookie bobbed for the fly quickly after it landed on the water. Notice his tail is kind of gnarled up. This can be a sign the fish was stocked or could already be close to spawning. It seems a little to early for that but I plan to keep an eye out and encourage others to do the same.

I hoped to catch almost all brookies but found a majority of browns in this stream. Over the last few years I'd only caught maybe 2-3 browns in this stream, and only near the confluence with a larger trout stream. Today I must've caught over a dozen little browns and only three brook trout. I hope the browns don't take over!

I spotted one really nice brown of about 16-18 inches but was unable to illicit a strike. Most fish came on the quill bodied fly although the zebra midge in various colors held it's own. I fished from 300ish until 600pm under cloudy skies and ideal conditions on this little creek.