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.
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