Trip Report: Fishin' With Mike and Beazer

This morning I got out fishing with my brother in law, Mike, and my dog, Beazer. Mike has fly fished with me before but this was Beazers first trip afield.

With temps in the low 80's and bright skies I was completely unsure what to expect. We arrived on stream around 930am and found lots of others out fishing. We spotted a few sporadic risers throughout the morning but no bugs hatched with enough consistency for us to try dry fly fishing. We rigged up with the pink butted pheasant tail and dredged the bottom of all likely water.

Mike struck first with this beautiful speckled brown. We switched off passing between the rod and the pooch on her leash. Beazer is a black lab/basset hound mix which leaves her low to the ground. She was ok with the water but it definitely took some coaxing.

I landed this beastly brown from the last pool we fished. After the release we decided to let Beazer off her leash to see how things went. She stayed within a reasonable distance and was way more water friendly after losing the leash.

The wife found a few ticks on her while giving her a bath. Overall it was neat to see her so adventurous and well behaved. She slept all afternoon and remains passed out next to me as I type. I however worked on the garden before heading back out to chase some trout.

 I used the same fly rig from this morning. I landed a few smaller ones and missed three nice trout before hooking into this guy.

I wish I'd have gotten a little better picture of this guy. He was thick! After a great fight he still had the power to flip out of my hands so I clumsily directed him back into the drink. After basking in the glory of this catch I moved on.

This guy came to hand a short time later. He was hiding in a nice deep run that I've always thought looked good, but never yielded me a nice fish until now. I'd guess he would measure around 16 inches. After a short period of rejuvenation he returned to the depths.

Overall it was a great day of fishing with some great company. I hope to get out again soon but I've got some gardening and rod building to do over the next few weeks.

Trip Report: Little Bit of Fishin'

Today I got out for a little bit of fishin'. Temps surpassed those forecast which made for a hot and sweaty day in the neoprene waders. The sun shone for most of the day with intermittent clouds passing in the afternoon. After the last couple of days of rain throughout our area I expected a nice stain on the water but arrived to a small local stream to find water clear and low. 

I tied up a bunch of San Juan Worms in anticipating of cloudy water but spent most time fishing a Deer Hair Skittering Caddis and Pink Butted Pheasant Tail. Caddis dropped eggs throughout the day and fish rose eagerly to them. 

 The first pool I approached was LOADED with trout! I switched back and forth between the pheasant tail and caddis dry. At least two dozen fish came to hand before moving on. 

This beautiful holdover Rainbow took the pheasant tail out of a fast, shallow run. He put up a great fight. I continued to find fish stacked in pools and was able to land multiple fish from each prime run/pool. Today I fished a section of private property between two easements. I kept my feet wet but couldn't avoid some counseling from the curious land owner. He gave me his phone number and requested that I call him before fishing on his land. I politely agreed to do this while reminding him that according to MN stream access laws I was/am well within my right to fish through private property as long as my feet remain wet. Overall it was a great day of fishing. No big ones but fish averaged 10-12 inches. Although I didn't keep track I caught at least a million fish.

Stay tuned: I'll be doing some good fishing and building a few rods over the next few weeks!

Sweet Fly Rod!

I built a new fly rod to add to inventory at my website: Whitewater Valley Flies

The rod is a medium action 8 foot 6 inch 5 weight, ideal for bass and trout!
Click to enlarge!

Trip Report: Minnesota Mountains

I've been missing the Mountains a lot over the last few weeks so I've tried hard to pay more attention to my beautiful surroundings in the Minnesota Driftless. The fishing has been a little tougher than usual for the last week but I managed a few trout.

On this day I landed around a dozen in an hour and  a half. I fished a dead drifted gray skittering caddis and although the caddis hatch is waning fish were happy to keep chasing the few lingering ones.

 I was beginning to get concerned that I hadn't seen any BWO Mayflies, but today I spotted a few coming off. The trouts were happy to eat a parachute dry or RS2. A few also ate the pink butted pheasant tail.

Yesterday I shared one of my favorite little scenic creeks with my friend Tim In The Woods. His name is Tim and I met him in the woods! Here Tim is fighting a massive brown trout, or was it a rock? After we fished here he took me to another scenic little creek.

This creek was pretty but the fishing was a little slow. There were quite a few people fishing up and down this stream.

At this point the weeds are still pretty short but within the next few weeks it's gonna get tricky to move around the shoreline. All the fairweather fisherman will be done chasing trout and I'll again have a lot of water to myself!

The butterflies are out again too!

While I may not be able to climb to the top of a mountain, chase grizzly bears, and bother big horned sheep, this area is beautiful in it's own way. Stay tuned, hopefully I'll get out fishing again soon.

Trip Report: Skittering Caddis

I got out of work a few hours early this afternoon so I headed to the nearest stream hoping to find some fish rising to caddis. Temps measured in the mid 60's and winds blew around 10mph. I began fishing under the sun but clouds quickly moved in.

I found a few fish feeding actively on the surface but the hatch was not going strong enough for fast action. I landed a few on the dead drifted skittering caddis as I worked upstream including two nice fish that I failed to land.

 These two were the big fish of the day. They both put up a good fight. I'm still getting used to fishing with such a fast action rod and had a little difficulty playing them in such tight quarters. After fishing my way upstream I turned around and skittered the caddis through riffles and runs and through deep pools (like an emerger, kinda). I landed the majority of my fish this way including this guy who smiled for the camera!

In around two hours I landed 18 trout. The biggest measured around 14 inches with most between 10-12. All ate a dark gray size 16 skittering caddis dry fly. I've got some work to do around the house this weekend but I'll definitely get out for a little fishing on Saturday. Hopefully the caddis will still be poppin'.

Trip Report: Finally The Caddis

I've gotten out and done a fair amount of uneventful fishing lately trying to break in the new fly rod. Early last week I began seeing caddis showing up on a stream very near my house but the trout weren't payin' no mind. After a few nicer days at the end of the week I decided to get out today with the intention of finding a good caddis hatch and a little solitude (not easy on the catch 'n keep opener). I arrived on stream around 830am to find sunny skies, temps in the mid 60's, and nobody fishing ahead of me. I should clearify: no people fishing ahead of me.

I landed a few smaller trout on the pink squirrel of prey before spotting a few clouds of caddis and a couple rising trout.

 Fish rose for around 2 hours and eagerly ate my size 16 deer hair skittering caddis. The dark green one seemed to work best but I landed a fair amount on a gray one as well. 

After landing around two dozen trout on the dry caddis I returned to the pink squirrel of prey. Clouds built throughout the day but never really worked to my advantage. Luckily fish were a lot less spooky today. They were pretty aggressive in the afternoon in fact! 

This trout was the big fish of the day. I landed another around the same size but he flopped out of my hand while I struggled to get my camera out. Same story for the two rainbows that came to hand. They had beautiful colors too. By around 330 I was ready for some water and a snack. I contemplated heading to another spot to catch the evening caddis hatch but decided instead to head home and relax (tie flies).

I moved pretty fast today and covered around 2 miles of water. All fish landed came on the squirrel of prey and the skittering caddis dry. The new fly rod casts like a dream and the wood grip adds a ton of sensitivity. My only issue so far is that the action is almost too fast. I'm used to setting the hook with a long, slow pull but this rod requires a fast, sharp set. I missed a ton of fish today but landed well over two dozen. I'm looking forward to getting out again soon so stay tuned.

Some Fishin' and Some Buildin'

Over the last few weeks I've been gathering materials to build myself a sweet fly rod. I already have a four weight but wanted to build something that catches the eye! I meticulously scoured the net for materials and settled on building a 9 foot 4 weight.

 The epoxy finished setting this afternoon so I haven't gotten a chance to fish with it yet. I can't wait!

I also recently purchased a very inexpensive 9 foot 8/9 weight blank, a cheaper grip, and reel seat. I spent $30.00 on those materials and have the rest of the components which were scavenged from broken rods that people have sent my way. This evening I finished wrapping the guides and within the next few days it should be finished. It'll be a great Steelhead/Bass/Pike rod!

In between work, bouts of crappy weather, tying flies, and building fly rods I've found a few opportunities to hit the water. Some friends were in town over the weekend and we hit two great spots. 

The weather was a little on the chilly side still. We fished with a bunch of different kinds of nymphs. Hares ear, pheasant tail, and san juan worms had the best showing. We spotted intermittent risers although tons of midges fluttered along the surface unmolested all day. Fish were pretty spread out too.

 I rolled a couple decent fish. I kept thinking I was hung up on the bottom. Every time I'd tell myself to just set the hook hard going forward...then I'd do it again.

This guy was my big fish of the day. Caught on the San Juan Worm. It was great to get out with friends. The weather looks to change for the better toward the end of the week so I'll definitely get out to try the new 4 and 8/9 weights!