I’ve got a long list of things that need my attention and from the beginning this blog/journal/whatever you call it was supposed to be a semi-organized/semi-scientific approach to the Southeast Minnesota/Driftless Area.  I have organized some of the better photo’s of the natural insects seen on our streams and included a bit of hatch information for the ones I managed to stumble across. This is an incomplete and on going effort that I hope will grow over the years, it can be found here.

Look for more from the Winona Fly Factory with the coming year and the season changes it holds. With the updated and organized photo galleries I will be able to quickly add and compile images that will help myself and hopefully others tie the flies that make the Driftless Area what it is all about. The hatch information presented is based on a combination of first hand experiences, information from other local anglers who truly know this place and entomology texts I’ve read. If you have anything to add or if I made a mistake please feel free to contact me at: winonaflyfactory@gmail.com

the 30th:

Fished for a few hours targeting the high air temp. Doing double duty I hit a local stretch that holds a particular significance for me, I approached this water for the first time shortly after I began fly fishing for trout in June of 2008. The previous August most of the area was affected by severe flooding and this stretch was forever changed, I wish I could have seen it before the floods but as it happens I viewed this stretch for the first time after it had been ripped up pretty bad.

Although there are plenty of trout hanging around these parts I worry about their ability to migrate up and downstream, this place is littered with deep holes and long wide slow sections that are separated by long very shallow sections that are often no more than a few inches deep. Steep cut banks that show the power of flowing water stretch for much of this part of the stream.

I spent most of my time dealing with ice shelves, catching a few flies on the lip as I raised my rod. I found that there was much more veg in the stream than I was expecting to find this time of year. I rigged to go deep with a #14 Brassie and trailing #20 Midge Larva and found myself catching all kinds of greenery but no trout. I didn’t stick around long and moved to a few other spots with similar results, I did manage a consolation prize on a dead drifted #8 Bead Head Woolly Bugger but at the cost of several flies, oh well. I headed home shortly after.

the 31st:

Caught up with one Heath Sershen, a local trout addict and friend of mine. This day has been seen before and will be seen again, maybe even this year. The two of us drive for a while, get out of the car, shiver for a while, rig our rods and begin the game of pick your fish. From above we perch spying the trout, watching them feed on the midges emerging. Today we watched several larger trout surfacing, Heath picked off the first decent sized fish with a #20 Miracle Nymph. I worked a #20 Black Midge Emerger and after a while I managed a couple of fatty 14in Rainbows. The fun and challenge here is that we chose our target, we could have caught any number of smaller trout that were feeding downstream of the larger few but the challenge presented was of too great a temptation, we both agreed that landing only a few of the larger fish was well worth the effort.

All in all it was a good weekend and the trout itch has been fully scratched allowing me to continue the week free of urges to stand out in the freezing cold. Look for more of the same in the coming weeks, try to find yourself on stream during the warmest part of the day, rig to deep nymph in most situations and watch for that golden opportunity to toss a #20 Midge to rising trout lips.

Slide Show

 

Otherwise known as Garlic Mustard, a plant brought by European settlers, cultivated for use as food and medicine which now poses a great risk to our native plants and animals. I have been working on the side as a mild-mannered citizen of Winona with no connection to a Fly Factory and as such I am involving myself in a few “side” projects. One such project could find me and others dealing with the harsh realities of this plant and the havoc it can exhibit on the natural eco-system. As angler’s we have a responsibility to know and protect the watersheds that provide us with the necessary components for the activities we love. Find out what invasive species are in your area, know how to identify them and do so on a regular basis so that you may avoid spreading them. Also, once you can confidently identify invasive species please contact appropriate agencies and let them know where you were and what you came across. http://www.vimeo.com/2855779

Notes and Thoughts:

• Cloudy Skies: I saw the sun for about three seconds, could have used a bit more.
• Decent Air Temp: I’m used to it now, just keep picking the ice from your guides.
• Fished just a few deep holes for several hours, landed close to 20 browns, a numbers day for me.
• A #8 KML, #16 O.H.S. Scud, #14-16 Pink Squirrel and #20 Hot Wire Midge all landed trout.
• 99.8% Roll Casting, the .2% was for a snag that resulted in an unintentional back cast.
• Keep Chucking Streamers: After nymphing up several fish I swapped to my KML pattern, dead drifted very deep, very slowly under an indicator and took several browns.

This is an attempt to explain how I worked my rig today. This hole was an easy 7ft deep and the trout were holding deep. My casting position required me to pay attention to my line to ensure that my flies were able to sink to the desired depth given the short distance, once there I allowed the current to pull my flies up and in front of the trout. I fished with 2 split shot above a two fly rig and the double mend pictured below was the only way I could get my flies to the fish, I lost so many takes as a result but I took a fair amount of them as well.

Read the rest of this entry »

Onsite arrival: 11:45am. I geared up and decided to take a quick peek at the situation prior to my compadre arriving at 12:30pm. I dawned a pair of new waders and boots today for the first time, my first set of breath-ables, about time… Snowshoes were a noticeable help immediately, it was very apparent we would be trailblazing after a hundred yards or so. Thanks to Sershen for lending out a pair so I could lend out mine. I was greeted by three large steers watching my every movement, I avoided them for the most part but managed to get a few good poses from the group. I rigged a single #16 Pink Patrick and let loose on the first hole I found fishy enough, several passes later I had just a twig from the bottom to show for my efforts. I chose not to dwell long and instead hiked back to the truck to meet Wendy B. Read the rest of this entry »

To a Mr. Brian Sather. I was invited to talk trout with a group of students at Winona Senior High last year as a part of Brian’s Fish and Wildlife class. I brought a slide show and some stuff to tie a few flies. I know I had a blast talking about trout and the resources we have in our area. Brian stopped me just before the winter break and handed me a small wrapped gift. I opened it later when I got home only to think it was perhaps a perfect gift. Good thinking Brain, I will carry it with me and I’ll let you know if I ever have to use it.

Note: We do have Rattlesnakes in Southeast Minnesota be they few and far between but I tend to travel to areas where they may have higher concentrations. At the size of my palm and very light there is no reason this shouldn’t fit in my day bag squished between a baggie of toilet paper and my lunch for the day, underneath the water supply needed for the outing, right where it belongs. Thanks Brian

Slide Show

 

Fished the spot again today, had some time to chew up and the air temp today was going to read higher than it has in a week and higher than it will for a few more days. Look to Sunday for a decent air temp and clearer skies around here, forecasts are making me wish I didn’t have plans for the 10th.  So I pull up, rig my rod and get down to business. The point today was to test a few things under a semi-controlled environment, in that I know these fish, where they lie and what has worked in the past under similar conditions.

I concentrated on dead drifting and swinging down/across several different patterns. The control, that Sershen showed me and in the past has always produced several trout was the Miracle Nymph in a #20. Gold Bead on a 1X Short Scud hook with a body made of white UTC thread and a rib of Copper this fly is simple and effective, I tied several of these for this place and this time. Today this fly (as always) rocked and picked up six rainbows both dead drifted and on the swing as it rose to the surface. My new hand tied leader helped this process, limited memory allowed for a tighter line which in turn made hook-sets more accurate and the piece of Hi-Vis Mono meant to help indicate subtle takes did just that. I decided after I lost the first rig to a rock that it was time to try something different. Read the rest of this entry »

So I finally managed to upload this one specific file to my server (or something like that) which allows me to be able to use a freakin’ slide show. I now have the ability to make you wait through an entire list of images before you see them all, nifty right? With that I am adding my Summer 2009 favorite images to my Trout Hunting page, something to savor during these short cold days. Thanks to Sershen, Wendy B., JP and any other Minnesotan that helped make these images possible they truly reflect my season.

On the 20th of December the predicted air temp for the 1st was grim topping out at twelve degrees. As the days crept closer it only got worse, the night before while most were celebrating I was prepping gear, packing my winter box and tying the last few flies I wanted before the winter season began. I had a few ideas on where I wanted to fish but the weather often dictates my movements.  Knowing the temp was going to be low I chose to fish a spot that never freezes and almost always has rising trout. I saw this place and the fish that reside here last winter and as such I prepared several midge larva and emerger patterns for this situation. I knew I would be fishing mainly size twenty flies hoping to take one or two on or near the surface and probably not hanging around for too long after. My goals were to see a few happily swimming fish, shake the last month off my shoulders and enjoy some moving water. On site I rigged my rod and got into place, my first mistake would turn out to really hamper my first day of the season.  Read the rest of this entry »