Arrival time ~9am. Airtemp in the upper 20′s. With frost on the ground Carl and I began the morning hike downstream passing up over two miles of creek. I didn’t bother to stop once to look, the goal was to get to the starting point, a remote area that requires a serious hike from either direction to get to. This translates to a place where few frequent, the trout haven’t been pressured and the area is left untouched (for the most part). Places like this, far from roads, houses, people…they are rare and should be treasured. As we hiked downstream avoiding the temptation to glance at the water we were to see as our day progressed, the morning sun came out taking with it the frost and my need for an overcoat. January and I’m hiking the creek in a fleece because my traditional winter gear is simply too much for the almost 30degree airtemp at ~9am.

Once downstream I gazed upon large water with darting shadows, the shadows of trout, white suckers and the rosey cheeked creek chub. Due to the large water and not having fished this creek before I opted to swing a streamer. I fish a streamer in situations like this if the trout respond, my third roll cast saw a smaller brown chase the streamer almost to my feet, a good sign that my SMB would take fish this day. A couple casts later I had the first brown of the day on the line only to have it shake my barbless hook at the last moment. Minutes into the day of fishing and I knew my choice of fly was going to pay off. I’m not suggesting that nymphs wouldn’t have worked but given the size of the creek and not knowing the depth or location of the trout fishing a streamer was going to be the best choice for me. Upstream a bit I spied from the bank a larger shadow, clear blue water with big cover boulders piqued my interest. I opted to sit on it a bit, adding a splitshot and working my roll cast out a good forty feet I let my fly dead drift until my line came to a halt. I missed one but with the next pass my line went taught, a bit of a run and a fat splash showed a nicer 18 and a half inch brown trout, a Dogger. What a way to start the morning, second trout to hand pushing 19inches.

After releasing the larger fish I sat on that spot for quite a while repeating the same process landing two more and missing more than that. The slow lethargic strike was difficult to detect but the fish were eating the streamer and so it continued to be my fly of choice. My fishing partner Carl fished upstream from me and was doing quite well with his streamer choice, we continued to work the creek up enjoying the beautiful conditions. Further upstream the wind began to pick up a bit but not enough to make me put my coat on, we sat and watched for any rising trout. A few scattered midge were spotted hovering over the creek but by 11am we’d only seen a couple trout surface. I kept the streamer on for the next hour, by 12pm we came upon a run/pool system showing regularly rising trout. We crept up low and sat in the brush watching the trout and the midge, we swapped our large streamers for longer leaders and #20 flies. The wind made things difficult, as did the clear low water but Carl’s approach resulted in a fooled brown. I tried for another further upstream but was unsuccessful, even an attempt with a #20 Miracle Nymph was fruitless. Although a handful of fish were rising regularly they were hesitant and I opted to move upstream and put my streamer back on.

The beautiful day was made as fish chased down my streamer, a handful more came to hand and many were missed. No ice in the guides and sun on my shoulders, I can’t stress enough how wonderful these places are and the excellent weather was the icing on the cake. The rest of the day was much the same, following the winding creek upstream we ended up where we started the morning, fished out by 3:30 or so I was content to call the day successful and every bit as satisfying as any other day in the peace of the Driftless Area. Good to take full advantage of good airtemps and low wind in January, it can’t last forever.

Slide Show

Hit the creek on a mild January day to fish for spooky natural reproducing browns and brookies in low water conditions. Airtemp felt brisk on arrival but compared to last year it should be looked at as a heat wave. It’s weird walking around in waders, crossing the creek whenever simply because the conditions allow for it. This is January in Minnesota of all places, weird is an understatement. So the day began with a mile or so hike downstream to location A, a sexy run with a deep center channel holding both Rainbows and Browns. We arrived early enough to watch the sun crest over the bluff to take the layer of frost away. Seated in position we waited for the sun to top the trees, hit the creek and hopefully make the midge begin to emerge. After fifteen minutes the sun wasn’t moving fast enough and we opted to try small nymphs. A #18 BH Pheasant Tail was trailed by a #20 Miracle nymph, pretty standard winter rig for this time of the year.

An unexpected guest in the form of an 8 year old boy with a spinning rod approached our initial spot and tossed his spinner in the creek, a bit of frustration ensued but rather than scold the young man we moved on further upstream and allowed him to work his home water. With a longer leader and a single additional split shot even spooky fish were hitting the #20 Miracle nymph. A #8 SMB was employed for a bit but when the trout showed no signs of wanting the larger meal I switched back to the small nymphs. A most satisfying moment came when several small browns were nymphed up from a slow section where every cast sent the pod of fish scattering, making long casts to get the flies down at the right point to fool trout that know your there is one of the things about winter trout fishing I love. Small as those trout were they were every bit as enjoyable to catch knowing the challenge I was presented with.

Further upstream a #8 Hairball was employed for a brief time but seeing the trout ignore it forced my hand and the small nymphs came back into play. Sershen working upstream of me with a #20 PT was stalking a large brown when I landed a handful of smaller fish on the #20 Miracle nymph. As I was preparing to send my flies far upstream with a long cast the cry for aid was heard, my rod was immediately abandoned. My flies hooked one of my gloves as I tore off upstream to grab the net for my friend, I dropped my glove en-route and stood with the net readied as he moved it out of a thick swatch of water cress and away from a structure that would have most certainly caused his 6x line to break. With one quick motion the beautiful female was brought to hand. A 20 on a #20, what a beautiful thing. The lesson to take home here is that if the trout don’t want your streamer or larger nymph work the flies they are willing to take, even the big ones will eat a small meal. With the trout released we lay on the bank adrenaline still pulsing through both of us. What an awesome way to wrap the afternoon up. Maybe thirty more minutes of fishing was had, came across a large buck decaying in the creek, I plan to come back and attempt to remove the portion of the carcass I want for home. The last notable event occurred after a couple bad casts resulted in a tangled mess of my two nymph rig, knowing the day was basically finished I opted to cut my line back to my 3X tipped and put on a #8 SMB, sending it through a run a charge and quick swipe from a most beautifully colored brookie was seen, the fish tasting hook spit my fly before I could set the hook and instead of disappearing it remained holding less than five feet from me. I jokingly sent my fly to it again, nothing but it didn’t run for cover. Another attempt caused the brookie to move and look but not take, another attempt and it hit lightly but not enough to get a hookset. Again it remained holding, three more attempts and it moved on my fly one more time but didn’t hit. Finally I gave up and enjoyed watching those bright white fins from the bank. What an excellent way to end the day.

Slide Show

Winter season in Minnesota opened this morning, a friend and I proceeded to follow a ritual seen this day for the last four years. Wake, prep gear, drink coffee and drive to the spot. This spot is particular in that no matter the conditions the bugs are active and thus the fish follow suit. Some years this has worked better, some not as well but today was awesome. Windy as all hell on arrival but we found pockets of the valley void of wind and when we did get wind came in bursts allowing us to fish between gusts and see many fish come to hand. Interesting notes off the bat: the fish were very active on arrival and the fish activity tapered off around 1pm then proceeded to drop off a cliff after 2pm. Also, the creek was a bit stained, certainly not gin clear as I was expecting which perhaps benefited us. Finally, the bug activity on arrival was good, very good. My attempt with a #20 Griffiths Gnat saw many fish move for and even aggressively chase downstream leaving a wake as they came after my fly. Arrival airtemp was ~30degrees with a 26-30mph sustained wind from the WNW.

Several fish were nymphed up with a #20 Miracle nymph and a #18 Beadhead PT, those were the hot nymphs for the day and Sershen did quite well landing many right after I put all the rising fish down with a couple bad hooksets on the Griffiths Gnat. I swapped to the #20 Miracle nymph with a Hot Blue Wire rib rather than the traditional copper and it got crushed. The fish were hungry and active, so much so that fishing a no indicator rig was generally easy as they tugged line rather than slowly sipping the flies. As the morning wore on we moved to a spot that has in the past given up few fish but looks so damn good that it’s hard not to spend a short period of time with. Due to the depth and potential for larger fish I opted to try a new streamer pattern that is still in the proto-type phase and is not fully ready to be unveiled but I can tell you this much… the fish certainly enjoyed it. I’m calling this fly the “Jungle Boogie” and it’s for a couple reasons but I’ll get into that perhaps down the road a bit. All you need to know is that it brought trout after trout out from dark hiding places all the way to the surface of the creek to be smacked time and time again as I watched. I like fishing a dry fly as much as the next but watching a trout come from the depths of blackness following your fly to then open wide and hit it hard is a beautiful thing and I watched it happen several times this day. White mouth then hooked trout, brilliant.

At one point fishing the same hole we saw a double as I hooked a 15 3/4inch rainbow on the Jungle Boogie with Sershen hooking into a 16inch rainbow on his #18 PT nymph, because the net was closest to me I scooped my fish up then moved upstream ten feet to land the second trout, this was the first winter double I’ve been a part of. Shortly after this occurred I hooked another rainbow and pulled a rookie move shaking my glove off with my back to the creek only to find it floating in cold creek water. Note: always have a spare set of gloves, I’m glad I did. After landing a few more rainbows bringing the count to close to twenty apeice we decided to leave the comfort of rising rainbows and aggressive stockers for less pressured water containing browns and brookies. I continued to fish the Jungle Boogie as it was still producing trout after trout and I saw no reason to argue with its effectiveness. I managed a handful of browns that exhibited the same aggressive charge on my fly throughout the early afternoon. The last brown of the day was seen but not hooked as I made a short cast stripped my fly in and watched as a ~16+inch brown darted out from a rock that I was practically standing on to smack my fly startling me thus hampering my hookset, this was another highlight of the day. I don’t mind missing a fish when I get to see things like that.

After the couple mile hike upstream we headed back to where we started to find the wind picking up, the airtemp dropping and with it the fish activity. It doesn’t take much of a change in water temp (+/-1 degree often) to drastically alter feeding behaviour. At ~2pm the trout that had been previously so aggressive and willing to chase my streamer down were now looking and if presented properly were willing to hit it but not nearly as hard. Often it was sipped and not hit with the fervor of the earlier morning. I landed three or four more rainbows then opted to hike out, the wind was continuing to pick up and I had enjoyed the opening day of the winter season thoroughly. I saw no reason to sit in the wind struggling to force feed a handful of smaller trout. It should also be noted that the fish that were willing to strike in the afternoon were consistently smaller than the morning trout, an interesting note if you ask me. Despite the lack of snow it was a good day, very glad to be fishing the Minnesota water I love so much. To the 2012 trout season, it’s here and I plan to take full advantage of the time I have. Hope some of you got out and braved the wind to touch a trout on the 1st, I love the smell of trout stink on my hands.

Post Script: My 8’6 3wt Sage Flight was sent in on Dec. 4th, I shipped it regular mail to the factory in Oregon. After discussing my need to have the guides looked at and possibly replaced I was told upon inspection that several of my ferrules had cracks in them. Sage built me a brand new rod, cork handle, reel seat, guides and all. It was shipped overnight back to me on Friday Dec. 30th, just in time for the opener. Thank you Sage.

Slide Show

Man… the smackdown, the skinny goes something like this. The night before, arrival to eat a good burger, tie up some flies and BS about the next day, probably the highlight of the PFSD this year. A bit of whiskey was found, rods were readied and fly boxes packed. Hoping for more snow than rain. Woke at 6am to find rain, which continued all day long and gained in strength as the day wore on. Icy slow going in the early AM continued throughout the day. Fishing was slow for us, I caught 8 all day. Basically, dismal and not for a lack of effort. Nymphing, fishing the hairball as a streamer, little took. Cut off one creek at 11am to find rainbows on another to pick up our low morning numbers only to find our fellow competitors just upstream, out of respect we decided to take off, slow going we cut to one last creek. Difficult fishing, spooky trout, low water, excuses mainly. Found a 21 inch rainbow poorly filleted in a catch and release section…humans. Decided after watching the air temp drop that it would be best if we bailed early, 3pm we cut to the cabin, left a note and grabbed what was left. We did clean up the bacon mess made in the early hours. Made it home before roads got potentially dangerous, the right choice for us at the time. Got spanked by Randy and Otte, the “Chairman Meow” smoked the competition. Randy went 31, Otte 18. Rained basically all day, tails between our legs we accepted fate. The water looked good, the trout were just not very active and moral perhaps slipped as the day went on. What I wouldn’t have given for it to have just gone straight snow all day. The saving grace was the wind, thank you wind gods for giving us that at least. With all that it was still a day on the creek which always wins out.

Slide Show

It’s going to be cold, shitty ass weather. Starting at 7am and fishing until the cold gets you, you run out of flies or 7pm hits. It’s the PetFly SmackDown coming to an Iowa trout stream near you. This year featuring a potential snow storm, ice and rain. Not to mention the opening weekend of Iowa gun Deer season (don’t forget your blaze orange). Tie your flies, pack your boxes, grab your gear and hold on to your ass. Here we come Iowa look out for the Hairball, this year we are gunning for the win.

Notes:

• Source water temp: 48 Degrees
• Only specific rocks contained large numbers of snails.
• Sow Bugs, Snails, and Cased Caddis were the macro’s of quantity.
• Easily the largest cave emitting source of coldwater I’ve seen to date.
• Brown trout present in large numbers.
• Awe struck imagining how old this formation is.
• Seeing this surely trumped catching trout.
• We live in a sacred area, never forget that.

Standing at the foot of a bluff, watching thousands of gallons of cold, clean, 100% pure trout water pour from a twenty foot wide pool emanating from a hole in rock wall to travel past my feet downstream. We were in another world, another time. It’s one thing to fish, to have trout streams and to see random springs that help feed oxygenated cold groundwater to a system, it is another thing to hike to the source, to stand there imagining who else has stood looking skyward. I imagine this may have been someone’s home long ago, ideal hunting grounds, natural shelter and a limitless supply of clean water. Making the primal part of me want to cut ties, throw my iPhone against the rock wall and never leave. Thousands of years have passed and this is the same, still pure, still feeding a creek and the trout who reside here. This feeling is why we need to protect our resource. Cold, clean water does not just pour from the ground everywhere, thank you Karst.

Slide Show

In late May I was invited to fish the Big C. with two guys who clearly know what there doing. I hooked into a decent number of carp under some pretty nasty circumstances, enjoyed the trip thoroughly and learned a few things along the way. This video demonstrates two of them well, if your going to hook a ~15lb carp in a mine field of debris make sure you don’t give him enough line to hang you. What you can’t see in this video is the backwater slosh that is outside the frame, this fish tried as hard as he could to get there, to break me off. I couldn’t get him to turn into the open water and was thus forced to wear that fish down in a couple minutes. Second lesson, flex the entire rod or risk breaking it. Watching it again I’m pretty surprised it didn’t break, that 8wt looks like my 3wt when I’m tugging on a snag. I look pretty green in this video but I learned alot from this trip. John Montana is credited with taking the video, a good guy who put Wendy B. and I on fish for several days, who let me botch a net job that his little girl could have handled without thinking. Man, can’t wait to get into something like this again.