For me trout addiction isn’t a problem just a reality, ok it gets me in hot water every now and again but it also gets me out of the house and takes me to far off lands where the animals live and few men travel. Trout addiction has gotten the best of me. Case in point: 8am trout stream in-sight. Looking for brookies I decided to head to the headwaters of a typical S.E. MN stream. How far would this rabbit hole go? What is through the woods? Trout addiction. I knew before I left that I might find nothing but I needed to see for myself. Water was cold (~52) degrees and gin clear, despite the recent rain this section looked as if none had fallen. I had heard a report that otters have become well established here causing the trout population to decrease, including the brookies, maybe especially the brookies? I saw one scoot away from me as I started, shortly afterwards I cam upon a whitish matter floating in the stream, looked to me like flesh maybe from a trout.

Didn’t touch a brook trout today, should have but none were to be had. Traveling upstream staying in the 2ft wide path of stream that wasn’t covered in water cress I moved upstream.  I kept trudging until I found the first trouty looking spot that offered a decent casting lane and drift. I picked a Stimulator I tied recently just for the Brookies and got to swinging. Little did I know not much was holding under the root wad hanging off the edge. A few poor casts and I thought it was over but then a flash, there was something holding in there. One more cast without the poor drift and that fish came up, a smaller brown trout. Not a brookie. Moving on I kept going further upstream, the water seemed to get smaller around each turn but then it would plateau and open into a wider section each of which was pretty shallow and those that weren’t had a tree or a few trees right on top and were un-fishable with a fly. I continued further upstream…trout addiction.

After an hour of hiking I rounded a bend and watched the stream open up but I couldn’t see it? Covered 100% by water cress. This is the first point when I questioned turning back for something more realistic but I saw a hole cut through the cress further upstream and decided I had to see. I could hear the sound of a waterfall but I couldn’t see it? Covered in water cress, during this time I counted at least six springs flowing into what I had been wading through. I followed the main flow further until I came to a flat shallow section blocked by weeds and logs.  To pass I climbed up and on top of several tree limbs blocking my way, as I stood on top looking out I realised I was standing on a log jam that had been covered in so much foliage I couldn’t see the massive amount of debris in front of me. Looking above I saw what you see here and decided I had gone far enough in search of the magical trout hole hidden in the deep jungle, Indiana Jones style, this is my trout addiction.

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Notes and Observations:

• On stream around 3:30pm, fished for ~2hrs.
• Air Temp: ~60 Degrees
• Water Clarity: Stained but Very Fishable.
• Sporadic Rising with a few Grey Caddis about.
• SMB Streamer Fishing, Lost 2 Brown’s above 15in.

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The day started as the previous few have. On the water around 8:45am, early enough to ensure I got a front row seat to any and all mid-day bug activity but not so early as to have me shivering stream-side. This spring has been exceptional but it still gets chilly overnight and in the early morning hours, for now I’ll leave the 6am arrival time for another month or so, then the window of opportunity widens to match the longer summer hours.

My goal was to hike up past a stretch I’ve fished (not many but a few) and get into a tighter valley, out of the open cow pasture where the wind could have it’s way with me and into an uncharted area for me, I was looking forward to the natural challenges of an un-improved stretch of forested trout stream. Today also signified the arrival of a much needed piece of gear that I am frankly reluctant to quickly adopt, a new camera. The work horse that I have used since day one with the Winona Fly Factory has been the Sony Cyber-Shot camera that I permanently borrowed from Liz in the beginning of my trout fishing career. Since that time it has performed beyond every expectation one could have for a camera like this, it’s a general point and shoot digital camera that I have grown to depend on. As of late though the lens has been sticking as I turn the camera on and off, it has also been having a hard time focusing on smaller things like bugs and flies, this is unacceptable and has been causing me some frustration. Not to mention the dust stuck inside the housing and lens that is becoming more noticeable. Liz noticed and decided that my birthday present should replace the old camera, I’d been looking at the Panasonic Lumix as not only a replacement but a serious upgrade. Giving up old dependable isn’t easy, despite the Lumix’s 12.1 mega-pixel rating over the 6.0 from the Cyber-Shot I just couldn’t blindly accept it would do what I needed it to. So I’ve been giving it a run for it’s money. Read the rest of this entry »

Day 2 started a bit later, on stream at 8:30am. Fished a short stretch with coffee near by, once again looking for something larger, I know they live here. Once again the SMB was readied and after a few casts I had a timid strike and a thought occurred to me. Wendy B. had recently put a few of my flies on some fish with success but he noted that the amount of flash in the collar might be a bit much and after trimming about half of the amount out he was finding the fish more willing to smack it. I considered it and then busted out my scissors to trim off a fair amount from one of mine. Back in the drink a bit later and I was into a 14in Brown that faught hard.

A criticism that I’ve had as of late is that I need to get the fish on my drag rather than stripping my line in. The rod tip combined with a smooth drag will keep constant tension on the hook, without it a good run/shake may dislodge the hook. This may have been the reason a few of the fish I could have landed the day prior were able to smile at me as they hit the road down to the trouty hole. I worked on my line management to get the trout on my drag as quickly as possible, a short bit later…trout in hand. So nice. Read the rest of this entry »

Stream-side at close to 6:30am. Trying to see a brute of a Brown and this time of the year is one of the better to make that happen. As the water temps steady and stay just a bit warmer the trout become more and more active. I rigged a #6 Sprinkle Me Baby and hopped holes with a buddy of mine in search of a larger trout. The third drift of the morning I watched a Brown pushing 18-20 inches follow my fly practically to my feet before snubbing it, turning never to be seen again. Unfortunately this was to be a routine occurrence through the course of the day resulting in some frustration as the day wore on. When the trout did strike a combination of issues resulted in lost opportunity after lost opportunity. The trout were biting but very lightly which prompted more than a few poor hook sets. I managed to hook into a few nicer fish but a few seconds after the strike I was staring at a limp line, shake, shake, rattle and roll. I was left empty handed. We fished upstream until we ran out of water, at this point there was just enough time to hit a second spot before priorities had to be dealt with.

The second stream is a favorite of mine and I know it well, knew where the fish were. The rocks said BWO’s, a few scattered rises were seen but water temps at noon were pushing 55 degrees, past the point for the B-Dub. I stuck with the streamer to continue my day of lost trout, stupid at this point. I should have opted for nymphs but instead I was determined to be a stubborn ass and three fish over 16inches later I was still empty handed. I should have swapped to nymphs earlier but never quite got there. I left empty handed, first time this year…

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Parked 10am. 1/3 of a mile hike in some fluffy deep snow to get to the water then another mile upstream and the entire distance back out again. A total of close to 4,050 yards according to Google Earth. 40 football fields in 3-4 feet of snow. Reminds me of the crawling through sh*t line in Shawshank Redemption. Along the way we happened upon many sights, a pair of hawks flying above with a screeching mouse in tow for example. The hike in was slow, through some serious snow with nothing more than an animal trail over an old set of truck tracks from months ago to aid us. This would be worth it though. I expected to find warm gin clear trout water and that is in fact what I found. First water temp more than a mile downstream of two major springs held a temp of 46 degrees at ~10:30am.

Midge were already peppering the snow more than twenty feet from the stream when we began fishing. We nymphed, myself a #14 Pink Patrick with a #20 Beadhead Midge Larva. Simple, standard and effective patterns. The sun waited until late in the day to show itself, the photo’s reflect that aspect of the day well. We fished old H.I. work as we travelled to the source of this stream. We each managed a few takes on the way in but  water levels were down considerably through the section we fished. I wonder if the massive amount of instream growth this stream supports in the summer that shrinks in the winter might have something to do with it. The more instream vegetation, the more stuff to fill up the channel, thus making the stream look as if it has more water in it. Anyways just a side thought. We fished to source, hiked half the distance back out and fished up again.

At 1pm as we hiked downstream the midge began doing it, literally in the snow they would link up and the larger of the two would basically tow the other around in the snow. Interesting. We saw thousands of midge through the course of the day, with an initial water temp of 46 degrees and the fact that so many were already crawling around several feet from the stream I have to think a majority had hatched before we arrived, maybe before we woke to start the day. At 1:25pm I saw the first one float towards me. I had to stop for a second and really look to make sure I was seeing what I thought I was, as soon as I was sure I was diving in close to my waist to catch a few WINTER BWO’s? Yep. We watched as a good couple dozen emerged on the run I was fishing, float downstream and take off. Very cool, good day for bugs. Now to find a few trout.

We did eventually find a willing pod of fish that readily took a #20 Miracle Nymph like it was candy but it took nearly the entire day to find it and after swapping fish for an hour we were frozen and ready to head home. Heath had a nicer +16in fish on but as the net came out it spooked and bolted forcing a limp line and an empty net. I managed a few browns as well, typical winter fishing. It isn’t easy and sometimes you’ve got to work pretty hard to see your line tighten up but it makes those days in the spring and summer when it jumps upon a strike that much better. With frozen feet and smiles we hiked the last leg out quickly. It was 4:30pm. Potentially a top 10 day for 2010 and it’s not even March yet.

Notes: So we found Midge had already been hatching before we arrived, and BWO’s hatching as the water temp got up to 47-48 degrees at 1:30pm. The Miracle Nymph worked wonders today while the Pink Patrick did nothing and could have been split shot for all the trout cared, actually I think I’ve had trout more readily strike my splitshot than they did the Pink fly today.  Sometimes this thing can whack fifty trout, others it is a curse and is best left in the box. I learned this lesson today and will not forget it. Especially when the rocks showed about a million tiny nymphs, I was determined to feed them something twice as big and pink. I would have been better served fishing a WD-40 or a PT with the Miracle Nymph trailing. The BWO nymphs that were hatching were a yellow/cream color and were very apparent, I’m surprised and a little disappointed I didn’t take any pictures of them. Finally at the source of the stream we found a dead deer that was something’s dinner, when we hiked to a second spring we found a second carcass that had also been well fed on. I wonder if something large isn’t dragging them down into that valley, interesting… I apologize for the quantity of images but it was a day of things to see. Check the slideshow out on fullscreen.

To take a trout with one of these. I picture it going down something like this… After a good long day of fishing the Driftless Area during spring/summer I will migrate towards home, along the way I will make a mental note of any and all areas I know to hold larger trout. I’ll pull up right as the sun is setting behind the bluffs, rig up and head to the spot. I’ll get there earlier than needed but that’s the kind of guy I am. I’ll scope the situation out, put myself in the right spot and wait until the light fades.  When the time is right I’ll plop one of these guys near the head of a pool, throw in a big upstream mend to counter the pull of the strong current. I’ll let it drift a bit maybe half way through the pool, then I’ll twitch one of these furry beasts to my feet hoping for the opportunity to take a Driftless Area trout on a mouse. This should pose a decent challenge, I’m sure I’ll let you know how it goes but first it’s got to warm up a bit around here.

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 »