• Onstream Arrival: ~11:15am Departure: ~3pm
• Arrival Air Temp: ~15degrees Departure: ~20
• Wind: ~10mph from the South
• 2:1 TB Stonefly to Midge Ratio at ~12:30pm
• #18 Orange Hot Spot Scud/#12 Hairball (Tan)

Of the four hours we were on stream well over half was spent trudging through thigh deep snow sinking close to your knees even with snowshoes. The 4-6inches of powder coating the under-snow made for a slow and challenging hike upstream for the day. We arrived and observed little trout activity but seeing a few midge in the snow I rigged a #18 Orange Hot Spot Scud. We chose maybe not the best stream to fish as the wind was coming from the south and we chose a north/south valley. Forced to deal with the wind we kept moving for the most part fishing each spot for a few minutes and moving on. The sun peeked through only a few times for brief moments making the day.

Close to 2pm I spent twenty glorious minutes fishing a #20 Wilted Spinach to a small pod of rising trout. Although I lost the only strong take I had it was a challenging approach and it felt good just to earn the strike. To fool the weary trout. As soon as the sun left it was back to hiking through thick woods in deep ass snow to see more of a stream I had never fished before. A good reason to fish it quickly, get a feel for it and take a few mental notes. 1st, lots of very shallow areas with rocky substrate. The afternoon was filled with nothing but Tiny Black Stoneflies crawling through the snow. This was the largest emergence of this insect I have witnessed. I took note of the shallow areas and tried to steer clear so as to keep from disturbing the deeper sections keeping frantic trout from agitating the feeding pods. 2nd, the rocks clearly said Caddis. 3rd, find any habitat improvement areas. I ended up swapping back to the #18 OHS Scud for the majority of the afternoon. I lost a few to snags and fished a couple deeper locations with a #12 Hairball (Tan) getting a strong strike from a brown as I basically jigged my fly through a deep run. The day ended with a long hike down and out of the woods. The sun, absent most of the day, kissed our shoulders as we exited.

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I spent Saturday reflecting on the 28th and what I would have changed about my fly selection or choice of presentation that might have altered the outcome of the day before. Sunday I was given the go ahead to wrestle my demons and headed to the water arriving at roughly 11:40pm. Similar conditions to the previous Friday, heavy overcast with a minor breeze. The air temp was a few degrees colder but not much (~20). I rigged a #8 Hairball (Tan) with no additional weight. First thing I took note of was the minimal impact it had entering the water, exactly what I was looking for. This pattern also has less flash and the flash it does have is pretty subtle.

I started fishing up a long slow section of creek that I knew held quite a few fish, upstream a hundred or so feet I could see dimples. The trout were up, I tossed my fly and very very slowly brought it back to my feet. I got a few strikes fishing the shallow edges of the creek. My thought was if I put the fly in on the edges and let it sink it would have less of an impact and thus disturb fewer fish. What I found was that I was tossing the fly basically on top of some of the trout, a few took the bait but most took off for deeper water. I hooked into a smaller brown but lost the hookset on a nice flying leap.

I moved downstream and fished the same fly through a deep run getting only one strike. I added weight and an indicator to fish the very bottom. I took my time and waited maybe ten minutes hunkered down in the snow watching the midge before I presented my fly to that group of fish again. Despite waiting nothing was having my fly. I moved downstream and lost the #8 Hairball to a snag, rather than tie on another I opted for a #16 Orange Scud. The first cast I made and moments after my line left the rod I had a strong strike that caught me off guard, it was a decent brookie that flashed me its colors quickly before throwing the hook.

Hiking further downstream spying rising trout through the trees. I moved to a run with multiple snags, lost two more Orange Scuds then, a bit frustrated I tied on yet another #16 OS and moved back upstream. From the banks I could see a pod of trout and ocasionally the larger ones would open their mouths wide, white inside, and pick something from the drift maybe a foot under the surface. They would move up in the water column a good foot to pick from the drift then settle back to the stream bed. My location wasn’t ideal, a barbed wire fence and steep bank forced me to spend ten minutes very slowly crawling to get in position. Sitting next to a feeder spring I took a couple of minutes to settle, I spied a bright blue can laying in a pile of water cress. I love beer but not here and not like this, it had to go.

I added another 18inches of 6X tippet and trailed my scud with a #20 Miracle Nymph. I removed the single splitshot and waiting until the largest fish I could see ate in front of me. I let 20 feet or so of line drift downstream to get it in the water and off my spool without spooking the fish, then I proceeded to make the first of three roll casts. The first fell short and sent two fish downstream, I waited and tried again the second got a look but nothing. The third and I felt a jolt. Although my target was across from me as I sat on the bank I put my flies upstream so they would have enough time to drift down and into the target zone (1-2feet below the surface). The strike came from a fish hiding out of view further upstream from my intended target. I set the hook and the fish ran down and into the target group sending them scattering, it then promptly raced for a snag and took my flies with it. Alot of prep work to sight fish a nicer 18inch brown to have it ruined by the unseen 13inch fish holding upstream but fun just the same. Upstream to finish the day where I began it.

I slapped on the #8 Hairball pattern again and sent it through the same slow straight section of water I began on. I targeted the middle of the creek, earlier hiking downstream I had been kicking up quite a few fish that were hanging in the shallows on the very edges of the creek. I believe they were in the shallows because tiny black stoneflies were emerging. As the afternoon progressed (~2pm) their presence in the snow in higher concentrations tipped me off. These stoneflies emerge as adults by crawling to the shallow edges as mature nymphs then splitting their carapace to allow the winged adult to continue the journey crawling through the snow. By 3pm the ratio of stoneflies to midge was almost at 1:1 making this one of the largest emergences of this particular insect I’ve seen. A few minutes later after slowly dead drifting my fly down the middle I hooked up with a 15inch Brown that fought well and soon made my day. I opted to finish the stretch and head home, last cast of the day proved to be a good one as a 13inch Brookie was waiting for me. I got to drive home with a smile on my face and the smell of trout on my hands. A good day.

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Day two began onstream at ~11:40am under clear sunny skies with an air temp approaching 13 degrees. With minimal wind predicted I knew today would be a bit more comfortable, sweet. I love the winter sun. The few hours when it hangs highest in the sky everything seems to wake up, birds are making noise, the trout are up, bugs might be hatching. A sunny 13 degree day can feel like 35 if your prepared and the wind isn’t blowing. We hit a different stream with perhaps two loosely set goals for the day and maybe a third that is always there and is never really acknowledged. 1st, to hike, to keep moving, maybe see a couple miles of stream. 2nd, to bring to hand a brown trout then a brook. The 3rd unspoken goal of every trip is just to smile and remember that some days you are stuck at work, fish or no fish this doesn’t get much better.

Parked and rigged I made a short hike through the snow covered forest floor to the stream. I remember thinking how the snow isn’t much of an obstacle when compared to 7-8ft tall weeds that grow obnoxiously thick  through this section of forest and make this place very un-inviting in the summer months. Approaching slow and low I knew the water here was going to be gin clear and it was. I waited several minutes looking for any sign of a rising trout or skittering midge but none were seen, even later in the day only a scant few midges were observed and only a handful 3-4 risers seen. The trout were holding deeper so I opted for the Orange Hot Spot Scud again today in a #16 thinking that I might trail it with a #20 Midge Larva pattern later. Again takes were very subtle, I lost the first two definitive strikes but a short time later I was netting a 10in Brown trout. We each managed a few from this first hole before our coffee got cold and we began the hike upstream.

The sun really made the day as we hiked, nothing was cold and infact had I kept the pace full steam we would have been sweating quite a bit before we finished but thats why we stop and fish. I hit a few narrower sections (2-3ft wide) of old habitat improvement as we hiked upstream loosing a few flies to tree limbs and snags on the banks trying to get that perfect cast to the trout before I fumbled and gave my position away. I did eventually add on a trailing #20 Midge pattern to give the trout a second option. I ended up losing a few strong strikes as I was not anticipating such a quick and sharp reactions as my flies entered the water, like the trout knew they were coming and had already commited to the take without my knowledge.

Looking to the 2nd goal for the day we moved upstream in search of beautiful brookies. I’ve fished this stream enough to know where the brookies hide out and I wasted little time finding them sitting in the same spot they’ve held for a very long time. We each attempted deep drifiting nymphs to the smaller trout but failed to bring a fish to hand. We got a few strikes but were un-able to set the hook in time and after thirty or so minutes attempting to get the longest and deepest drift possible produced nothing, with that the sun had passed the peak for the day and was on it’s way out. We gathered our things and began the hike out, along the way I stopped to swing a fat streamer through a few of the deeper sections but other than a few looks I was out of luck. I should note that every trout I got to hand had the #16 OHS Scud in it’s mouth. So no brookie and thus I have a goal for next time but still an excellent day and a good way to begin the new season with back to back days fishing the Driftless Area.

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The 1st of January opened catch and release season for stream trout in Minnesota and for me began my 3rd full season fishing the Driftless Area creeks that surround me. Although I did manage a trip to Iowa in the off-season it truly felt like it had been forever since I tied on tippet, flies or made a cast. At ~11:30am we arrived at the spot that you can find myself and a friend of mine every January 1st no matter the conditions. Last year saw a high air-temp of 5 degrees and this year was similar with estimates topping out at 9 above during the height of the day with a fairly strong wind. The proper gear was prepared and we hiked to the spot to get comfortable.

Gin clear water with rising rainbows is what was expected as we peered over the bank, however, the ironic and perhaps fickle Minnesota winter had given us a few days of above average temperatures topping out over 40 degrees at my house just prior to the opener, this prompted the melting of close to a foot or more of snow pack muddying the creek and likely lowering the water temp a bit. We only saw two or three rises all afternoon and only a scant few midges on the surface, with the muddy water and minimal midge activity I opted for a recent winter tie. The #18 Orange Hot Spot Scud, a single fly at the end of my 9ft leader. I fished without an indicator due to the varying depths I wanted to reach without having to play with my line and thus freeze my fingers any more than necessary.

Within the first half an hour each of us had managed a smaller rainbow to the net, with air temps this cold we don’t mess around, a simple photo or two quickly and back in the drink. Fishing no indicator on a slower section of water often means loosing over 50 percent of the strikes and those are just the ones you think you see. The fish were slow, a strike was often just your fly line slowing in the column rather than bouncing or jolting. My advice is set the hook often, when you think your line has done anything to indicate something below lift your rod tip in a quick but not sharp manner. Trout activity increased through ~1:30pm and began to slow after, clouds rolled in and the wind began to pick up a bit as you can tell by the grey winter photos. We nymphed for a while yet picking up a few more as we explored a few other options on this creek. When my #18 OHS Scud failed to produce any strikes out of a deeper pool I made a decision to swap to a #8 Olive Sprinkle Me Baby.

This fly is a favorite of mine and it should be noted that a fat streamer even in the winter should not go over looked. I wait until I’m finished nymphing my winter holes, before I move on I send a streamer through once or twice maybe more if fish react. Sometimes those larger fish just refuse to move on your #18 Scud but when faced with a #2-8 Streamer you might be surprised. A few passes and I rolled a 14in Rainbow only to lose it at the last moment, I tried a few more times and came up with a 12in and another 14in Rainbow for my efforts both came out of the darkness to slam my #8 SMB as it rose to the surface on the swing. With my hands cold and smelling of trout we hit the road for home at ~3pm, fish were seen, lines were taught and another excellent season of fishing opened. I love winter season in the Driftless Area.

p.s. Thanks to Heath for the excellent video below, it contains footage from our outing on January 1st and a bit from the 2nd of which I’ll write about a bit later.

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I’ve spent a bit more time at my vise as of late, getting a few patterns tied in several sizes for the upcoming season. Now the RAM Caddis I’ve tied up here will probably not be my 1st choice when my snow boots hit the powder come January 1st (the opening of Winter Catch and Release Season for Trout in Minnesota) it will, however get some face time with the fish in the coming months and even more when the weather warms. This fly originated as a successful pattern on the Madison river in Montana and I plan to prove it is equally as effective here on the Driftless streams of Southeast Minnesota.

Pursuing Caddis patterns of all kinds I decided a semi-traditionally tied RAM Caddis would serve me well next season. This version is a fairly simple tie with a dubbed body, copper rib and the head made of black dubbing and in this case aided with a small black bead. The only tricky part on this fly is the hackle collar but once you get the hang of it this fly can really look slick. PlanetTrout dropped the RAM Caddis on me a while back and I’ve been thinking about it ever since. On my “To Get” list of materials is purple and wine red thread, this pattern is described as very successful with a purple or red thread head.

On a side note (un-related to tying) I am ready to get to it. It has been calling me since the leaves left us several weeks ago. Winter-Season, the snow, the hiking, the clear water, ice shelves (in some cases), ice in the guides (most cases in January), everything that is the winter season. I want it all. I stick to a fairly strict rule about winter fishing in the coldest of months, stay warm, stay closer to the car, go during the height of the day from 10am-2pm and go slow, accept that winter trout fishing isn’t easy and may result in cold fingers, toes and other extremities but that it can be oh so awesome.

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 »

Started the day on the water at 10am. Took the day slow and enjoyed every moment. Caught no fish but after quite a hike through some rough woods came to the stream and found midge rising later in the day as the water temp rose to almost 38 degrees. The trout were hard to find for some reason today, walked more than fished, searching for them… Had a good day, explored new water.

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