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I'LL GET OUTA HERE SOME TIME BEFORE NOON AND HEAD DOWN FOR THE NIGHT. I BET THE RIVER DOES LOOK GOOD! I MAY STOP BY AN OLD SMALLIE SPOT ON THE WAY IF ITS NOT TOO MISERABLE OUT.
JEFF,STOP IN TO HIDDEN VALLEY CAMPGROUND IF YOU HAVE A CHANCE (#B-4) THE SMART FIRE ALWAYS HAS TIME TO LISTEN! OR ANYONE FOR THAT METTER.........HEY MNSPORTSMAN, YOUR NOT WORKING TOO HARD IN THIS HEAT ARE YA?
WET NETS!

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cast,cast,cast,cast......

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  • Jim W

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  • jeffleek

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  • DARK30

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  • fish4life

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Dark30, Sorry I missed you. I had two parties to go to Sat. evening and on Sun. I went to Pepin. Caught some nice walleyes. Please let me know when you will be down again. I will stop by if I can. How did you do? I suppose there was a lot of people fishing. JLK

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THE KIDS ARE AT BIBLE CAMP NEXT WEEK SO I AM PLANNING ON GOING DOWN TO PRESTON DURING THE WEEK MAYBE WED OR THURSDAY. I LIKE THE IDEA OF IT BEING NICE AND QUIET FOR ONCE! I HOPE IT DOSN'T RAIN TOO MUCH BETWEEN NOW AND THEN.
WET NETS!

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cast,cast,cast,cast......

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Did any one else brave the deer flies and hot humid weather this weekend on the root?
I tried a new strech with very little success, maybe next time>>>

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HEY SARGE!!!

How's it goin'??? Any more shocked.giffish under the bridge?!!??!?!?!?!??!

JA!

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Sarge,
Not to mention arms held high, avoiding weeds of all varieties!! Keeping an eye on Mr. G's Bull to mention a few extras!! Yah, that stretch was a dud indeed! How else would a guy know unless he does a little exploring eh? I plan on stopping by for a "Green can" real soon!! I imagine that new fridge keeps the "sodas" nice and cold!!!

Since the "dry run" is indeed dry now, some of those piggies just might be up in your back yard!!!!! Jim W

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i was down on Spring Valley Creek and we were reeling those in like you wouldnt believe we caught probably near 40 fish all browns and i got a nice 17.5 incher, **** that thing was beautiful. i dont know where we exactly were cause the guy that i went with didnt want alot of people going there so i cant really tell ya sorry.

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  • 3 weeks later...

If you can't tell us where you were, why did you mention the name of the stream?? I would consider myself an expert on SVC as I fish there and guide there. I hit a phenominal Light Hendrickson hatch there this spring and caught in excess of 50 in about 4-5 hours. I'm impressed if you claim you caught 40 considering I've fished it for ten years and only once have cracked the 40 mark, and especially considering how erratic the water quality has been. I'll have to see if my local hardware store carries dynamite....

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well you can believe what you want but if we didnt crack forty we were pretty close cause we were pulling 4-5 out of every little bend in this section of the stream., ii dont care if you dont believe me cause i know the truth and thats all i care about

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All right guys, time to step back! We have had quite a long streak going on the SE MN forum with out confrontations!
Let's try to keep the negative comments to ourselves, providing good, clean, and fun fishing information!!!
A lot of people read this (young and old , fly fisherman and spin fisherman) So let's try to maintain a positive outlook.
Thanks a lot!!! Keep the rods bendin'!!!
Jim W

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Ok, we didn't catch 40 today, but I had two clients out on the water from Illinois and didn't get rained on too bad. Where we went will remain privy until I get to know some of you better, but we did manage fish on Root River Specials, Fluttering Caddis, beadhead PT's, a plain old gray Hare's Ear, and orange scuds. The water was clear and didn't dirty too bad by the time we left. Good luck to all who want to brave the 90 degree heat and humidity this weekend in search of trout - be sure to get out early or late.

P.S. Tricos are still coming off on sections of the S. Branch Root.

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Fish4life, don't let {someone} [rest edited out]ruffle your feathers, I believe you had a great day on the water. Let me know if you have any more great days like that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[This message has been edited by Rick (edited 08-02-2001).]

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thanks for the support sarge im not letting him get to me though im fine if he thinks that cause hes only lying to himself and thats fien with me but thanks and dont worry i will tell you if if happens again

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Hackle head - I thought we were trying to keep it clean. Did I insult someone - I was only questioning the validity of the story. Is everything that is typed on this board to be taken as true? [edited out]
Tell me some more of those fishing stories.....

[This message has been edited by Rick (edited 08-02-2001).]

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Please don't force me to remove posts!

I have appreciated all information from both fish4life and Hopper! It's all good.
And Hopper, if you believe information you read isn't accurate or truthful, simply keep it to yourself and enjoy the moment!

"Most" info I have read or wrote on this forum has been dead on...Take it or leave it!

Now let's get back to bendin' rods eh?
Jim W

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jeffleek,

Hey man, that sounds like smallmouth time for me!! You might want to skip on over to the North or middle branch of the root for some smally action!!!
Sounds like the water temperature is really on the rise, indicating a very good smallmouth bite!! Possible topwater action!!
Thanks for the heads up!!!! Jim W

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THE ONLY BUG LURE I KNOW BY SIGHT IS A FLU FLU AND THATS NOT FOR A FLY ROD BUT I DO WANT TO LEARN THAT FINE ART OF PEOTRY IN MOTION! JIMW, LIKE YOU SAY...THERE ARE SOME OF US WHO CATCH SO MANY TROUT ON SPINNERS,RAPS AND JIGS THAT WE NEED TO TRY SOMETHING NEW!
I WAS DOWN TO PRESTON LAST WEEK AND THE WATER LOOKS GREAT! NOW I WON'T BE ABLE TO MAKE DOWN AGAIN TILL AROUND THE END OF AUGUST CAUSE I'LL BE PULLIN SMALLIES LEFT AND RIGHT OUT OF THE OTTER TAIL (YUK YUK) AND THEN ITS THE BIG CAT CONTEST ON THE MINNESOTA AND THEN I'M GONNA HOOK UP WITH FISHHEAD ON MINNETONKA FOR THAT FISHING MN. THING.
WE SHOULD TRY A LITTLE GET TOGETHER IN SEPTEMBER ON THE ROOT? YOURS OR MINE.
WET NETS!

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cast,cast,cast,cast......

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Jim,

Maybe I should tell some more of my stories. (i.e. 25" smallie.) Hey, I've been throwing spinners soon after they have stocked and sure seemed like I caught a trout on EVERY cast. (Not that I follow the stock truck.) Some days are just a lot better for fishing than others. I need to do some trouting but I hate this hot humid weather. It's good for selling air conditioners but that's it!

I think the Root here in town looks good. A haze has been hanging over river in evenings. I used to hate fishing than. Seemed like everything came to a hault. Any body like fishing the HAZE? JLK

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Dark,
Yes indeed! That sounds like a plan to me! ONce we get a little closer get back and I'll try to hook up with ya!!! HAve fun out there!!!! JimW

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Got up this AM, not in search of tricos, but just to get an early start to the day. It was hot and humid all morning, but I did well on a Fillmore County stream with Black Wet Flies as a dropper on a small hopper pattern. The fish were just curious enough to hit the hopper once in a while, but most of the success came on the dropper. The largest on that stretch was about a 16 1/2 inch fat, very dark brown trout.

Moved north into Winona County around 10:30 until noon and had good luck with a Fluttering caddis and the Black Wet Fly dropper. Caught some very healthy looking fish. Fished the last stretch of the stream using a Madame X pattern and only caught three, but the last one of the day was a huge 18 inch brown that started at the bottom of the pool and sky rocketed up and hammered the fly. It was pretty neat to see such a sight as that - the whiteness of the mouth as it sucked down the fly was incredible.

All streams are in good shape and clean, unless there are cows standing in them, whcih happens a great deal on meadow streams. The weather will be cooler this weekend, so it would be an ideal time to get out.

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Had two clients out fly fsihing today and hit streams in Fillmore County. Saw some phenominal trico action on the Root around 8:30, but no fish rising to take them - ended up with a few trout and some smallies (which will please most members of this board).

Fished a tributary to the Root in the afternoon hours and caught fish on orange scuds, soft hackle PT's, Root River Specials. Saw several fish rising to something - what I haven't a clue. But a good day on the water considering witnessing a bald eagle on the Root, several red-tail hawks, turkeys, bitterns, herons, etc. Plus there was minimal heat and no humidity to boot.

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Fished most of the day in Houston County, checking out some old spots and going to some new spots. caught a variety or browns, rainbows, and even brookies (the trifecta) on a variety of flies: scuds, Prince Nymphs, Fluttering Caddis, Root River Specials, soft hackle PT's, bead head PT's....

Met another guy out fly fishing in no man's land fishing and had some good conversation about the stream we were on. Caught a few nice fish in the 13-14 inch range there.

Moved on to an old spot that I fished when I was younger and learning how to fly fish. to make a long story short, we didn't catchmuch back then, but it was a different story today as the fish were hot, they were in an area that doesn't ge fished hard, the wter was just a bit off colored, and my fly fishing ability is better now. Needless to say, browns in the 16-20 inch range were willig to take bead head stone fly nymphs. it was a long walk, but most good spots are sometimes a long walk.

It was a long, but exciting day on the water.

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Hopper,
Thanks for the wonderful information!!
Yes you do need to walk sometimes! In fact, lately I have gotten away from my usual walk to "wonderland", in turn, effecting my over all production!!!
I still walk a lot of water, but need to turn it up a notch!! Thanks for reminding and remotivating me!! Even if you didn't intend on it!!! Keep those 4 weights bendin'!!!
Jim W

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JW,

This is not the best time of year to "explore", but you won't run into many people if you are out doing it, especially on the weekday. I like to drive around in the spring, get out the maps, etc. But I think if a person is willing to do some brush busting, the chances of being rewarded in the end with some good water & good fishing are pretty high.

There's a ton of water out there and I'm trying to say that I have fished it all. So far, I have fished 47 designated trout streams in southeast MN, so I have to keep busting brush and find more of those secret gems.

P.S. Anyone know where I can buy a machete!?!?

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Another long day beating my way through the bush in search of some gems. One was a bust - a meadow with about 6 inches of water running through it, the other was posted to beat hell with people everywhere on it (I'll check that one out during the weekdays...). The other turned out to be a good deal as I had to hike 20 minutes back in the bush to get to it. It's a tributary stream to a major watershed and had some nice brook trout in it. Another one was a meadow tributary that didn't look like it was fished much - also some decent brookies in it. I turned in a 15 brown, 15 brook trout day and fished 4 different streams to boot.

Saw only a few others out - some fishing from a bridge (not doing much of anything in terms of actually catching fish), and two other gys who were chucking #11 and #13 Rapalas. They caught some nice fish, took some pictures, and rolled a five pounder as well.

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Yes, I was at it again this morning, and again I was in pursuit of streams I have not fished. Ran into my first landowner encounter of the season today in a meadow section of Money Creek. I didn't see the signs at the time, but a farmer with a loader and one of those ugly green mesh farm hats (no offense to the agricultural types) promptly told me to leave. This was before he went to the stream bank and took the loader and started to remove part of the streamside bank and put it elsewhere (I'm not sure where). He told me that he didn't want fishermen on his property because they spook cattle (a good thing I didn't wear my wolf outfit today). Meadow fishing is two fold: 1.) it is wide open fishing at its finest (yet not much for overhanging cover and protection for the trout) 2.) due to cattle, the banks are eaten away of vegetation, eroded, and in general, in poor condition. On a sidenote, I have never had any problems with cattle, those with and without testicles.

Moving on to happier topics....I walked into another remote brook trout stream and managed to catch one smallmouth and no brookies. Too much vegetation and not enough water actually running through it to peak my interest. I went out and fished the water that the trib. dumped into with mixed results - half a dozen browns and a rainbow. Broke off a fish using 5X and had a fish come up and take some swipes at a chub I had hooked and was bringing across the current - pretty neat.

Last stop was another stream I had driven past but had not fished before. There was a car parked on the upper end, so I decided to do some hiking. Mysteriously, the water was not very clean despite the absence of cattle, but it was freezing cold (always a good sign). Caught about a dozen browns and few of those raceway rainbows, mainly on beadhead nymphs or soft hackle PT's. I knew I was fishing behind whoever was there because every so often I would find freshly killed suckers in the bottoms of some of the pools. Granted, they aren't trout, but they are still fish....

Saw at least a half dozen red-tail hawks and one bald eagle today and decided to get off the water and take a nap.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Went in search of EL's (Ephoron leukons), but came up empty for some large dry fly fishing. however, fished a coldwater trib to the Root and caught a dozen in no time at all including a 19.5 incher on a new creation of mine: a #12 nymph hook, brown thread, light gray rabbit body wrapped with fine copper wire (wood duck tail), some light brown rabbit picked out near the head and some grouse hackle to boot. I tied it with the intnetions of using it as an EL emerger pattern before the hatch started, or to fish it as a dropper. Well, I fished it behind the Root River Special and a large Black Wet Fly and the rest is history. Also caught a few on another stretch of water with the same type of trailing pattern, only the tail was z-lon to imitate a shuck of some kind.

The Root is crystal clear, and surprisingly or not, very warm. Could have easily wet waded tonight.

P.S. On a sidenote, what would possess someone to get out and fish, get away from the worries and hassles of the daily grind and enjoy nature, only to leave behind a six pack of empty Busch Light cans along the river's edge? I don't understand it.......

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  • 'we have more fun' FishingMN Creators

I really enjoy your posts hopper. Keep me coming, please.

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Got out for a few hours before the rains came and had a ball. Went to a stream known to have some decent brookie fishing, especially hoppers. However, there is a significant lack of hoppers this year so I went with the old standard dry and dropper (Fluttering Caddis/Black Wet Fly). Ended up with some impressive looking fish - unlike the washed out silver colored fish that I found in the Root yesterday. Caught about ten browns ranging from 5-15 inches on both the dry and dropper.

The plus side was the 20 or so brookies, many with full fledged coloration. They were after anything that hit the water. The highlight was an 11.5 inch brookie - absolutely gorgeous and very plump. I lost one at least that size maybe bigger as he came unhooked. I can't stress the importance of terrestrial patterns this time of year, and the Black Wet Fly has certainly produced time and time again since at least July.

The only downside is that I have a certain liking for brookies, even more so in some instances than browns (but who can dislike large brown trout?), and it is becoming apparent that the browns are starting to take over the stream. A few years back, I would catch one or two browns an outing, now, there are certainly more and larger browns, so that only leads me to believe that my beloved brookies are turning into brown trout fodder. Such is the cycles of nature, I guess.

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Hopper,
Have you ever fished Nepstad Creek?
If you want literally miles of untouched Brook trout water, with a good chance of catching brookies over 12 inches, I highly recommend it.
Casting might be somewhat of an issue since it isn't a meadow stream, but it is plump full of brookies. The last time I fished it I literally lost count! Plus, I only caught one small browner.

NIce post and very good information!!
Good luck and keep the 4weight bendin'!!!

Jim W

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  • Your Responses - Share & Have Fun :)

    • leech~~
      Nope not me.  May want to go nextdoor and ask around?  
    • smurfy
      Looks to me like Leech brought his chair home!!😅😆
    • Brianf.
      I'm not there, so I can't tell exactly what's going on but it looks like a large area of open water developed in the last day with all of the heavy snow on the east side of wake em up Narrows. These two photos are from my Ring Camera facing north towards Niles Point.  You can see what happened with all of snow that fell in the last three days, though the open water could have been wind driven. Hard to say. .  
    • SkunkedAgain
      Black Bay had great ice before but a few spots near rockpiles where there were spots of open water. It looks like the weight of the snow has created a little lake in the middle of the bay.  
    • LakeofthewoodsMN
      On the south end...   Thanks to some cold spring weather, ice fishing continues strong for those still ice fishing.  The bite remains very good.  Most resorts have pulled their fish houses off for the year, however, some still have fish houses out and others are allowing ATV and side by sides.  Check social media or call ahead to your favorite resort for specifics. Reports this week for walleyes and saugers remain excellent.   A nice mix of jumbo perch, pike, eelpout, and an occasional crappie, tullibee or sturgeon being reported by anglers. Jigging one line and using a live minnow on the second line is the way to go.  Green, glow red, pink and gold were good colors this week.     Monster pike are on a tear!  Good number of pike, some reaching over 45 inches long, being caught using tip ups with live suckers or dead bait such as smelt and herring in 8 - 14' of water.   As always, work through a resort or outfitter for ice road conditions.  Safety first always. Fish houses are allowed on the ice through March 31st, the walleye / sauger season goes through April 14th and the pike season never ends. On the Rainy River...  The river is opened up along the Nelson Park boat ramp in Birchdale, the Frontier boat ramp and Vidas boat ramp.  This past week, much of the open water skimmed over with the single digit overnight temps.   Areas of the river have popped open again and with temps getting warmer, things are shaping up for the last stretch through the rest of the spring season, which continues through April 14th.   Very good numbers of walleyes are in the river.  Reports this week, even with fewer anglers, have been good.  When temps warm up and the sun shines, things will fire up again.   Jigs with brightly colored plastics or jigs with a frozen emerald shiner have been the desired bait on the river.  Don't overlook slow trolling crankbaits upstream as well.   Good reports of sturgeon being caught on the river as well.  Sturgeon put the feed bag on in the spring.  The bite has been very good.  Most are using a sturgeon rig with a circle hook loaded with crawlers or crawlers / frozen emerald shiners. Up at the NW Angle...  Ice fishing is winding down up at the Angle.  Walleyes, saugers, and a number of various species in the mix again this week.  The bite is still very good with good numbers of fish.  The one two punch of jigging one line and deadsticking the second line is working well.   Check with Angle resorts on transport options from Young's Bay.  Call ahead for ice road guidelines.  
    • CigarGuy
      With the drifting, kind of hard to tell for sure, but I'm guessing about a foot and still lightly snowing. Cook end!
    • PSU
      How much snow did you get on Vermilion? 
    • Mike89
      lake here refroze too...  started opening again yesterday with the wet snow and wind...  very little ice left today...
    • Hookmaster
      A friend who has a cabin between Alex and Fergus said the lake he's on refroze. He texted me a pic from March 12th when it was open and one from 23rd when it wasn't. 🤯
    • SkunkedAgain
      I don't think that there has been any ice melt in the past few weeks on Vermilion. Things looked like a record and then Mother Nature swept in again.   I'll give my revised guess of April 21st
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