Sometimes I miss you guys.....

[Aquaman01]

But I miss the Upper Missy more!!! :-)

I'm in Decorah, Iowa now and I'm getting to know the Upper Iowa, my local trout streams and Pool 9 pretty well. Fishing was awesome right up until this massive flood! Hard to tell if things will be right anytime soon.

Pool 9 is good for LM bass, huge sunfish, channel cats, crappie, suager and enough drum to keep the kids excited on an outing.

The Upper Iowa is smallmouth; 16" is a great fish to the locals. I try to look excited, but once you've gone 20" it's hard. Small walleye, some larger-than-average wild trout and a spring white-bass run that will keep a rod bent pretty steady all day.

Local trout streams give up eater-size stocked rainbows reliably. I still don't fly-fish, but I'm getting tempted when I see the hauls that a hellgramite wet-fly produces.

My boat trailer has been broken for two seasons now and I don't mind much. My canoe will get me in & out of the backwaters on pool 9 and if I have a co-paddler I can move up the channel if I hug the shore. Besides, it burns beer - not gas.

What do I miss? I miss the deep hole below the storm drain in Elk River, I miss hunting for crawdads in the rocks, I miss huge carp, I miss fall walleye at the Lake Orono dam, I miss 20" smallmouth, I miss Gordon's Bridge but most of all I miss Montissippi Park. I really, really love that place.

Well anyway, with recent floods I won't be fishing for quite some time yet, so, post me a reply so I can fish vicariously through ya'll and even visualize the spots you're hitting!

Peace

[AceintheHole]

The river rats have been getting some huge flats in the Mn but if I gave there spots away they would shoot me.

[Wallyeyes]

Hit the Miss in St. Cloud a few times over the last couple weeks. Water is high and FAST. A little tough to fish, but managed to pull out a few smallies. Just gotta work those shorelines and slack water. The fish are there. Now, to catch them.....

Hey Aquaman, do you know why the 'ole miss' flows south?

[UncleKes]

Aquaman! We miss you too! I hope the high water and floods we are reading about don't reach you or your family! Sounds like you are in the right spot for fish just the wrong year. Too bad! Things are tought right now but most of the people I am speaking with are still getting fish. Smallies are bitting, and you can take the odd walleye or sauger if you are patient enough! Catfish too. Not much northern pike action I have heard about?

High water and fast current is keeping them tight along the shore lines behind anything that will break current. Same with you down there I imagine! Otherwise not much going on! The rain and high water means you don't see a lot of tourists hogging your favorites spot though! So maybe this rain is doing some good!

Anyway, you take care! Enjoy being an Iowan and all the Iowa jokes we will be telling about you from here on out!

Tight Lines;

Uncle Kes

[Kevin Turner]

Hey Rob, it's good to hear from Ya! Waters a bit fast, but easily fishable. Quite a change from the previous two years...

Take care, KT

[DT10 Guy]

Hey Aquaman, I went to school at Luther and I miss the days of wading the upper Iowa river. Had many great days on that river.

DT10

[Aquaman01]

Wallyeyes - is it because Louisiana sucks? Hee Hee.

Hey Kevin! When we first moved here I thought "Hmm - the only boat that could go up this river is an RP." but of course, I would become the most hated guy in town! If you've ever spent any time in Decorah, the idea of a gy in a jet-rig rippin' through town is pretty comical! It's a canoe/kayak waterway and even at that I've had to drag the canoe a few times. Beautiful country, though. Decorah ain't flat!

Uncle Kes - thanks - we were unaffected and as far as the rest of Iowa flooding goes, we in Decorah got off light. The Upper Iowa has changed, for sure. New undercuts, deeper channels and all the timber-snags are now in the fields. The washing away of the silt will make for good trout-spawn this fall, but this year's smallmouth spwn is a loss, as are the new walleye fry.

DT10 - It's still here, and as long as Luther is around, the flavor of tis most-excellant town will stay the same. I'm stayin'.