Kinni, Rush, Willow Trout

[so haaad]

Hit Wisconsin on Sunday morning. It was surprisingly busy, especially considering it was MN fishing opener for walleyes. I got my first 20" brown of the season on a hare's ear...released to be seen another day. Also got two healthy 14" browns and a nice 12" brookie. Water levels are still VERY low, so fish are still stock-piling on the smaller rivers. But, fish still looked healthy. There was a nice hatch, so elk-hair caddis was working well.

Haaad

[tie flyer]

Nice work, Haaad. A 20" brown and 12" brookie, not a bad day.

Glad you let them swim.

The water wasn't high and stained over there?

[so haaad]

Tie flyer,
The Rush was muddy, of course. But not the tributaries and smaller streams.

[Magneto]

Hike down further to were the Race Branch and the Willow converge. The other option is to go into the park, and hike up to just below the falls. Being that I live in WI and fish the Willow occasionally, I have found you really have to work for bigger fish. I've paid my dues, and have caught some pretty big trout recently, when I thought there weren't any big ones left.

Mike

[rjj15]

Fished Willow/Race (off trout road) 5-19 for my first time ever. I caught around 5 fish- no size though all around 8" Anyone have any tips to finding the bigger Road?

[so haaad]

Any new reports this week? How's the Rush looking? I'm hoping to get out on Sunday-Monday.

Haaad

[This message has been edited by so haaad (edited 05-26-2004).]

[Magneto]

The Rush is in perfect condition. Good clarity as well. I was out tonight until dusk. The yellow craneflies are still going like mad. There is also a major midge hatch at about 7:30pm. I was covered with those little size 128(!)cream colored bugs. No sulfurs yet. As I type this (11:50pm) it is raining again and the surounding area is pretty saturated, so there is no telling what this will do. Probably nothing bad.

Mike

[so haaad]

Magneto, how are water conditions?

Haaad

[Magneto]

The water level on the Kinni has finally come down, and it is begining to clear. Should be as usual by the weekend.

The Rush is still very tea stained, and is taking longer then usual to clear. I was there today (like most everyday) and I was able to fish a dry for the first time since all the rain. Should be gin clear by Sat. or Sunday.

Both the Kinni and the Rush have a nice caddis hatch, about size 18 and dark in color. Every once in a while you'll see a tan caddis as well. they are a little bigger. Sulfurs are begining to hatch in strength. Hendricksons are hatching on the Rush as well. The March Browns should be here any day. On this past Monday, the Rush had a Sulfur hatch that went on all day, and in the rain. Fished a size 16 beadhead pheasant-tail and mopped up. The fish are fat, and sassy. Go fishing!

Mike

[disco]

out on the lower kinni yesterday for a couple hours in the afternoon..... beautiful day, don't know the water temp, but it was almost totally clear, little tinge of mud.... didn't see but a few caddis flies coming off.... saw lots of sulphurs as the day wore on, but not many fish comin up (saw two rises all day)..... i would imagine that with the sun on the water today, the sulphurs will really get goin.... the deer flies were also out in force, as i must have swatted around fifty of em..... got 15 trout in 3 hours on pheasant tail and hare's ear combo platter.... one pushing 14".... they were hungry and frisky....

quick question-- do the caddis start up in the evening like the western streams? i wasn't able to stay past 4:00.... i know on the rush a couple weeks ago, i had a hatch of tan working all day.... is it different on the kinni?

[rjj15]

hit the rush on fri night, got a few trout on light cahill dry, (not sure if I was just lucky or if they were really hatching) also off hare-ear nymph

Sat on the Rush same thing, less fish

[so haaad]

I fished WI on Saturday and got in the middle of what I think was a (lighter) hendrickson hatch that went on for about two hours. Risers everywhere! It was one of the better days that I've had in quite awhile. The hatch started around 3:00.

Haaad

[disco]

hola.....
it's been a while (i guess over a week counts as a while) since i've been able to drive over the bridge into enemy territory (i.e. packer land)..... today i made it over to the rush.... gorgeous day, river's in great shape, and the fish are rising....
basically, get fishing folks, it's back on....

the rush was running clear, not crystal, as in the deepest areas i couldn't see bottom, but it's pretty close..... i got to the river at around 1230 and fished until 4.... from about 1 until 230 the river was boiling..... fish were rising everywhere-- fast water, slow water, deep, shallow..... i didn't know there were that many trout in that stretch..... funny thing though, didn't see many insects.... i talked to a guy fishing by the bridge where i walked in and he said they were goin on caddis all morning but were starting to taper off when i got there.... i put on a 16 EHC upper and an 18 parachute adams dropper..... i saw some lighter colored mayflies in the air, but not many.... lots of nymph casings in the water (size 18).... i caught most of the fish on the adams, but had plenty of takers on the caddis, especially in the faster water.... broke off one nice fish.... i had lots of refusals in the slow stretches, so i thought maybe they were taking nymphs in the film.... switched to try a couple different nymphs and wets behind the adams and didn't have any luck.... prolly just didn't like the fly i'd tied....

happytimes

[fishin_spooge]

Just wondering if anyone has any hints on what kind of flys to be using now on the Kinny..I'm as much of a beginner as you can get..was out today and not much rising, however, managed to coax 6 pretty small ones into taking a size 12 Prince nympn. Any help is greatly appreciated. Water levels are also very low.

Justin

[so haaad]

Magneto,
Any recent reports? I was over on the Lost last weekend. Things were a little slower, but did manage a few fish on caddis. It seems a little early, but have the mid-summer blues arrived? Have a nice weekend everyone.

Haaad

[Magneto]

Yes I think the mid summer blues are here. It has been tough fishing of late. There is some tiny blue wing olive (about a size 24) activity in the afternoons, but not enough for the trout to key on them. Caddis (tan) Baetis (about a size 20) Nymphing seems the way to go right now. Until the Tricos show up later this month it's gonna be slow.

I've been chasing smallies lately and have been doing ok now that this warm weather is here. I'm also waiting (not so patiently) for the Hex hatch on the St. Croix. Chasing walleye with a fly rod at night is kinda fun. And they do eat from the surface for those Hex's.

Mike

[Magneto]

I've been fishing near Grantsburg. Now that the water (St.Croix) has come down a bit, I can safely wade up there. (wish I had a boat though)

Yesterday (Sun.) my wife and I drove down to the Driftless area, and we fished a tributary of the Kickapoo and I caught a 24 inch brown in water that was no wider then the width of my car. Biggest brown to date for me.

Congrats on the big Rush brown. Those fish are dam smart and are hard to catch.

Mike

[disco]

magneto-- what section of the st. croix do you hit for that? sounds like a good time.... i've fished it for smallies numerous times and had great luck..... (gordon dam down-- first couple miles are great)

was out on the rush last week and nabbed the biggest brown of the year.... no insects comin off, but got tired of trying to nymph in the clear water-- couldn't get close enough w/out spookin the fish..... threw on a caddis and parachute adams and stumbled on a section where the fish were actually risin in good numbers..... skipped the flies in under an overhangin tree and watched a submarine come lazily out from under it and eyeball my caddis for what seemed like an eternity.... followed it downstream for a while, then finally gulped it..... over twenty..... good times.... only got 4 fish all afternoon, but that one made up for it.....

------------------
Obviously you are not a golfer....

[This message has been edited by disco (edited 07-05-2004).]

[disco]

out on the rush yesterday.... mixed bag comin off the water-- nuthing abundantly.... there was a spinner fall right before dark (small window of time to work with), though, and that got quite a few fish up top.... they were still poppin when i left to walk back while i still had a tiny bit o light to see..... saw both small (18) sulphers? (greeny-yellow body like you mentioned earlier) and others about the same size, maybe smaller, with brownish bodies floatin past, dead on the water...... took some on sulpher comparaduns and a parachute adams.... with a few on the caddis for good measure...... before the fall, nymphing was producin much better (caught a couple up top, but real, real spotty)..... cloud cover helped with the spookiness factor.... and the section of river was better suited for nymphs than the last i attempted..... got a nice, fat 10 inch brookie for my efforts and lotsa small to decent browns....

one more question for ya, mike, since you mentioned the kickapoo (and one-upped my trout.... congrats by the way... nuthin more fun than big trout in little water).... how is that area? i was going to head down that way earlier this year but ended up changin plans and goin to the namekagon instead..... i heard it's awful purdy and there's an eight-mile c&r section down yonder.... worth the drive from the cities?

[This message has been edited by disco (edited 07-06-2004).]

[Magneto]

Abso-friggin-lutely!!!

Bring lots of bug dope, or something that will protect you from the gnats.

I have to say it is some of the most beautiful country I have ever seen. It seems there is a trout stream every 2 miles.

The drive from my house (Hudson) is only 2 and half hours, and well worth it.

Lots of small water thought.

Just do it, you won't be disappointed

Mike

[so haaad]

Disco,
I agree with Mike, the Kickapoo area is worthy of a trip. There are some big fish down there. And the scenery is tough to beat.

Hey Mike, what flies work well for smallies over on the St. Croix? Sounds fun. I'd like to give it a try. What area do you recommend for someone who's new to the Croix and wants to wade a little? Have you ever fished the Snake in MN?

Haaad

[Magneto]

First, I'm no expert on smallies, but this is what I've been using with some success:

White, and grizzly hackled wooly-buggers (they work for walleye at night as well)

Silver-holographic dubbed body and grizzly hackle buggers.(this is one of my experiments)

Red and white poppers

Sea-gull fly (was in last Sundays Star-Tribune)

Wading the St. Croix is a risky proposition at best, and is much better with a boat, or canoe, but it can be done. For whatever reason I have had fair luck with white colored flies, or flies with more white then other colors. Don't ask me why, because I haven't a clue, it just seems to work. Look for rocky structure near deeper water, (so they can run and hide) shade seems to be good as well.

I have fished the Snake, but last time I was there, the water was very high and muddy. Looked way too dangerous for me. Now that we have had some warmer days (excluding the last couple)you can wet wade, which I kind of enjoy, specially when it's hot out.

Like I said, I'm no expert, and I really enjoy just getting out and trying new things. Last time out (weekend before the 4th) the smallies were right up tight against the shore, chasing the bait fish, but as the water warms more they will at some point go somewhat deeper. But like all bass, they seem to never stray far from where the bait fish are, and they are usually in warmer water.

Hope this helps,

Mike

[so haaad]

Thanks for the reply, Mike. I'm hoping to get up towards the Snake and/or the Croix this weekend. I might get out on Sunday if it doesn't rain too much. I'll tie up some white flies tonight. Lately I have caught sunnies, large mouth, northerns, and carp on the fly rod. But have yet to catch a small mouth. My other fish catch "goals" are to hook into a channel cat and a walleye. Thanks again for your input.

Aaron (haaad)

[disco]

thanks for the reports, mike..... both areas sound great.....

i drove past the snake on my way home from the superior nat'l forest over the fourth, and because you had mentioned it as a good smallie stream, stopped below the dam in pine city to check it out..... water was clear and was definitely wadable throughout.... skeeters were unbelievable, so if you go, bring tons of bug stuff or just cover up..... i saw more crayfish per sq. foot of river bottom than i think i've ever seen.... made ten or twenty casts, but didn't really fish it..... very pretty river- let us know how ya do if ya fish it, haaaad....

later

[so haaad]

Fished the Snake yesterday afternoon, first below the dam and then another spot downstream on the north side. LOTS of crayfish! I caught four smallies, but nothing very big. I tried dries, but no takers. I hooked three on olive woolies with grizzly palmered hackle. The other was on a san juan worm. The mosquitoes were brutal, even with spray. It seems that the dam gets hit pretty hard, so fishing may be a little tough there. But I found a fun little stretch downstream that produced three fish in about 15 casts. I think the Snake is worthy of another exploring trip. I also had one small cat on, but lost him. Man did he ever fight! That is definitely a fish that I need to go after with the fly rod. Anyone know any spots? Haaad

[so haaad]

Fished the Rush, Lost and Isabelle yesterday. The morning Trico hatch on the Rush is in full effect. At times the water looked like it was boiling. I think it started around 8:30am. Then like a light switch, we couldn't find a feeder. Towards the end of the feeding frenzy, my brother caught a 14" brown, picked it up and a "Trico-ball" of about 100 Tricos came out of its stomach. Overall, we both did very well during the hatch. I got two 16's, and my brother got a 15 and a 17. But the highlight was when I caught a 28" walleye. Yep, 28" walleye caught and released in the Rush!

[tie flyer]

Wow! That's a nice walleye!

[Riverfishin]

Are there any trout at the kinni river mouth on the st. croix

[Stiff]

Nice Walleye!! What did you catch it on??

Several years back I saw a similar walleye caught out of the Rush on a nightcrawler on opening day of trout season. It looked pretty beat up, but it was huge! I think the guy caught it below Hwy 10.

Funny... Those are the only two walleyes I've heard of coming from the Rush... and they were both huge! I wonder what the deal is with that??

[so haaad]

Magneto or anyone else,
How's the Rush fishing lately? Are the Tricos still going off around 8:30-ish? Any other nice hatches (or hoppers) apprearing in the last couple weeks?

Haaad