Steelhead season just ended in WI a couple of weeks ago and the inland trout season in WI and MN will open back up the beginning of January. This is just enough time to tie flies to fill the boxes back up. Yet when the weather is as nice as we have been experiencing (mid 50s,15 degrees above ave.), the siren song of SE MN proved too much to resist.
A few state parks and stretches of in-town river stay open year round in SE MN. It is a 2 hour drive one way from home, but it was so worth it yesterday. Spent the day with a good friend I haven't seen in awhile, so the drive time was spent catching up and plotting how to cover as much water as possible from sunup to sundown.
I love fishing bluff country! The sun is just starting to light up the canyon below.
Typical water, late in the afternoon.
A wider stretch in town that the locals refer to as the "mini Madison."
Nymphing was great in the morning and then the midges starting coming off at high noon. The fish took notice! This 16" brown sipped a #22 midge pattern. We caught a lot of fish, with a few bigger than this, when nymphing.
Despite the great natural reproduction of browns, some rainbows are added to the mix in some rivers. The Lami 7'6" 4wt was the rod of choice and did great with tandem nymph rigs and #22 dries.
Fish were still rising to midges, when we could no longer see our fly. We drove away contented into the setting sun.
Posted: 27 Nov 2017, 13:32 • 
