April 24 Report

I fished for a few hours this afternoon in some very non-user friendly wind . However, I did manage a few fish, and what I mean by that is that I went out on some bigger water that has a tendency to produce bigger fish but not necessarily large numbers.

All told, I managed only four trout while pitching woolly buggers all day. It wasn’t great bugger weather for those of you who like to fish streamers: crystal clear, sunny, and very clear water conditions. Throw in some 30 mph winds, and it’s not an ideal day (espcially when you have to physically duck on certain casts or else your fly will be in your head – not kidding here). Interestingly, all the fish I took were from the top of the riffle structure down, meaning I didn’t do anything while fishing down and across. Just plain down with very quick erratice retrieves was the ticket. The biggest was a “17 inch brown and two others that went 15″ and 13” respectively.

I was fishing a hole when all of a sudden I heard movement in the brush along the bank. Turns out it was a snapping turtle getting some sun – one of those that’s bigger than a five gallon bucket . Glad I got in the stream nowhere near that guy.

Take care and dress warm,
D.A.

Dave, Thanks for your post. I was out on the N.Br. WW yesterday. Conditions were the same I usually do not fish on the weekends and now I am sure I won’t. I walked to the long hole below the Klondike from the parking spot below the North Branch Hill (the last parking area). There were only two cars in the lot. Just when I started to fish the blankety blank 4 wheelers came through. They made mud of that area all the way back to Decker’s bridge and it ruined any fishing that I might have had. I just am bothered because they are not supposed to use that area. In other words it is illegal according to the signs that say so. I ran into a turkey hunter and it is good that the 4 wheelers did not come by him at that moment because he was really hot! What I re-learned is not to fish that stream on the week ends. I am lucky as I can go during the middle of the week but I feel sorry for the people who want to fish that stretch on the weekends.

I feel your pain – it’s happened to me on that very stretch of water in the past. You want to read some crazy pro-ATV stuff, go to fishingminnesota.com and click on the ATV forum. If you can get a point across that the ATV use is getting out of control in many areas, I’d like to read it (translation: good luck without getting jumped pretty hard).

For what it’s worth, the CO’s have been contacted on this very matter by numerous concerned anglers and groups. They claim that they are going to be cracking down on illegal ATV use this year. So far, I haven’t seen it. You and I can meet up in Elba sometime and put some strategically placed 2×4’s with a bunch of 16 penny nails in them along some of those illegal trails, then off to Mauer’s for a cold one .

Dave, I think that it would be fun to hunt ATV’s but they would not be good to eat. Hope to run into you sometime.

I’m not sure that my 8 weight is big enough to pull one down . Keep in mind that I’m not anti-ATV (I use one for deer hunting, but then again it’s on private land with no streams). I DO happen to be very anti-ATV on illegal trails, which by the way the NBWW is an illegal trail. They access it directly from the parking area with the sign “No Motorized Vehicles” clearly at the trailhead. Apparently being able to read is not a prerequisite to operating an ATV.

I’ll be down at the TU Rendezvous this weekend, and over to Eagle Bluff for dinner, a speaker, and hopefully plunking down some cash to help the H.I. work slated for Trout Run (as well as trying to win one of those rods they are raffling off) .

I’m sure I’ll paths will cross somewhere along the way.

Take care,
D.A.