3/11 Fly Fishing Report

I did not find any real clean water south of I90 yesterday (although a good friend of mine was in Winona Co. and found plenty of clear water). However, the streams that we were on were very stained but fishable. The clarity wasn’t the problem yesterday; the water temperatures were. Several days of overnight temps above freezing made run off affecting water temps an issue. The going was very slow until 2:00 or so yesteday afternoon. Small glo-brite chenille woolly buggers were a much hotter commodity than basic scuds, Prince nymphs, or even the mythical pink squirrel.

If you are heading out today, there’s no question that many area stream have cleared considerably.

D.A.

PS Other than a plethora of gray midges, no other hatches to speak of yesterday.

Dave can you recommend a safe starter stream that I can take my 12 yr old daughter too within two hours of the cities. I don’t want her in chest waders or strugling with fast rocky water just yet. thanks

genegr, i would try the Rush River in Wis. It’s a bit bigger then some of our local streams, so it’s easier for casting. There are also so great numbers of browns as well (some big ones too).
As far as distance is concerned it’s about 50 minutes from my place (Oakdale).
If you want a couple spots PM me and i’ll give you some.

If you already have a Mn license yourself and don’t want to spend money on an out state license, I’d recommend Whitewater State Park for two reasons: 1.) lots of wide open areas to fish without the necessity of chest waders and 2.) they do stock catchable sized rainbows within the park areas. I’d be willing to bet they will be stocking those catchables before the general season opens on Easter weekend.

D.A.