WW Steams (N Br and M Br) 2006

I have just experienced the worst trout fishing on these two streams this past year. I am a catch and release fisherman who fishes with the fly rod. I fished the upper part of the N Br from the last parking area to the Klondike area. I fished the M Br. from above the group camp starting in the catch and release area only to the area where Callahans hill is. I have caught a lot of fish in these areas until this year. Did anyone else experience this? Thanks for your input. More later. JJ

My experience seems somewhat similar to your. I thought the NBWW was worse last year (2005) than it had been in previous years. I also fished it a couple of times this year and it seemed about the same as 2005. In 2005 the MBWW seemed poor enough that I didn’t even bother fishing it this year. Other people I have talked to have said the same thing.

The DNR has said that there have been very poor hatches the last few years. Since both streams are managed for wild brown trout, they do not get stocked. Therefore, a couple consecutive years of poor hatches could certainly cause a decline in numbers.

The NBWW dealt with crappy, dirty water throughout much of the year, and from what I was told, it had to do with house construction all the way as far west as Elgin (?). this year was the oppostie – low, drought like conditions. If it doesn’t get stocked with fry and is managed that way, it may take a while for it to get back up to what it was like in years past.

The MBWW, like the NBWW, is managed for wild trout purposes as Mark stated. A few years of poor reproduction compounded with relentless pressure all adds up in the end. I run across people still on the NBWW who do not follow the rules (i/e artificals only). I still see plenty of bucket sitters .

While I don’t disagree with the observations, there are still plenty of fish in the WW to be caught. I ran into a few decent hatches in the valley, but it’s not my first choice to go, even though it’s probably one of my closest choices. My aversion to the WW stems from the plethora of camping and people that frequent the area (weekends are out of the question for me to venture there for the most part; Lanesboro is a close second unless I want to stela an Audi off main street ) Sure, it’s a nice area, but it gets pounded a bit too much for my liking.

There are lots of other streams if these two in particular aren’t fishing like you hoped they’d be. That’s where you’ll find me .

Later gents,
D.A.