somebody’s got to be fishin???

the sun is a shinin…..the snow is a meltin…..the temps are a warmin…….

are the fish a bitin???

Yes yes yes. Skipped out of work and went to the North branch of the Whitewater today. I saw one SUV at the last car parking area but never a single person. I had the stream to myself. While the special regs have been posted for quite some time, the fish are still running small, averaging just under 12 inches. I pulled one horse out that was pushing 18 inches. A beautiful brown that made me wish for a camera. All told I landed about 50 fish in 4 hours.

I heard that orange scuds were the ticket. When I got on the water I realized I actually didn’t have any so I had to make-do with gold ribbed hares ears. Lucky for me, the fish didn’t seem to care what I had tied on.

Bil

an 18″er is a dandy…..nice job

truth be told, that little strech from bridge to bridge is one of my top 3 favorite spots to fish in the whole SE MN…….i just think those orange rocks are the coolest (even though you know they must be crawling with rattlers)…….and the fishin is almost always excelent

The Whitwater streams are getting a good scouring right now. They needed it!

How do you catch 50 fish on a short winter day? Were you using worms? Shocking the water?

I have been fly fishing the area for many years, and this is my first year of winter fishing… A good day for me is 1 trout on a winter day… What am I doing wrong?

Friday Afternoon – Hay creek. Beautiful afternoon, exciting strikes, no nets.

Saturday 7a-5p WhiteWater in the Park. 15 or so for the day…

Sunday 7a-3p East Beaver in the Park. Upstream to the spring. 25+ brownies and 4+ brookies… Best day todate for me! The warm weather washed away the afternoon though… snow will be gone soon enough…

This coming Sunday – The Rush. I can hardly wait!

Some pics of the past weekend up here
-Bigbirdtommy. Longtime lurker… new poster.

Bead head Pheasant Tails dropped 18″ off of a big puffy dry.
Upstream casts, slow retrieve slightly faster than the flow… Rinse and repeat.

Get the net…

welcome to the site superlung and bbtommy……we can always use a couple more trout fisherman hanging around here

i don’t think i’ve ever had a 50 fish day durning the winter months either, but i have had a few 20-30 fish days for sure……..i think the best way to have good succes during the winter season to think warm, slow, and small…….i’m by no means an expert, but i have always had my best winter days when temps get above freezing……the trout just seem to be more active.

my best producers are small beadhead pheasant tail nymphs and/or a prince nymph…..i’ve heard scuds work good, but i’ve never had great succes with them (maybe it’s because i’m tying them wrong )…..fish the deep holes and make sure to get your fly down to the fish. add weight if needed.

those are just my tips…..hopefully some of the more proffesional fly guys will chime in on this one.

I’m not in a position to question how many fish you actually caught; however, the weather was certainly pretty good for the trout to be active (50 does seem like quite a few in the winter months). Anyway, good for you.

Most anglers who catch a bunch of fish have the conditions and patterns fall right into place. Specifically, if you are fishing dries and the hatch is strong and the trout are willingly taking your fly, then 50 or more is not out of the question. Steady hatches other than midges will pick up later this month into early next month with the arrival of BWO’s and Dark Hendricksons (if you know where to find them) followed by caddis.

This time of year, I’d use yellow/amber colored scuds or the Pink Squirrel and trail it with either a small PT (to imitate baetis) or a midge of some kind. You really have to get your fly down (all the way down) if you are using scuds. They are bottom dwellers by nature and never “hatch,” so weight is a key element. I know some are big fans of Hare’s Ears, yet I haven’t really had too much luck using them this time of year. Once the water warms up a bit and things settle down, then I go them more.

Thanks for the warm welcome, Jake. It is much appreciated.

I have had similar experience with Scuds. I have had many, many takes on them and very few nettings. Seems tricky to set, maybe just my trigger finger though. I veer towards the dry fly and BH dropper though… Maybe Scuds all the way down is the key, different take or some such…

Anyone have plans for wisc opener this weekend?

Anyone have favorites beyond the Rush and Kinni? I personally had an awesome day on the Willow last spring. Landed Brownies,Brookies(many of em), a couple of bows, smallmouth, crappie, bluegill, and a chubb. all in like .5 mile run of the willow. Was a trippy outing indeed. Seven species was a bit odd. A buddy of mine hit it later that spring and got bupkiss. How it goes….

Sleep, she calls…

Tight lines all!

I made it out friday and fished a stream south of Rushford. I caught 24 fish total in about 1 1/2hours. I was using a 1/8 ounce black and gold spinner. I did manage to land a beautiful 19 1/4″ male brown at the last hole before I was done. I fished the last part of the day right before sundown. And also I have had many 50 plus fish days in the winter time. It is all in where you fish and how you go about it. Just remember to stay low when coming up on a hole that you know that holds fish or they will see you and NOT bite. GOOD LUCK!