I spent the last couple days trout fishing between Minnesota and Iowa. It was my first time trout fishing in SE MN. Here's the trout fishing report.
My friends and I spent time between Garvin Brook, Pickwick, and the Root on Sunday. A #14 copper john seemed to be the ticket most of the day, but it had to get to the bottom. I caught one fish by hopping a clouser by an undercut bank. It was awesome watching him come out from the undercut and hit the streamer.
The Root River was fun. Though not a big river by most standards, it's bigger water than what I'm used to. I fished a big streamer through about 3/4 mile of water because I knew it had potential for a big fish. My fishing buddies did well tossing nymph rigs, but I only put one fish in the net. A couple fish came unbuttoned, including one that was NOT small. He gave me a glimpse after exploding on a streamer next to the bank. There were some really pretty logjams in that section. I'll definitely fish it again.
The next day we trekked down to Waterloo Creek. I hadn't been up to check it out since the floods last month. One of my favorite holes was reduced to a trickle where the stream redirected, but the flood also created one of the prettiest pools I've seen in that portion. It was beautiful, deep blue water that could hold a big fish.
Joel and I found a spot with deep water and a slow current. Fish were rising occasionally. I tied on a hopper with a #14 copper john dropper about three feet below. We hammered them for 30 minutes, catching a mix of rainbow and brook trout. Most fish were on the nymph, but I did pick up a few on the hopper. It's one of my favorite ways to catch fish.
Since you can't eat on an empty stomach, we had to stop for lunch at The Sportsmen Motel. It's an unimpressive structure on the side of a bluff. The place oozes with character. When you look at the menu, you scratch your head and wonder if they accidentally gave you one from 1985. $3.25 for a cheeseburger? I had the onion rings for the first time and was not disappointed.
After lunch we went after it for a couple more hours with limited success before we called it a day and hit the road. It was good to see some new scenery. I look forward to getting back up to the Root River and chasing big browns.
