March 30 

Trout fishing preview

Spring Caddis Hatch SE Minnesota

by Joyce Kolbet, SSND

News was out! There were daily insect hatches on one of our favorite trout streams in the Driftless Area of SE Minnesota. I called my nephew, Kyle, who lives and works in Rochester to see if he had time to head down to the stream with me. “Sure! Meet me at my house and we’ll drive down together.”

It was about 11 AM when Kyle and I arrived at our spot. A couple other vehicles came at about the same time. In the pool nearest the road we noticed the trout already setting up or “staging” for their feeding lanes in the stream, i.e. larger trout chasing away the smaller ones so they would be in the best positions to feed.

Hurriedly Kyle and I assembled our fly rods, put on our chest waders, boots and fly vests in order to claim our favorite spot on the stream. More anglers were arriving now, also vying for their casting positions on the stream. Guess you could say we were “staging” too! The annual caddis fly hatch was about to begin.

Off we walked to a favorite pool about ½ mile upstream where we knew there were lots of large brown trout. We were the first ones to arrive, so we set ourselves up at the foot of the pool so no one else could infringe on our spot.

As always, the challenge of trout fishing is to match the hatch, i.e. find the appropriate fly that will match what is hatching on the water, which, on this particular day was a size 18 gray caddis.

Gradually as the insects starting rising to the surface, so did the trout, and the hatch was on! Kyle and I stood in water up to our waist, casting to unsuspecting fish that were so focused on these caddis flies they barely noticed our presence in their pool.

One cast after another yielded a catch of brown trout…anywhere from 9-16 inches…trout after trout. Kyle caught the first fish and started counting. He proudly caught the second one too. Then it was my turn. After that, we alternated for the most part, catching and carefully releasing each fish, thanking each of these beautiful creatures for giving us such joy.

About an hour and a half later there was a second hatch – this time of blue-winged olive mayflies, also size 18. So, we changed flies and once again were into the trout.  

As the insects emerge from the water, they immediately look for a place to land. At one point Kyle looked at me and exclaimed, “Joyce, you’re covered with bugs!” And I was, but so was he! They were on our clothes, crawling across our polarized sunglasses and clinging to the grass and rocks along the riverbank. It was a sight to behold!

After about 70 trout, we stopped counting and just enjoyed catching and releasing fish. From every direction, upstream or downstream, heads of trout were breaking the surface to capture these minuscule insects. It was truly an amazing sight!

 

Kyle and I cast and caught fish until our arms ached. It was a day like no other I had ever experienced on the water. Some anglers say you’re lucky to get one day like that in a lifetime!

We were among the last to leave the stream that day. As we walked back to the car and packed up to leave, I recalled a scene from the movie, A River Runs Through It. The father (who was a minister) and his two sons are displaying all their trout on the grass. With pride, the father says, “God was very good to us today.” Then he took the biggest catch of the day from his creel and added, “And God was particularly good to me!!”

 
 

November 3

Iowa pheasant opener recap-Minnesota and Iowa Rut Outlook-Fall Fishing Report

Iowa pheasant opener recap:

North Iowa received two inches of rain the week prior to the weekend pheasant opener.  This made for wet and muddy conditions and tough hunting with lots of crops remaining unharvested due to poor field conditions.  The large, unpicked corn fields create an ideal sanctuary for pheasants to feed and elude hunters.  We did have some success both on private and public land hunting the edges and transitions from grass cover to the crop fields.  Pheasant numbers were very encouraging.  Once the crops are harvested late season hunts show promise.-KK




Hunt #9 October 30

Temp 43F Wind SSE 4 mph Barometric Pressure 30.23 (falling) Moon Waning Crescent

I went back to the Oak Ridge stand in hopes to see some of the same bucks that I saw a week prior and detailed in Hunt #7.  I also wanted to see if the "spooky doe" would come back into the food plot and present me with an opportunity.  Early in the hunt, a group of turkeys fed in the woods immediately behind me.  The initial sound of rustling leaves and sticks breaking made me think that a big buck was working his way towards my stand.  At about 5:30 pm I happened to glance toward the edge of the woods where I expected deer to enter the field.  My eyes were met with a second pair of eyes starring right at me! The "spooky doe" was back and had spotted me in the stand again.  I stood motionless in the stand, hoping she would not ruin my hunt again.  She remained calm, and proceeded on the trail to my food plot.  When she stepped behind a tree, I drew my Mathews bow back and waited for her to present a shot.  At 17 yards I released an arrow tipped with a Rage broadhead which found its mark just behind the front shoulder.  The "spooky doe" was down within sight of the stand. I finished the hunt and saw two more anterless deer and a nice tall 8 point buck a half-hour before end of legal shooting on the opposite side of the overgrown pasture.  A great night on stand and I feel fortunate to harvest a nice mature doe for the freezer.-KK

Minnesota and Iowa Rut Outlook:

The Minnesota firearm season opens this Saturday.  I have purchased a gun tag and will likely hunt the first two days of the season with a gun.  I am vehemently against a gun season during the "seeking" phase of the rut (a topic for another day), but with limited time and an Iowa tag also to pursue I will be joining the orange army.  This Saturday also marks the first day of my annual "Rutcation".  I have tried to take a week of vacation time to hunt the rut since my last year in college.  This is an exciting time to be in the woods and something I look forward to every year.  I will be spending most of my time in Iowa trying to fill my Iowa archery tag.  I just recently received permission to hunt a very nice piece of private land that I had hunted for shed antlers 2 years ago.  I will be hunting this property with zero prior scouting and minimal knowledge of the land layout, so it will be an exciting challenge to put a plan together on a new piece of property.-KK

The rut can be brutal. Local wildlife technician Andy, found this dead buck on public land with his eye gouged out.  A life-ending traumatic injury suffered in a fight for dominance.



Fall Fishing Report:


Fly fishing for trout in Northern Iowa:
The water was high and slightly stained from recent rains.  Fish were not in the usual runs, but holding in slower water against the bank.  Smaller nymphs were totally ineffective so we started using zonkers and wooly buggers with a jerk retrieve that stimulated strikes.
Flies were never struck on a down stream retrieve but when stripped across or up stream.
Landed 15 rainbows in the 11-13" range.-JK