Drugs, Farting Cows and Brown Trout

**68guns** · 06-26-2012, 03:26 PM

Having done 99% of my trout fishing in the mountain west, the midwest trout fishing experience comes with some unique challenges. For starters/ there is a good chance(in MN) that you will be sharing the real estate with cows..

(These guys strolled over by where i was casting and let one rip.) Cattle can happen in the West(BLM land)however it is something that is new to me. Also MN streams are much more silt ridden than the mountains(steeper gradient). Because of this you cannot proceed up the stream casting a fly. You cast mostly from bank.

This trip took me back to the Driftless Region of SE Minnesota. My normal M.O. is to research an obscure, out of the way stream so that I would not run into any other humans. This trip was no different. On the water at 8:30am under cloudy skies I began casting my favorite two flies in a dry(EHC) dropper (partridge/teal soft hackle) rig. Nothing happening on top but the browns were stirring under the surface.

Most of this stream run through pasture land

surrounded by tall grass and the like...as in opium.

Don't tell anyone but I think this farmer has the U.S market on opium cornered.

One by one i began picking off brownies in the 9-14" range.

Another unique feature of fishing pasture land is the flies. NOT the one I was casting either. They annoyed me all day. Fishing farmland has a Rockwellian painting feel to it. The last fish of the day turned out to be the biggest brook trout I have ever caught..around 12"

Ending the day with 20+ fish caught in a new setting was more than a satisfying day for me. Thank you Minnesota!
God's handiwork!

**Zanko** · 06-26-2012, 07:41 PM

Great report... I spent a lot of time up in Minnesota, so much water up there. When most people think of water in MN they think of the land of 10,000 lakes and not the streams.

**Ernest** · 06-27-2012, 11:25 AM

One advantage to fishing with the cows is that they eat the wild parsnips, an invasive that in some respects is worse than poison ivy.

The Driftless Area of SE Minnesota, SW Wisconsin, and NE Iowa has a lot of small streams, and many of them are full of wild trout. Glad you found some fish.

Next trip to the area I’d suggest a Northern Driftless area just east of the Cities, or a northwoods trip to forested freestone streams. These are different, no further to drive from Minneapolis, and sometimes the fishing is as good or better.

**68guns** · 06-27-2012, 08:47 PM

Freestone streams in Minnesota? Wow...i'm into that. Ernest the reason i don't fish Wisconsin is because the non resident license is much more than Minnesota. Heading back up there in the morning. My brother is going to drive over from Mankato so we will prolly hit the South Branch of the Root River this time. He's not really a flyrod guy so I need to fish some where with some wide open spaces. Thanks for all your info.

**Ernest** · 06-28-2012, 05:30 AM

The Minnesota freestone streams I fished are NE of Duluth, and I can't recommend those now. The area hasn't recovered from a flood last week. It will take some time for things to settle down.

If your brother is coming from Mankato, the Root River is a good one. The Twin Cities trout fishermen I know all invest in the Wisconsin non-resident license because of the good fishing just over the border, within an hour of St. Paul. They more than make up the price in saved time and travel costs.

Last Saturday I fished a forest freestone stream a little further out in Wisconsin and caught eleven trout in the first pool. I don't know how many I caught altogether, but it was plenty. No big fish though; in the past I've caught browns to 22" in this stream, and lost some bigger ones.

**Ernest** · 06-28-2012, 05:32 AM

The Minnesota freestone streams I fished are NE of Duluth, and I can't recommend those now. The area hasn't recovered from a flood last week. It will take some time for things to settle down.

If your brother is coming from Mankato, the Root River is a good one. The Twin Cities trout fishermen I know all invest in the Wisconsin non-resident license because of the good fishing just over the border, within an hour of St. Paul. They more than make up the price in saved time and travel costs.

Last Saturday I fished a forest freestone stream a little further out in Wisconsin and caught eleven trout in the first pool. I don't know how many I caught altogether, but it was plenty. No big fish though; in the past I've caught browns to 22" in this stream, and lost some bigger ones.