September 28, 2024

I got to spend the morning with Dave from Wisconsin, via Ohio, on one of my favorite streams in southeast Minnesota. Conditions were a bit weird - murky, but fishable water. Turns out, that stretch can shit canned last weekend by a renegade cell front that absolutely creamed the vally: debris everywhere, flattened vegetation, the works. We picked a good window to be there with clearing conditions. Nymphing was outstanding. We had 10 fish caught and released in the first hour. Fishing was steady from then on out, but with high sun and high temperatures, we were done by noon. We are in the last two weeks of the season, so if you want to squeeze in one last outing, the window is there but is shrinking day by day.

September 15, 2024

It's catch and release from here on out. I fished with long time friend and fly fishing buddy, Charlie, from 10-3 on Sunday with good success until it just got too plain hot for the fish to be interested in flies.

Dry and dropper was solid throughout. I did a bunch of nymphing early on and switched to dry dropper by the noon hour as the fish were very receptive to both. Water levels have come down significantly since this summer's deluge of rain and off-colored conditions. They are typical fall "low" right now. Nothing shocking there.

Once we got into the noon hour, one o'clock range, action slowed significantly. I knew it was going to be warm, but didn't think it would be 88 degrees by the time we quit at 3:00. It's also deceptive when you spend the whole morning outside, wet wading, and the temps rise. The cool water helps the body keep temperate just enough.

July 7, 2024:

I haven't been out solo in the southeast in some time - vacation, guiding, and the ever present rainfall have been in the way. I saw three different streams today in three different watersheds. Varying degrees of clarity, for sure, but for the most part, it was filthy and not fishable, at least not for a few more days.

When I did stop and decided to give it a go, nothing was a disappointment, other than the hallacious gnats that were present at all times, even with a windy day.

I started with a mini leech and stuck with it for most of the day. The off-colored water was too inviting not to toss a streamer. Fish were all over it from the first cast. While I didn't stick every fish that chased, streamer fishing offers such a visual of what inhabits the stream you're on. I caught enough to keep things interesting, including enough brook trout to keep me fishing the streamer.

I eventually switched up to a pair of bright colored nymphs for some of the deeper pool structure I fished. Same as the streamer, they were very interested in well-placed flies.

I am out of available weekends in July. Weekdays are still an option. Hit me up if you want to plan your next Driftless outing.

July 1, 2024:

Chris and his son Jacob from Sioux Falls spent the early morning through the noon hour with me on a fantastic piece of water in the MN Driftless. Jacob's first fly fishing outing was a smashing success - over 20 trout caught and released, along with his dad who was north of 20 browns caught and released.

There was nothing complicated today in how we fished: tandem nymph rig, split shot, indicator, and cover some ground.

I've been fortunate over my guiding career to have taken many father/son and father/daughter outings. It's a privilege to be a part of such a special day, a memorable day for all involved to share something as simple as fooling a trout with a fly (that I probably tied). The smiles, the laughter, the memories are all worth it in the end.

June 9, 2024:

I spent the morning on the water with Callaway, a great dude that I have fished with several times before. We did two cars point A to point B, no roads, no people, no trails, but lots of unpestered trout.

Nymphing was the key to our success most of the morning. We dabbled with dry and dropper later in the morning and picked up a few on the dropper - not much interest in the dry.

Water conditions are all over the map. I was south of 90, so I can't speak for the northern half of the MN Driftless. The Root was high and dirty. It's clearing each day, but it's tough going right now. Small tributaries are not in bad shape at all. The stream we fished today was clear and could actually use some big water to flush it out more.

May 18, 2024

Paul and I got an early start Saturday morning, lining up two rigs to do my favorite two car walk/fish. We were on fish at the first hole, using standard tandem nymph set ups.

We tried to run some dry dropper through faster, smaller, pocket water to entice a fish or two, but that was met with limited success today. We did see a smattering of small tan caddis, but there was not much for consistent rising.

During our outing, we just happened to see a morel or two, so we gladly foraged a bit. It wasn't until we were less than a 100 yards from the road and our exit point that we stumbled upon a stretch of them, so the Fishpond net, that I am still getting used to wearing, came in handy as our mushroom holder.

It was a great day on the water. Paul and I have been out several times over the years, and he's a great dude with a wealth of knowledge and stories about hunting and the outdoors, so there was never a dull moment. He caught more fish than I can count, which is kind of the point to getting out on the water: enjoy yourself and take it all in.

The streams are in the best shape they have been in, in a long while. Flows and clarity are good, and there are lots of fish in the streams and rivers right now. This is a great time of year to be on the water.

May 6, 2024

I spent the day on the water with clients Andrew and Phil. We did a point A to point B walk and saw no other anglers the entire day. If anglers have the ability to put in some distance, it not only gets you away from almost all of the crowd, but it also puts you on trout that do not routinely get pestered by other anglers.

The going was slow with the cool morning, but things picked up as the temps rose.

We picked up fish on nymphs, emergers, cripples, and dries throughout the day.

The recent rains have helped elevate some pitiful stream levels, but we can still use more to flush out some silt and green from the past few seasons.

April 21, 2024

With last week's harvest opener in the rear view, the 70 plus degree weather also went with it.

I fished all morning with fishing buddy Charlie. It was a cool start to the day, but sunny skies and clean water awaited. We pulled into a remote spot to find a truck already parked. Our fears of having to fish behind someone where quickly dispelled as two turkey hunters emerged from an unsuccessful morning hunt.

We both rigged up different nymph rig set up. I opted for a scud and a trailer, and killed it on the scud all day. The trailer, however, was a fly that I changed up periodically throughout the day, especially when different bugs began to appear. First, it was some small tan caddis, then some gray #16 mayflies.

We nymphed our way up the river, catching fish where they should be, and coming up blanks in some areas where they should be. Water levels are at least a good six inches short of what I'd like them to be, so many trout are podded up in pools and not yet in the pocket water areas.

I sported a sun hoodie for the first time, as I've had bouts with pre-cancerous sun spots from years of being on the water without necessary sun protection. I admit that I wasn't excited about wearing a hoodie all day, but I give it a thumbs up for those looking for sun protection. It's lightweight and easy to get used to.

There are plenty of trout out there right now. Years of dry spring and summers (note: no big flooding) has created some big trout numbers right now. I have availability if you're looking to get out. Drop me a line and let's get it on the books.

March 29, 2024

Good Friday was as good as advertised when it came to a day on the water. I was on the first stream on the day by 9:30 with sunny skies, brisk east wind, and temperatures hovering around the freezing mark. Despite that, fish were on nymphs, and it didn't take long to start catching an array of rainbows and browns.

After an hour and a good start to the day, I drove a few valleys, checking on streams: all were clean and low, and no significant snow pack remained other than the east facing slopes.

I stuck to the tandem rig set up for most of the morning, doing well in pools, riffles, and anything that had enough depth to hold fish.

I caught and released a ton of fish today, to the point that I didn't bother to get my camera out for a bulk of the day, just to soak in the moment and enjoy the day.

Around noon, a few BWO's showed up, so I went with a dry cripple as the lead fly and a small dark, soft hackled emerger as a trailer. Both did equally well, and some quality fish came up to take the dry.

I was a brook trout short for the Driftless trifecta, so I hit an obscure brook trout stream on my way home and managed a few in about ten casts.

It was, without question, an awesome day on the water. Sunshine (mostly), clean water, and hungry fish...not much to complain about.

February 25, 2024

It didn't take long after looking at the forecast to pencil in Sunday as an ideal day to phone a friend and get out for a day in the southeast Mn Driftless. I hadn't fly fished with longtime childhood friend,Troy, in ages. Life, family, and other commitments had prevented us from convening in the southeast for a day on the water.

We rigged up and started fishing by 9:00 with midges already all around. Water is clean, and I mean damn clean, all over. Low, too. It's a broken record from me about lack of precipitation and the effects it has had on the southeast Driftless, as well as the rest of the state.

We got on fish right away. Nothing complicated about our set ups: two nymphs with the latter being a midge trailer.

The pool structures on streams are loaded with fish, and I mean loaded. We fished several pool structures with enough current to not spook every fish in the river with great success. Flat pools with high sun were a challenge: make a good first cast because that might be your only shot at hooking up.

The weather looks good Monday and Tuesday with a snowfall predicted thereafter (good). We need precipitation, and lots of it, right now. After the Arctic blast, things look better again by the weekend.

January 28, 2024

The exceptional January weather continues in southeast MN, and today marked my first outing of 2024. I did nothing complicated: tandem nymph rigging with a midge trailer, no indicator, and some split shot. I covered a mile and a half in three hours, so hitting and running was the MO. No one else was out on the stretch I hit, and there were no boot prints, either. I suspect that will change in the foreseeable future with nice weather and minimal snow pack.