I have some questions on Whitewater River. I am a fly fishermen and my fiancee and I go to school at Minnesota State University Mankato. I was wondering if anyone can give me the low down on some good spots. Directions, distance from Mankato, flies to use etc.....if any bright minds can help me out it would be most appreciated. Thanks alot.
Good Luck and Good Fishing!
Hi clu_82 and welcome!
When will you be fishing the Whitewater system? A buddy and I have been going to Whitewater state park for the past 5 years for our annually fly fishing trip. We usually go during the first few weeks of May. I have been there on other months as well. The best patterns I have used are:
For dries I would use a Caddis imitation. For nymph fishing I would go with a caddis larvae imitation, as well as a orange, green scud. I would say more than half of my fishing in the Whitewater system would be using a caddis larvae imitation, that is my go to fly. All streams have them and the trout scarf them up.
Here is the link to the park infomation. I think you need a park sticker if you want to park in the park itself. The fly fishing right in the park is not bad in itself. In the summer months its still decent, so I would imagine that its much more peaceful this time of the year with less crowds.
The middle branch is a nice easy part of the river to fish. You can get good access from the campground itself from the parking lot at the Group Campground area. Another easy section is from the bridge just east of Elba, lots of wide open areas there. But there are numerous access points to all the branches of the Whitewater, just have to dig out the map.
As for driving info, goto yahoo maps and search for Elba Minnesota.
