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Minnesota Fly Fishing Reports

Minnesota fly fishing reports for all types of fly fishing in Minnesota. Please provide some helpful information about your trip to the waters so others might enjoy the same fly fishing outings. Do not provide exact detail information on specific spots about the waters you fished. The best reports are the ones that let others learn from your experiences.  Please use the Minnesota Fly Fishing Forums to post fly fishing questions. That way we can have fly fishing reports only here.  Minnesota Fly Fishing Reports has moved to a new forum. Minnesota Fly Fishing.
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  Minnesota Fly Fishing Reports  Southeast : Bluff Country  Gibben Creek...
 Gibben Creek
 
 5/21/2007 11:02:23 PM
psyfisher
22 posts


Gibben Creek
 (N/A)
I went out for my first attempt at fly fishing for trout this Saturday in a little spring fed creek called Gibben creek that feeds the Root river south of Whalen.  The first spot I stopped to park at had a mid sized pool that housed about fourty brown trout, including at least a dozen over twelve inches, and one large one that looked like it could have gone 18 (judging from his size relative to the 12 I caught).  Caught my first trout on a olive wooly bugger, a 9 inch brown, and then caught a 13 inch brown who gave up quite a little fight on a number 14 stretch tube worm (larvae imitation), and later another 9 incher on a 12 stretch tube worm.  This was over the course of about seven hours spent in the same spot trying to get the trout to bite.  They were rising to the surface to take what looked like brown caddis flies, but I couldn't coax a bite off any of the dries I threw at them, possibly due to my poor technique as I'm self taught, and still trying to figure things out.  Also all my flies I tied myself so there were some technical errors to be adressed as well as many snags, snarls and problems with line, but I rate this experience somewhere in my top twenty coolest things ever list.  I have some questions for more experienced fishermen.  First should I have moved out of the spot when it didn't produce even though I could see the trout, (and eventualy watch them feeding)?  Second is this a typical experience of seeing trout and not being able to coax more than the occasional interest or is there a magic fly that matches what they are eating closely enough that once I find it, they will start hitting like wildfire.  Third, I found that they tended to follow my fly, but veer off at the last second, is this a fault of my flies or my presentation, or my fly selection? 

Justin Swain
 5/22/2007 11:15:39 AM
Northhike
22 posts


Re: Gibben Creek
 (United States)

I am by no means an expert fly fisherman (this is year 4 for me), but what I can share is my experience with dry flies.  My first year of fly fishing was quite fustrating......I caught more trees, grass and flowers then trout. 

Presentation is as immportant as the fly itself......case in point:

This week I was fishing near Caledonia (SE Minnesota) and there was an evening blue wing olive hatch.  I threw my BWO over and over with no luck and then I remembered reading in one of my trout books about watching the activity closley.  I stopped fishing and sat on the bank trying to figure it out.  What I saw was BWO's "bouncing" off the water.  I changed to a lighter tippet (6x) and let the fly drift then instead of picking it off the water for the next cast I bounced it and viola!  Fish!  Also look close at where the fish are taking the flies.  For example.....somtimes the hatch is cominng off near the shoreline not in the middle.

The beauty of dry fly fishing is spending time reading the water, the fish and the bugs or lackthereof and trying to come up with the right game plan.  My enjoyment comes from figuring it out not necessarily from the amount of fish I catch. 

Slow down and have fun and don't be afraid to try different techniques.  There is not one technique that works all the time.  Its a live and learn when it comes to fly fishing.

 

Goood Luck!
 5/22/2007 5:52:29 PM
Tacklebill
13 posts


Re: Gibben Creek
 (N/A)
Books have been written in attempt to answer your questions.  I'll try to keep it shorter than that.  Q. #1  Should I stay or should I go?  Reminds me of an afternoon I spent on East Beaver Creek last season.  Three hours trying to coax a bite out of a pod of trout.  My instinct is to spend some time methodically working active fish, but don't let yourself get married to one hole.  Chances are there's another one just upstream.  Pools and slower water can be notoriously difficult to fish.  I generally try to stick to riffles and runs where a faster current hides many, many flaws in presentation, fly choice, tippet thickness and so on.  Even after fly fishing for 10+ years, catching fish on a dry out of a pool is an accomplishment for me. 

Q#2  What fly should I throw.  To elaborate on Northike's great suggestions, taking 10 minutes to watch the stream is invaluable time spent on the water.  It's the "smoke 'em if you got 'em" approach.  Have a snack, a drink of water, a frosty cold one if you're so blessed, but while doing so check out what's happening.  Sometimes trout feed on one particular phase of a hatch, ie emergers, adults, spinners.  Sometimes they feed on one insect, while it appears another one is abundant.  It takes a keen eye and a measure of patience to decode what's going on in such situations.  Don't give up or get (too) frustrated when you can't get the fish to bite.  It happens to everyone. 

Q#3  Looks but no takes.   First thought, the fish are leader shy.  When this happens again try going down an 'X' in your tippet.  Could have been some kind of drag on the drift.  Line control is everything.  Mending and keeping slack line off the water is crucial to a dead-drift presentation.  If this was your first trip I imagine it was difficult to manage the line and watch the fly and all (trust me, I've been there) but with some practice, it will become second nature.  It could have something to do with the fly itself. Subtle difference in size or color could have turned the fish off.  Next time try to catch one of the critters you think the fish are eating and compare it to what's tied on the end of your line or in your box.  Again, fishing riffles and faster runs could give you some cover against all of these problems, as fish don't have as long to look at the fly.  They either have to eat it or let a meal float down stream.  Especially while learning the ins and outs of the sport, i suggest concentrating on faster water.  True there aren't as many 18" monsters in riffles, but it will help you hone your craft while still catching fish.

And way to go, dude! First trip and you caught fish. That's definetly high-five worthy. Wish I could say the same.  I was baffled and largely fishless the first few years I fly fished.  Many years later I'm only somewhat less baffled and catch a just a few more fish.  But it's still about the most fun you can have with your clothes on, if you catch my drift.
 5/22/2007 11:35:20 PM
psyfisher
22 posts


Re: Gibben Creek
 (N/A)
Hey Thanks alot for the advice, it will be utilized I promise.  I've read books on the subject but they can't respond to specific questions as well as actual people who do this so I really appreciate the help.  Thanks for the high five, I was pretty proud of myself, and really taken aback by the experience.  Trout live in some of the most beautiful places in the world, and they are some of the coolest fish I've ever had the pleasure to catch (and gently release).  There is no question in my mind that this is one of the most enjoyable forms of fishing, despite the occasional nightmares with the line.  I'm glad I took up fly fishing at 31, or I wouldn't have been patient enough for it.   After I caught the first fish, the pressure was off and I was able to relax and enjoy the experience.  Listening to the sound of the rushing water, standing on the shore looking into that crystal clear pool filled with trout is something I will remember forever.

Justin Swain
 5/23/2007 2:09:53 PM
Northhike
22 posts


Re: Gibben Creek
 (United States)

I took took up fly fishing later in life (when I was 38).  I have been trout fishing for 14+ years, but nearly all  of it  with a spinning reel and worm.  I had tons of fun over the years and I consistently caught fish in the 12" + category.  That was lots of fun, but I was ready for a challenge.  At 38years old I tried to fly fish, but got  fustrated watching my buddies reel in the bigger trout while I untangled my line. 

Now at 41 years old I have found my rhythm and now the fun is not in catching "lots" of big fish (the destination), but in the journey itself.  I take the time to stop now and take in the beauty of the place and moment I am in.  

I won't lie to you......my buddies can still  reel in the bigger fish with bait (overall), but they always end up watching me....intrigued by the art of fly fishing.  In fact, there have been many tiimes that no trout would even look at their worm so they sat on the bank and watched while I was having a blast reeling in one after another as a hatch  was coming off a riffle.  Gotta love those pay back moments!  LOL!

 
 7/30/2007 9:19:06 PM
psyfisher
22 posts


Re: Gibben Creek
 (United States)
Just had to go ahead and update my post here, and let everyone know my first seasons progress.  I've made several trips to Gribben Creek, and had much more success than that first trip.  Over the course of this summer I've had a few good days, though the most I've managed to catch in one day is seven Browns, ranging from 6 to 13 inches.  This weekend I managed to get down there for the entire weekend with the wife to do some camping, canoeing, and of course some fly fishing.  The first day the water was quite cloudy, and despite getting a very early start, I had bad luck for most of the morning (do they still call it luck in fly fishing?  Maybe I had bad skill for the first part of the day), but was running a prince nymph over that same pool I fished that first day and was nailed by a 13 incher.  I came back that evening and took four smallish trout off 18 BWO irresistables tied without wings.  The next day I skipped the mourning and went canoeing with the wife on the root instead, but that evening came back and tried my luck (or skill).  The stream had miraculously cleared to about twice the visability, but suprisingly I wasn't seeing alot of rises, so I started off with Princes, and took a couple of small browns before moving back to that hole that had so dumbfounded me my first day.  Just like my first day that seems so long ago, you could see trout holding in the water, but unlike the rest of the stream, the trout here were rising.  Most of them were small, but one was much larger than the rest, holding near a deep dropoff in fairly still clear water.  I moved in through the brush from the opposite bank, moving slowly and as quietly as I could manage.  I froze just past the tall grass I had snuck through, and very quietly and calmly tied on a 6x tippet, and a 18 BWO irresistable (once again the ones without wings).  My first cast fell just short of the spot he was holding on, but it did illicit a bit of a head nod before he moved back into his original position.  My second cast lead him by about a foot and a half, and this time he didn't hesitate, he just rushed headlong after my fly and hit it hard.  I set the hook, and played him out quickly and he ended up being a nice 12 incher.  That might not seem big to more experienced fishermen, but for me it was quite the thrill, perhaps because of Taklebill's observation that taking a trout on a dry fly out of a pool is an accomplishment after 10+ years fly fishing. 

So here is the fishing report part of my post
Site: Gribben Creek just south of Whalen
Flies that worked:  BWO irresistable tied without wings (I had both ones with wings, and ones without, and I ended up tearing the wings off a couple because I ran out of the ones without.  I have no idea why, probably because of the way they were sitting in the water, but the ones with just the hackle and no wing completely outfished the ones with wings both days with 6 browns taken off the ones without wings, and rising trout completely ignoring the ones with wings.  According to the book I have based my early fishing off of, that shouldn't happen so maybe it was just coincidence but if your down around that area, might try BWO's without wings.)
Bead Head Prince Nymphs sizes 14 and 16
Bead Head Rubber Legged Hares Ear nymphs sizes 12-16
(I suppose if those two are producing, many other general attractor patterns also might work, but in general I find Prince Nymphs to be very effective on Gribben Creek)
Flies that didn't work:  Pheasant Tail Nymphs, Mickey Finn, March Brown. 
Fish Taken (and gently released):  2 twelve inches or larger, 8 smaller than twelve.

Would love to hear from anyone else who fishes Gribben Creek, or in the Lanesboro area.

Justin
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