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White Water River

8/30/2008 10:07:11 PM

jwscott

3 posts

White Water River
(N/A)

My first time writing in this site but just wanted to mention I fished the White Water River twice this week and had some success. I fished on Wednesday ahead of the rain and did quite well on rainbows in the middle branch . It seemed in this particular pool it didn't matter to much what I used . I caught ten nice rainbows using a purple flash woolybugger,flashback pheasant tail and almost anything seemed to work. In the past fishing near the same area I have managed to maybe catch a small brown or two but have never had that kind of success. I went back on Friday and caught a few more but the water was a bit cloudy and I had to share the pool with some other people fishing with spincast equipment. I have never kept a fish but wonder how many of those rainbows will be left. I drove by on Saturday morning and saw three vehicles parked there. Most of the people I saw fishing on the weekend were bait fishing. I struggle a bit with the concept myself.

9/1/2008 12:30:55 AM

daniel

28 posts

Re: White Water River
(United States)

Welcome. Sounds like you got into some freshly stocked fish? ?? I know they stock the middle branch quite heavily since it runs through the park. I fished the all three branches the last time i was down there and couldnt find one raibow in the middle branch. I did end up catching four browns in about a hour and a half. One decent brown and 3 that were about 6 inches.

9/1/2008 2:03:56 AM

jwscott

3 posts

Re: White Water River
(N/A)

Thanks for the reply and welcome. I actually fished north of the park where the north branch meets the middle branch. The fish came out of a deep pool and were 12 to 14 inches. I guess they could have been stocked but because of the size I don't think they were recently. Also I caught fish that had been hooked before and had scars. At any rate it was allot of fun. Each outing gives me a bit more confidence in my ability to find and catch fish. I have only been doing this fly fishing thing for a few years and most of my fishing has been in stream trout lakes up north.

9/1/2008 8:04:09 AM

Hardrocker

5 posts

Re: White Water River
(N/A)

I am very new to fly fishing and have only fished in the roiling streams of the Beartooth mountains in July (no luck) and Spearfish and Whitewood creeks in the Black Hills (luck). It doesn't make sense for me to drive 500 miles to fish creeks in the Hills if there is good fly fishing in Minnesota, so, this week, my wife and I are going to camp in the Whitewater State Park and try fishing on the rivers and streams in that area.

Will I have any luck fishing near the campgrounds, or are those areas over-fished?

Do I need to go outside the park to find willing participants?

If so, where?

9/1/2008 2:02:37 PM

daniel

28 posts

Re: White Water River
(United States)

ive never fished from the campgrounds going downstream passed the office towards Elba. The first time i ever fished Whitewater was through the park, from the campgrounds upstream passed Trout Run. I do remember us having good luck, but you have to fight through the bait fishers. This section is fished heavily but the DNR stocks it regularly.

If you want some more info email me. dnelson@oaconsulting.com

9/2/2008 4:53:10 PM

psyfisher

28 posts

Re: White Water River
(N/A)

Hardrocker wrote

Will I have any luck fishing near the campgrounds, or are those areas over-fished?

Do I need to go outside the park to find willing participants?

If so, where?

There is tremendous fishing for stream trout in Minnesota, and on a good day it will equal what you get in Sodak. If you live in the metro, the Kinnickinick river in Wisconsin near River Falls is about a 45 minute drive, and on sections boasts 10,000 trout per mile (which is far above what you find in Rapid Creek or any of the Sodak streams I know of). The Root River complex is my favorite for trout inside Minnesota, and its multiple branches and spring fed feeder streams are not only productive but also beautiful. Check out the MN DNR website and you can find a listing of the designated trout streams in the Southeast, with the positions of public easements marked, and the regulations spelled out. Read your maps carefully as every stream has its own set of regulations. The Whitewater is supposedly some of the best water for trout in Minnesota, and for that reason it gets very heavy pressure. Many of the streams both north and south of the Whitewater are just as good and get alot less pressure and don't have to rely on stocking for good numbers of trout. I'd say if you are comming from the metro, just keep heading south another hour and go down to Lanesboro, and camp in one of the multitude of campsites in the area. You can use that as a basecamp for fishing some of the best waters in Minnesota. Start with the Root River, and its various forks and branches, but check out some of the feeders like Wisel creek, or Torkelson Creek as well. Any site with Rainbows means that they are stocked (except for Valley Creek) because they can't naturally reproduce in Minnesota, but the angling opportunities in South East Minnesota maps show which fish are wild, and which are natural. The area of Southeastern Minnesota is known as the Driftless area, and boasts some truley spectacular stream trout fishing. I'm not saying I wouldn't drive 500 miles to fish Sodak and the black hills (I have), but you certainly should not limit your flyfishing to just that.

9/3/2008 11:57:39 AM

TheFlyMaster

530 posts

www.mnflyfishing.com

Re: White Water River
(United States)

Hardrocker when will you be camping there? Myself and some friends will be hooking up at the Whitewater and camping there this coming weekend for some R&R and some fishing. Been going down there for the last 8 years, but usually in the spring. First time in September.

The section through the park gets fished pretty hard, but it is heavily stocked, so there is always some fish to catch. We would fish the campground sections if someone just wanted to go fish for an hour or two in the mornings or early evenings around the campsite. We have always hooked into fish, nothing big, but enjoyable and relaxing. We don't bring all the gear, no waders, vests, fly boxes etc. We usually have a one fly contest, makes things interesting :) We always managed to catch something though, but it was in the spring time.

The section just above the group gathering area (just across the road from the campsite sections) upstream past Trout Run (not the same creek that runs into the Root) to the smaller day use picnic area is a good stretch for some light wading. Once you get to the bridge by the day us picnic area is where you see a lot of bait fisherman. You can also go into the Group Campsite section just further upstream. Nice trails that go past the campsites for some good action. There is some nice blowdown areas that are fun to fish.

I like fishing the upper sections of the North Branch and the Middle. Both have good restrictions like artificial lure only. I believe the Middle has a CR upper section with the artifical rule only.

My group usually use the Whitewater Park as base camp, then head out to upper sections of the WW, Trout Run and some others. I don't do a lot of nymphing on the Brule River in Northern WI, so it's a treat for me to get into some good nymph fishing down there, very fun.

If you and anyone is in the area, swing by the campsite and have beer and talk fly fishing! I'll be driving a black toyota rav-4, there will also be a car with IL plates.

Tight lines!

Captain Ouitdee Carson - Arrowhead Fly Angler
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9/4/2008 8:33:19 AM

Hardrocker

5 posts

Re: White Water River
(N/A)

Thanks for all the good advice. Since my wifey will be going along, we have decided to do the Root River area around Lanesboro -- more to do if you are not into fishing. I will have to try some of the areas in White Water and surroundings on some day trips (from Mankato).

Thanks again, Hardrocker

9/7/2008 10:06:49 PM

chas111

8 posts

Re: White Water River
(N/A)

I am going to be there this Thursday fishing. Are fly only areas marked well? And I think (from reading the online rule guide) that a person can use a single hook rooster tail? However, MOST of the time I fly fish. We go to Montauk State Park in Missouri 3-4 times a year and we stay away from any bait there also.

9/8/2008 1:09:42 PM

chas111

8 posts

Re: White Water River
(United States)

Speaking of fly fishing and adult beverages...I noticed on the MN DNR website that says alcohol is not allowed in state parks? I could use some enlightenment. Not going to party, but would certainly enjoy a cold one around the campfire.

9/9/2008 12:30:24 PM

jacksdada

57 posts

Re: White Water River
(United States)

i don't know anything about the regs for hardware, don't fish em. but as far as adult beverages go, don't worry about it. if ya see the ranger making his rounds just keep it on the dl. i don't think they really enforce it.

9/9/2008 2:51:49 PM

psyfisher

28 posts

Re: White Water River
(N/A)

I've heard of a few cases of them confiscating beer and liquor, but I suspect that they only do this when they are about to throw a party. As far as the regs go, many of the special reg areas are marked, but enough are not that you have to realize its your responsability to know the regs on the body of water you are fishing. The best way is to check out the maps on the MN DNR website. Heres the site http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/fishing/trout_streams/south_mn_maps.html

9/14/2008 9:55:12 PM

chas111

8 posts

Re: White Water River
(N/A)

I found NO fish on Thursday at all in the park. Walked a mile up and down the river in the park and did not see one fish at all. The guy at the c-store in Elba gave me a map to some areas. That was a wild goose chase also. It was a beautiful area but there were no fish to be seen, except for some minnows. Saw some people fishing about 5 miles north of the park on Highway 74. They were fishing with corn and crickets. They had not caught a thing either. I will say that it is a pretty area and I enjoyed camping in MN.

9/15/2008 12:11:06 PM

Barber

1 posts

Re: White Water River
(United States)

Hi folks. I started fly fishing this summer and this is my first post on mnflyfishing.com. I drove down from the Twin Cities to the middle branch of the Whitewater on Friday afternoon. I fished south of Highway 9 and experienced little action. I fished a scud to no avail. I caught and released some small brookies using a prince nymph as the sun was going down.

9/15/2008 7:54:00 PM

jrs

9 posts

Re: White Water River
(N/A)

I think there are still some trout in the Whitewater including in the park. I fished south of the park last week and caught about a dozen in a morning of fishing -- most of them on scuds.

I haven't fished the park itself for several weeks. But last time I fished it, I caught a decent number of fish on a Pink Squirrel trailed by a Flashback Black Wet Fly.

There are other excellent streams in SE MN that probably hold more fish than the WW, but there are still fish to be caught in the middle WW including in the park.

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