First, The rivers are in great shape. Clear, cold and the chance to scare a whole bunch of trout before you even make a cast. Be stealthy.

Morning water temps have ranged from the high 40’s to the low 50’s. The last few mornings have taken a bit of time and temp rise to get the fish going. Activity has picked up some where in th 11 Am period. Mid-day does find a mix of adult bug activity with gray cranes, BWOs and caddis all making an appearance. Fish are active on the surface in some places and not in others. Throwing a dry has produced some fish even in areas where surface feeding activity has not been prevalent. No harm in trying.

Action on streamers, down and across has been hit and miss. The best action has been on a cone head black wolly bugger in size 6 or 8 in the skinny water on the back side of medium speed riffles. The dark bank, slow water where you might think some of the boys are lurking has just not fished as well as I would have thought.

Nymphing in the afternoon has been great. A mix of subsurface staple patterns has all produced. P.tails, Princes, soft hackles and caddis larva have all been taken by the trout in most water types. Be stealthy on your approach, especially in the softer water.

Reports of the grey caddis on both sides of the Mississippi in the southern driftless of region have been good. Maybe a week or two before the get “up nort” here. I will keep you in the loop. They love sunny afternoons just like you and I.

I am on my break day of a 4 day guided trip on the lower Kinni. We are walking and fishing the length of it. If I am slow at responding to emails or orders you know know the reason. I appreciate your patience.

A WHOLE BUNCH OF CRAP CARP

Every year in early April a commercial fishing permit has been issued to net rough fish out of the lower St. Croix at Prescott. I have seen some amazing game and rough fish come out of this netting operation(all the game fish are returned unharmed). The rough fish(mostly common silver carp I think) are penned up and then loaded up for transport to the east coast wher they are consumed as I understand.

Last week I jumped into the pen with at hundreds, maybe thousands of large rough fish and proceeded to try and catch them just to take a few pictures. This was far more difficult than I first had thought. There was no way to just grab these fish by the tail. As soon as they felt the touch of my hand they shot off like a rocket on steroids and left me wet and fully aware of their power. As I slowly walked among this great concentration of fish they stayed just out of my reach if I was moving. A soon as I stood still the carp would come to investigate. The pecked at my waders and pulled on my boot strings. The swam between and rubbed against my legs. It was interesting to watch these curious creatures. I found if I hung my arms in the cold water they would let me tickle their belly, if you will, without spooking. I finally was able to get a few pictures by using this method by using this method of getting my hand under their bellies and lifting them upwards out of the water. Once these fish were out of the water, they would just go nuts. flopping back and forth and catapulting themselves off of my hand. It was impossible to get any of the big ones to stay put for pictures. All in all a learning experience, and an up close look at  a species of fish that is as smart and strong as any that swim.