9AM, cool and overcast. The forecast said no rain until 3PM. Perfect……….

It began raining at 10:30AM.

Tuesday was a school day on the water for my friend Chris and I. The students were anglers but not fly anglers……yet. They (Charlene, Molly and Siri) work together on staff at the Kinnickinnic River Land Trust writing grants, penciling easements, raising funds and keeping all the paper and data organized. A plan was hatched at a recent fund raising event to immerse them in the water of the river they are working so dillegently to protect. A way to provide them a different perspective on their employment at the KRLT. Protecting the health and beauty of the Kinnickinnic River, part of the mission statement, comes by wearing and understanding many different hats. These hats, worn by anglers and farmers, lawyers and philanthropists, kayakers and birders, conservationists and government agencies and many others each carry a different awareness on how to achieve this mission statement. The efforts to interact and listen were appreciated.

The first two hours were textbook classroom in the water. Discussion of lingo, upstream/downstream, roll cast, pockets and seams. A bit on wading safety and how to make this longish rod deliver a fly with this oddly large line. We talked a bit about Brad Pitt, and if he would actually show up when we began casting the dry fly. We also talked about the “not-bobber”. This newly coined phrase came about after students were told that the brightly colored piece of styrofoam keeping their flies floating at a set depth was not a bobber and should not be referred to as such. The device, called a strike indicator is an important part of visual interpretation in fly fishing/catching and was to be treated with great reverence. This long standing division over terminology between different sects of angling is long standing and not up for discussion. Calling it a not-bobber seemed fine by me. During this time period 1 fish was caught and a few others were “hooked” but clearly, abundant catching was not experienced by the students as we had hoped. The favorable conditions had not produced richard. The instructors were stumped. The students were practicing with great reverence, accuracy and respect, yet not being rewarded. Why was there no cooperation from the fish?

In order for the instructors to save face and attempt to make good on the suggestion that this should be a perfect fishing day, a change of location was required. The rain had fallen steady for a couple of hours. Everyone was wet and rain coats were mostly left in the vehicles at the top of the hill. The group headed in a down stream direction and slipped wetter yet into the flow of water from above and below. It all came together in that secret spot below the corner pool. You know the place. Cast, mend, Boom! 10″, 11′, 12″ they came all in a row. More fish to follow. Anglers switching off on each landed fish. A bevy of smiles. Barbless releases all flawless. No harm, no foul(ok there was one foul hook). A wet walk out, a story for the books. All we needed was more rain.

Thanks ladies.  Perspective, perseverance, patience, well done.

Streams are clear as glass. Water in good condition. If you have not been fishing enough to explore all of your favorite Pierce County Waterways, likely they have changed in character from the high water this spring. Some stretches for the worst, some for the better. As I am slowly getting to explore I am finding favorite pools gone, islands that disappeared and rocky runs filled with sand. I am also finding some new deep cuts against banks and bluff side undercuts that were not there before. It is change, and change is. I am having better luck  catching (numbers wise) on one of my favorite streams than the other. This trend usually plays out the opposite but I don’t want all the anglers to rush their on my experience so I am not going to name names. I just have not put enough time in exploring all of my favorite haunts yet.

It seems like the word throughout the local fly fishing community is that the catching part, especially on the surface has been difficult so far this summer and that except for a short BWO hatch early and a smattering of caddis at dusk topwater has been not been as productive a method. Everyone is asking about Sulfurs, PMD’s, PAD’s, Little yellow bugs, little yellow/green bugs. I have seen only onesy- twosy and no fish to the surface for them. The Dames Rockets are in full bloom. In the past this has been the timing for good hatches of the light colored bugs of summer. What has your experience been??

Wear a Buff or the gnats will eat your ears right now in a number of areas.

Today,,,,, you get a three  in one report. Short and sweet, no long winded extra verbiage. No pomp and fluff…I digress. First a fishing report, then a Film Fest Report, then a trout in the classroom report.

Yesterday I attempted to fish. I could leave it at that but I won’t. Short and sweet.

Wanted to get out early. Didn’t. Needed to have gotten to the river by 8 or 9 AM. At noon some edges were clearish but water was rising. By noon-30 trib’s, creeks and runoff gullies were spitting brown into the river. Attempted crossings at normal access spots but was thwarted. Too deep, poor visibility and the current was quite strong.  I decided to abort the mission. I am sure there was some fishable water, or let me say what I deem fishable, out there in the morning. The Kinni looked the best but I had business eastward from the Prescott. So off I went to explore the Mississippi dumpers.

Overall I think we are darn close to getting the first best “after run-off” fishing of the spring. The snow across the agricultural belt that buckles up our trout streams has all but vanished. The scattered snow patches across the North facing bluffs is all that remains. I so enjoy seeing what has changed at my favorite river haunts, oh and feeling the bend of Spring. It has been a long one this year.

The old goat with Roy, a young, trout loving, setter

Once again we lit up a Friday night with a community friendly event and gave a little back or payed a little forward to help protect the health and beauty of the river that runs through it. Thanks Everyone!!! Still no exact totals on monies donated but it looks like we may have topped last years $25,000.00.  Thanks Everyone!!  Oh, buy the way the after party lasted till 5 AM. Breakfast was at 9AM fishing followed.  How much fun is that?

Trout in The Classroom is an awesome program put on in conjunction with Trout Unlimited and  local schools. The class(in this case 5th graders) provide the care and attention to detail to raise trout from eggs through the juvenile stage and culminating in their eventual release into Wisconsins, Willow River. Along the way they learn about food chain, circle of life and why they should care about clean water and how to be good stewards of the land. Folks like me get the great pleasure of sharing this experience with them. Thanks Karey Sizemore’s 5th graders and thank you KIAP-TU-WISH.

The River Falls R4F, If4 was a grand success, again!!! I can’t thank all that were involved enough.  There are some great photos at the facebook link here

More to come…..

Hey John

OK, the temperature has dropped like a rock in a pool and yesterday the snownados danced across the open fields and pastures like there was a party all day long. The forecast is only to get worse. Damn, no trout fishing for this cowboy. I think I will tie some Zebras. First I need to email my friends.

This is a note I just sent to my buddies to get them to attend this years international Fly Fishing Film Tour event. I cleaned it up a bit so I could go public. The photo above was just after we had broken the world record for the largest brat and bun ever made. We were Brat Rollers. It was a pretty big deal. check it out 

OK fellers here is my pitch.

A blast back to openers past

Yes, it has begun. The first Saturday in January marked the start of the inland trout season in Wisconsin. At 2 weeks in this is a catch and release season provides a much needed outdoor break to the cabin fever that grips the masses of fly anglers(really a small group) in these parts of the frozen tundra. At present there is no snow blanketing the area and temps unseasonably mild. That will change this week.

Last week I was out on one glorious 30 degree day for about 4 hours. The wind was low and the water conditions were clear and 38 degrees. Signs of a recent high water event were evident. Rocks had been turned and scrubbed clean. The browned grass was laid flat and frozen pools of water, where the river had recently flowed, stood cold and solid. I remembered the rains that had come at the end of December, early January. This spot on the Rush, one of my favorite, had changed from the last time I saw it at the end of last years season. The sun showed brightly and its intensity told me we were on our way towards spring. I was warm. Two fish came to hand, both plump and healthy. I was surprised at their size. No lack of food in here. Happily, I headed to the truck. There was some place I needed to be.

In the recent past the fly fishing community has taken to developing relationships with every craft brewer, tap room or distillery and rotates each week from one to the next passing the coldest hours of the winter developing some of the most intriguing fish catching fabrications known to man. Some just drink the creations of the brewmasters, others just tie flies. But those who drink and tie most certainly create a special end product sure to catch the big one. It never fails, the company is good and the stories flow side by side with the spirits and sensations that spring from the vices of those who live in the Northland. Cheers!

Check out these film trailers https://www.flyfilmfest.com/films/   Mark  your calendar Friday March 8th 2019, River Falls, Wisconsin. More updates to come here and on FB. Be a Sponsor. Contact me here andy@graygoatflyfishing.com

Hi Andy!

Wondering your opinion of river levels on the brule and fishability.  A small group of us were planning on going up this weekend but the flows are currently at 430 cfs.  It might drop a tiny bit by Saturday but would that be a level you would even attempt to wet a line?  I know river crossings will be out of the question for the most part.  Thanks for any input!

Will

Hi Will

Continue reading this post…

Believe it! Memories are made every time you step in the water. For Jordyn, this was all hers. Two in one day. 24.5 and 21.5 Measured and released. I was told, as these bad boys slid back into the river they disappeared well under the woody undercut bank.  Likely they won’t be spending any time out in the light of day again. The end of April is usually the time. Nature is a bit behind in this neck of the woods this year.

The weather has changed between all the seasonal norms in the span of the last 2 weeks. My ability to predict what the trout and all the things tied to their activity is like spinning the roulette wheel. This week I was convinced Wednesday’s cool down/overcast/rainy weather was going to produce trout nirvana results. This was after a stint in the 80’s. Well although it was a good day on the water, the fish were not jumping in the net. Hatches were mysterious, sporadic and short lived. Nymphing with the old reliable’s was unreliable. We worked. We caught fish. None were under 12″. There was no free lunch. Swinging partridge and orange, CDC S.H. prince and purple prince worked. My standard dry caddis patterns, dark or light bodies, were eaten once, thats all, change flies. 1 eat, change flies. You know the drill. Most productive water was the fastest in the stream. Most productive technique was swinging. Today, It is colder. Catching may be easy or hard. Last week, skinny sandy water produced some nice fish. The week before dark and deep was the ticket.

The message here is get out and fish. Work the dry, work the dead drift, work the streamer. Swing some soft hackles. Test, test, test. Move, move, move. For the most part the trout are coming out of hiding. Big trout too!! This young lady caught 2-20″+ fish off the Kinni this last week.  They are shaking off the late winter doldrums and putting on the feed bag. This year, as the rhythms of nature go, our local trout streams are a bit late in breaking out.  Go find your water.

ESTATE SALE

A good friend of mine and retired fly fishing manufacturers rep for a number of fly fishings finest product lines is off on a new international adventure. He and his bride are on the move and they are shedding all their excess baggage. They are selling their Eden Prairie home and all its belongings. May 19th and 20th will be a days you won’t want to miss if your  looking for some bargains on fly fishing stuff. Here is the link to the photos.

https://www.estatesales.net/MN/Eden-Prairie/55347/1871760

A great sponsor

As a Pro-Staffer for Scientific Anglers since the late 1990’s, I occasionally have been asked to test new or developing products.  About 6 or 7 years ago some new tippet spools arrived in the mail. I was told the tippet was stronger per diameter than previous products. The letter in the package explained how the tippet spool was redesigned larger, to reduce coiling, and to spin more freely when nested with other spools of the same type. They product included spool bands to tame unruly small diameter tippet. The spools also incorporated a new feature, a built in cutter. I must admit that after being in the industry for over 25 years I had heard many claims from manufacturers in regard to bigger, better, faster, stronger, more accurate, limper, stiffer, more abrasion resistant, ultra-sensitive  and so on. It seemed no matter the product, each year, manufacturers claimed some sort of improvement. I get it. Competing products, growing markets, chasing numbers. It is a competitive industry. There needs to be a hook. Sometimes the hook is dull and there is no real advantage to be realized for the angler. Sometimes the truth is stretched. Sometimes the truth is realized!

Already sold on SA Fly Lines and using a wide variety of tapers and configurations on my guide and personal equipment, I was hopeful this new tippet was half as good as the claims. I must admit I was using another brand of tippet at the time. SA was focusing more on the development of their textured and AST coated lines and all was good in that market. Tippet seemed of little consequence. When the package arrived I ripped the top off the box and commenced testing.

At that time my system for nymphing was to run 4x fluorocarbon to my lead fly and 5x fluoro to the trailer. I never used 6x. Too tedious to tie. Also with my overactive hook set plus fishing around wood piles, the chances of breaking off $2 flies seemed certain. Weaker tippet would surely cost me more money There was another transition I had also just begun, my breakaway from fluorocarbon. After reading about the harmful effects to the environment in both processing and lack of degradation in nature, I began running mono to my trailer. It seemed like a small but meaningful contribution to the environment. I am now completely out of the fluorocarbon market.  I am noticing no less fish catching(don’t know how you would study that anyhow)…. And the breaking strengths per diameter of both materials seems to be getting closer together.

I jumped in with both feet and began running 5x mono to lead, 6x mono trail. No inordinate break-offs while fighting fish. No noticeable difference in snag retrieval break-offs. The spool bands preformed as billed keeping the small diameter tippet in order and spools buried in the middle of the stack unwound without turning the whole group. And then there was the cutter. Believe it! As a guide, I go through a boatload of tippet each year. New folks to this sport can go through a lot of flies, a lot of snags, a lot of rocks and a lot of branches equalling a lot of break-offs to procure the “magic first trout”. To achieve that goal may require a small moving van full of replacement tippet.  The cutter installed in each spool makes a difference in ease of installation of said tippet. After years and years of testing products to try and simplify this crazy, cluttered, gadget filled pass time, the tippet cutter works! The noticeable difference is that it is no longer necessary to go to my nipper for cutting each piece of tippet from the spool. In a 5S, lean manufacturing world, eliminating an entire step from the process is a big deal. Unbelievable!

A few years ago SA began calling this product “The Truth”. I suspect this stemmed back to the fact that there is no industry standard for labeling the actual breaking strength of this product category. There are no breaking strength police. Some manufacturers use the value of the highest breaking strength of a tested batch for their product labels. Some use and average breaking strength value. SA has always labeled their product with the truth, the lowest breaking strength tested. This assures the consumer there will be no deception or skulduggery in the labeling of their product. This is the truth. I liked it.

In the end, Scientific Anglers tippet and tippet spool has been a welcome addition to my fishing and guiding system. The product has lived up to all the claims. With fake news all around us and few places to turn to find out whats real,,,,,, Long Live The Truth. Here’s how to get some free stuff.

Details

• This limited-time promotion will run throughout the spring and summer—from March 15 until August 31, 2018.
• Cashing in on this screaming deal is ridiculously simple: just mention this email at your nearest SA dealer. That’s it. If they do ask to see anything, just show them this email.
• This deal applies to Freshwater and Hard Mono AR 2-pack leaders (9’ and 7.5’) and 30 meter tippet spools.
• Sorry everyone, Fluorocarbon leader and tippet does not apply.