No More Toursim, Just Brook Trout

I'm becoming that guy. You know the one. The one that takes photos of fish just to get his left hand and perhaps a little wrist in the picture.

Well, anyway, after the puzzling experience of no trout fishing while on the freaking North Shore (though I did venture north with my lovely girlfriend so it was worth it) I awoke with the urge to get it done over in Western Wisconsin. The downside? It rained six goddamned inches two nights before and then another three inches on Thursday night.

Western Wisconsin was swallowed by the Mississippi Monster.

Seriously.

Portions of the Rush were closed. The Kinni actually drowned and was found floating face down near La Crosse.

But, I had a hunch that one of the teeny weeny brook trout streams with a short drainage would be clear and I could do my trout fishing desires justice. I had two streams in mind. One I know is absolutely impervious to flooding, but it gets completely eaten by prairie grass around the middle of July and doesn't get burped back up until October when the season is over anyway. The other floods but clears within hours. I chose the floodable creek in hopes that a slight stain wouldn't result in the usual pinball-like freak-out of 9000 brook trout ricocheting around the hole every time my whisper quiet 3wt line kisses the surface of the creek. Or, maybe I shouldn't fish at high noon when it's 98 degrees in August? Yes, I'm sometimes that guy too.

Well, I arrived at the creek. There was a stain. A lovely, chai-tea latte stain. I slipped on a little strike indicator since they weren't gonna go for the stimulator/dropper scenario and tied on a size 14 orange scud.

I caught more twelve inch brook trout than I have ever thought existed. Including a couple that were a bit bigger that a foot. The only downside was a few of these German brown trout got in the way of my greeting the natives. Funny thing. This creek is supposed to be exclusively brookie, but there is a theory that when the nearby Rush blows out like it has done several times this year browns get washed out into Lake Pepin and then wander up this creek which is not too far away. I've also had a pike follow my brook trout out from under a lunker structure. That's less distressing. Pike and brookies coexist naturally, natively.

It's funny. When I was in my late teens, early twenties I only wanted huge browns. I found them in the Rush using huge flies and fishing well into the night. I also found a skunk--that's another story. But, since then I've become more interested in brookies. I don't mind their small size--though bigger ones make it interesting.