The Riffle: Trout Trip 2020-And-A-Half: Weisse Wasser

First fish of the Trip. Look at those cool spots!

There is a river complex in southeastern Minnesota which has a reputation as being very popular amongst trout fishers, because it is comprised of three high quality trout streams along with several other smaller feeder creeks. There are literally dozens of miles of public access within this complex, with excellent trout habitat throughout. Add to that several public and private campgrounds in the area, and you have a terrific destination to do a little angling. My buddy, Bryon, who I go with on our Annual Springtime Trout Trip every year, and I decided to do another, shorter Trout Trip to this very destination this past weekend. It was a hoot!

We began Trout Trip 2020-And-A-Half on the northern branch of this particular river complex, because we were going to camp on that branch. The northern branch has its proponents, but overall the water quality and habitat is not quite as good as on the other branches. We got a few fish, and I even caught a nice rainbow on a perfectly placed grasshopper imitation, which rarely happens for me. (I mean the catching a fish on a grasshopper rarely happens... The perfect placement happens often, if I can toot my own horn for a second...)

Nice rainbow on a hopper. Look at those cheeks!

First rod/reel of the trip: Vince Cummings Superlite 7' 4wt glass & Orvis CFO III Disc

Bryon and a buttery brown.

We moved on to the middle branch of the complex later that day. The section we were fishing is as lovely as a trout stream can be. The water was in perfect shape, and the fish were, sometimes, willing to be caught. Actually they seemed to be more off than on, but some were caught throughout the afternoon. At one point I caught three nice fish in four casts, but then I didn't get a bite for the next couple of hours. I guess that's fishing for ya!

A beautiful section of stream!

A chunky bow. This was the 3rd of the three fish in 4 casts. Each one was bigger than the last one.

Second rod/reel: Larry Kenney 8'3" 5wt glass & Ross Evolution #2

Sunday morning was spent on a different section of that middle branch. Fishing was slow, despite more beautiful water. To end the weekend we decided to skip over to the south branch of the river complex. We found a newly-rehabilitated stretch of stream that looked great, but the word on the street was that the trouts hadn't moved into the new habitat yet. Being the two stubborn dudes that we are, Bryon and I both scoffed at the word on the street, and jumped in with both feet. I am glad we did, since on my 4th or 5th cast I hooked a slab of a rainbow. Being the honest fisherman that I am, I will estimate it at somewhere between 15"-25" in length, and 12"-30" in girth. In other words, I didn't measure it. But it was the biggest trout I have caught in a looooooooong time. What a hoot! I hooked another about five minutes later that would have been close to that size, but he went aerial a second or two after I hooked him and he threw the hook. What a jerk!