Posts

Showing posts from January, 2011

Trout Program Update

Image
This post is a copy of an update we received from Ross Pearson - Kamloops Advocates.  We felt the update was worthy of a post.    "This is an update on the Kamloops production shift to the Spire Valley Hatchery. In December members of MN DNR fisheries met with some of the representatives of the Rainbow Trout Advisory Group to talk about changes for Lake Superior rainbow trout management. For 2011 and 2012, Fisheries has decided to bring the Spire Valley pre-smolt kamloops back to the French River Hatchery for imprinting and grow-out to smolts in the French River Hatchery prior to July planting in Lake Superior. This will be similar to the program of the past and much better for returns than planting them as pre-smolt sized fish (for the steelhead population Fisheries has consistently found adult returns from smolts to be 30 to 40 times better than returns from pre-smolts). Fisheries is not saying what will happen for the French River Hatchery and the dependent kamloops and ste

Mono on the Fly

Image
Think you need to be Lefty Kreh or go to Orvis School to catch steelhead on the fly? If you do, think again! Like many North Shore steelheaders, you're probably already using all you need to effectively present flies to steelhead - Monofilament Line. The key to fishing flies on monofilament lie in recognizing the optimal time and conditions to fish them, then using the right equipment and presentation. That and a big dose of confidence if you've never tried it. Any rod will work with this setup, but there are some things you should consider to be really effective. First, longer is better for a couple of reasons. Long rods offer increased breakage protection for lighter leaders and tippets required to fish late-run conditions. Sometimes even early run conditions dictate light tippets. A longer rod will absorb more energy from a fighting fish that would break the same leader/tippet fished on a shorter rod. Long rods allow you to follow and control your drift for a longer period

Dropper Rigs - Not Here!

Image
Over the past year or so we have fielded several inquiries regarding the use of the dropper fly system for Steelhead on our North Shore Rivers. The main question: Are dropper flies legal to use or not? For those not familiar with this system, we have included this diagram to illustrate a typical set up. Dropper systems are a real effective way to cover multiple strike zones on a single drift. Just don’t use them on the trout waters of the North Shore. Hopefully all of you have read, and are familiar with the Lake Superior Tributary section within the State fishing regulations booklet. For those that are not familiar, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has the following hook use verbiage in the 2010 Fishing Regulations: “Anglers are restricted to a single hook only—no treble hooks—on Lake Superior tributary streams and rivers up to the posted boundaries. Exceptions are the St. Louis River (St. Louis and Carlton Counties) and the Pigeon River (Cook County).” To some,

Adopt-a-River Program

Image
Happy New Year to you all! 2011 is sure to be an exciting year here at Minnesota Steelheader.  We plan to fill this blog and our website with a multitude of new information, some new gear, and maybe even a surprise or two. One avenue we are currently researching is the DNR Adopt-a-River Program.  All of us here at MS feel that being involved in this program would be an excellent way for us to not only contribute to the preservation of our fishery but to also form some great camaraderie amoung fellow anglers. The Adopt-a-River Program is part of the Department of Natural Resources' Trails and Waterways Division. This division specializes in providing access to the vast lands and waters of the state. As the division's stewardship specialists, the Adopt-a-River program challenges you to become personally involved in the care of our resources. The Adopt-a-River program, with a watershed approach, links public trails and floodplain areas into a common fabric: the watershed.