Minnesota Steelheader

2012 - River Clean up is scheduled

2012-02-02T18:13:00.009-06:00

The 2012 North Shore Steelhead season is fast approaching and so with it is our Annual River Clean Up. For those of you not familiar with our involvement in this program, Minnesota Steelheader adopted the Sucker River in 2011 through the Minnesota DNR Adopt-A-River program. You can read previous posts to find out more details on why we selected the Sucker River. In short it is a good fishery with a lot of traffic and trash.

Our commitment continues this year with another clean up weekend. We are sticking with the 1st Sunday in May. We meet late morning in the parking lot and spend an hour or so, depending on volunteers, cleaning up as much shoreline and parking area as possible. We will post more details on this as we get a few fine details ironed out.

As most of you know, Minnesota Steelheader started as a virtual online organization. We do not currently have any formal membership rather a "floating" group of web, social media, event and streamside followers, we also provide a great deal of email advice to fellow anglers. With that said, the "we", "you" and "our" that you see in this post refer to all of us - including you! All of you steelhead anglers, novice and experts alike, that believe in our mission, are virtual members of Minnesota Steelheader. Your feedback, interaction, and involvement is encouraged and appreciated!

As you plan your 2012 North Shore Steelhead trips, our staff encourage you to set some time aside on May 6th to help give back a little to this great fishery by joining up in our River Clean Up Program. We will also continue the Saturday evening happy hour meet and greet. Last years was a lot of fun - great fish reports & tales, relaxing camaraderie, and good suds. More details to follow on the event... stay tuned!

Identification Plates

2012-01-21T14:09:00.004-06:00

Question for you all...

I've been playing with color identification plates for the site and was wondering if there's any interest in having this type of thing available?

I have plates for all of our migratory species and they look more or less like this (Click for full size image) - Please excuse the "unofficial" MS Logo:

All change/update suggestions welcome!
Regards-
NMF

Minnesota Wolf management update

2012-01-20T07:50:00.000-06:00

Minnesota’s Wolf Management Plan to take effect Jan. 27

(Released January 19, 2012)

Minnesota’s population of wolves will transition from federal protection to state management by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) on Jan. 27, bringing with that transition a number of law changes.
Minnesota’s Wolf Management Plan will protect wolves and monitor their population, but also give owners of livestock and domestic pets more protection from wolf depredation. The plans splits the state into two management zones, with more protective regulations in the northern third, considered the wolf’s core range.
“The DNR is well-prepared to manage gray wolves and ensure the long-term survival of the species,” said Ed Boggess, DNR Fish and Wildlife Division director. “The state’s Wolf Management Plan will allow Minnesotans more flexibility to address the real conflicts that occur between wolves and humans.”
The major change with state management is the ability of individual people to directly protect their animals from wolf depredation, subject to certain restrictions. In addition, the state-certified gray wolf predator control program will be available to individuals as another option to deal with livestock depredation.

Click here for the full story and more depth on the plan.

On the run!

2012-01-09T23:54:00.003-06:00

Steelhead fishing can often be a lot of standing around in a river with cold feet, runny nose, and the dreaded wader back. But, every now and then you get that fish. You know the one, the one that made the whole trip worth while.

For some, there are great memories captured in a photograph. For a lot of us there is no camera shot and the fish is never landed. It might have been from all the logs and branches found in portions of the split rock, or maybe the often crazy fast, rock infested water of the Knife, or one of the hundreds of leader eating rocky bends that line our rugged North Shore Rivers. For this angler it was just a fresh fish not having any part of being landed in the rough water of the this North Shore River.

So what is the solution to potentially landing more steelhead in these types of situations, when moving downstream is no longer a sensible option? If you are sure the fish is heading for troubled water, but not quite there, slack line 'em! That's right, feed him line and do it as fast as you can. The key is to trick him into thinking he is no longer hooked. I know this might not make sense, but if you have a solid hook set you might be surprised at the outcome.

Once again, the key here is giving the fish enough line so he does not feel hooked any longer. No longer feeling threatened a steelhead will often turn and move back to its previous holding location or further upstream to continue it's migration. Now having said this, there are a few factors that may work against you. Too much weight on your line, to much distance between you and the fish, and fast current seams between you and your catch.

I have found that slack lining works best when the water is all pretty much moving at the same speed as in riffle water and long pools. It also works best with rod tip-to-fish distances under 75', more than that and the weight of the line alone can cause irreversible tension. I have been able to land several fish using this technique, fish that would surely otherwise been lost.

When you get into a pickle this spring and all your steelhead fighting tricks have been used up, try slack lining, you just might find your steelie will turn in your favor.

Hat sale prices extended another week

2012-01-01T21:30:00.000-06:00

Our fishing hats and skull caps have been a big hit so far, thanks to all who have show such enthusiastic support. As you will see on our estore page, and in previous posts, we have a few nice options for you to choose from. If you have yet to get yours, you may want to get them soon... the 2011 sale prices have been extended for only one more week. After that, full price goes into effect.

100% of the profits from the sale of our hats go right back into the support of our mission statement and our North Shore Steelhead Fishery. Show your support and order your hats today!

Tight lines to all in 2012.

Photo challenge VI

2011-12-06T08:14:00.000-06:00

Do you know this river? Check us out on facebook to play.

our facebook link

Photo challenge VI - Name the River only (no trails, roads or landmarks). You have until Friday afternoon to take a swing at this river.

One reply per angler. Previous winners are not eligible. Winning replies will receive a free window decal. You must "like us" on facebook to play.

Check back Friday evening for the answer... good luck!

Minnesota Steelheader Hats - NOW AVAILABLE!

2011-11-20T08:47:00.001-06:00

Fishing hats and warm double lined fleece skull cap beanies are now available! Show your support for Minnesota Steelheader and the Steelhead fishery of our North Shore. All the profits go directly back to help our Steelhead fishery.

All hats are on sale at great prices!
Sales ends 12/31/11

You can find these and all our other merchandise available on our website - click here

Photo Challenge V

2011-11-19T08:31:00.001-06:00

Photo Challenge V - on facebook

Photo challenge V - Name the River only (no trails, roads or landmarks).

You must be a "Friend" of our facebook page to play - click on the "like" button if you are not yet a facebook friend.

You will have 24hrs to come up with the correct answer. One reply per angler. Winning replies will receive a free window decal. Check our facebook page on Sunday for the answer... good luck!

Click here to go directly to our facebook page.

DNR will allow Lutsen Mountain to continue drawing water from Poplar River for snowmaking this season

2011-11-10T22:01:00.000-06:00

(Released November 10, 2011)

Lutsen Mountains Corp. (LMC) will be allowed to continue drawing water from the Poplar River for snowmaking under a permit to be issued by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR). Lutsen applied for a permit to continue to pump water despite the low water flow conditions in the river that would normally require pumping operations to be discontinued.

The DNR is authorized by statute to allow exceptions to permits under unique circumstances. The 2011 Minnesota Legislature authorized LMC to take up to 150 million gallons of water from the Poplar River for snowmaking this fall, but included a provision that suspends the appropriation if flows fall below 15 cubic feet per second (cfs) for more than five consecutive days. The flow has been at or near that threshold for weeks. A separate statute provision authorizes the DNR to issue a permit beyond what is normally allowed for “just cause.”

The DNR believes there is just cause to issue LMC a permit based on potential serious economic impacts to the local community if Lutsen was forced to shut down, the likelihood that the severe drought conditions will cause some trout mortality whether or not LMC temporarily appropriates water, the fact that the number of trout impacted would be relatively small, and that the trout populations would likely naturally recover quickly.

The DNR received more than 600 public comments on the permit application. Many were in favor of allowing the permit. Others expressed concerns for impacts to the river and its trout population. All comments were considered in making the decision to issue a permit according to DNR Commissioner Tom Landwehr. He stressed that allowing the permit is a short-term solution because of its limited duration and because it requires Lutsen to commit to cease all pumping from Poplar River by the fall of 2016.

“The Poplar River is not a long-term sustainable source of water for LMC,” Landwehr said. “We will work with LMC and key legislators to find an alternate source of water for snowmaking even sooner – probably Lake Superior – within three years.”

According to the DNR, the average flow for the Poplar River in November is 86 cfs. It has been hovering around 15 cfs for some time, and will likely drop significantly during winter, when limited water drains into the river. North Shore streams rely primarily on surface water drainage rather than groundwater, and precipitation has been significantly below average in the area.

Click here to go to the DNR website where you can find more background info on this topic.

DNR seeking comments through Nov. 4 on permit to draw water from Poplar River

2011-10-26T17:49:00.000-05:00

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is seeking public comment on a proposal for a temporary permit that would allow Lutsen Mountain Corporation (LMC) to continue to draw water from the Poplar River for its snowmaking operation. Normally, pumping operations would be discontinued due to the river's low flow, but the DNR is authorized by statute to allow exceptions under unique circumstances. Read More - click here.

2011-10-24T18:37:00.000-05:00

Sneak peek at the 2012 fleece hats. Available Nov. | 2011

2011-10-22T19:55:00.000-05:00

The Summer Minnesota DNR Cleanup Review just recently was published on line. The review highlights information pertaining to the Adopt-a-River cleanup efforts within the State on Minnesota.
In this issue you will find Minnesota Steelheader featured within the "on the water" section. The write up highlights our efforts this past spring cleaning up our recently adoption of the Sucker River on the North Shore.

For those of you interested in becoming more active within Minnesota Steelheader please contact us through our website or simply keep following our blog and facebook for more info. We are working on an exciting agenda for 2012, starting with another overhaul to our website. There are a few group events also on the horizon. Oh, and some cool embroidered fishing caps and fleece hats will be available soon.

Double-Up Buttercup

2011-10-09T11:34:00.008-05:00

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy and the same is true for the folks at Minnesota Steelheader. O.k. we know they're not steelhead, but ya' gotta blow off a little steam while waiting for the steelies to come.

Here are MS Director DB and Field Staffer TU with a salmon double from a recent mental health trip...

And let's not forget Field Staffer Pete with a super bright hen!

Blog & Facebook Contributor Jesse contemplating making a critical fly selection. And yes, he does bring his La-Z-Boy with him wherever he fishes. You should see him perched in the middle of the Knife at 500cfs! Note however the almost perfect utilization of Feng Shui; a sublimely Zen moment for sure...

'Till the Steelies Come Again-
The Minnesota Steelheader Field Staff

Saturday's Salmon Clinic - Fish On!

2011-09-26T12:50:00.001-05:00

Our first fall salmon clinic was successfully held this past Saturday and what a great day it was. With a total of 10 guys on the water, everyone caught fish, well everyone except our camera man and field staffer, Murph, though he caught some great photos!

The group and MS staff met up on the the water around 10am to a cool overcast morning. MS staff DB and NMF discussed the pink salmon fishery in great detail and how these buggers are able to sustain themselves naturally where other salmon have not. They also discussed how scouting a river in the fall can greatly improve your spring steelhead success rate as well as a review of fly fishing techniques, rigging and of course fly assortments.

The water was low during this outing, but it did not seem to hamper the run much as there were thousands of fish to be had and in just about all types of water on this particular river. From pools to riffle water, the group caught fish throughout. The two hot flies for the day seemed to be the PM stone and a black woolly bugger, with most of the females preferring the smaller variety of nymph patterns used. The males seem to slightly favor the larger buggers.

If you were one of our guests please feel free to post a comment as to the quality of your experience during this clinic. We hope to continue to offer the salmon clinic as well as other events on an annual basis. Your feedback will help us tweak things as needed.

Also, please visit our facebook page to view more pictures of the event. We will post all on our website soon, but facebook will be the best way to see them for now. MS Facebook Link here
Thanks again to all who participated, we hope you walked away a bit more knowledgeable about our North Shore fishery.

Photo Challenge IV

2011-09-20T13:40:00.000-05:00

Here is a challenge for all who fish and explore the North Shore Rivers of Minnesota.

To play you must visit our facebook page. To be eligible you must first "like" our page. Good Luck!

Fall Salmon Clinic

2011-08-31T12:46:00.003-05:00

Our fall pink salmon / reading water 101 clinic is on the calendar for Saturday, September 24th 10:00am.

So here is the scoop.

Our clinic, for fly fishing and drift fishing, will be conducted streamside rain or shine on a specified North Shore River this month, oh and it's FREE. All participants will need to provide their own transportation to the river and all the necessary gear and flies. We will provide a basic needs list to those who are interested as well. if you think this would be a cool deal, “sign up” via our CONTACT page on our website. Note, we are limiting this event to a small number so sign up early to reserve your spot.

The clinic will focus on the North shore pink salmon, including a brief history, life cycle, fly presentation and a few techniques to effectively hook into these fish. Most of the time will be spent trying to locate and catch these buggers. We will also include some basic water reading concepts to help beginners understand what to look for when searching for steelhead next spring.

All participants must be in good health and able to hike the trails and rocks of the North Shore. Don’t fret, we will NOT be hiking trails like the one pictured here. Our staffer, TU was a bit ambitious this afternoon. We will provide directions and more details to each who sign up.

To sign up please EMAIL US your Full name and contact phone number. Click the link provided or visit our website. Since this is our first go at this kind of streamside clinic we have no real idea on the amount of interest in this event. We just think this would be a good opportunity for beginners and veterans to learn a bit streamside while hanging out with like minded anglers.

RSVP no later than 9-10-11.

Videos....finally online.

2011-08-29T13:52:00.000-05:00

We finally have some video footage from our appearance on Cook what you catch and KHO. You can find these and a few others on our website... check out the video link. We will be posting more in time and encourage any of you to send us your videos!

Information on sending video footage can also be found on our website... we hope you enjoy.

Wake Up Sleepy!

2011-08-06T09:41:00.017-05:00

Psst.... PSSSSST! Hey, wake up you! Shake off the sleep, brush the dust off the equipment and grab the bug dope because the band is back on stage and the annual dance continues.

These fellers on the left have been quietly making their way back upstream over on the other side of the Nemadji if you care to go look for them. Things haven't been quite so predictable with the rain coming in fits and starts the last part of July, but the rain on the 2nd....

Either way it's just the first wave of the conductor's baton; the next movement will be coho's along with the odd chinook, pinks, coasters and then steelhead. Whatever your game, it's an exciting time of year, even if you're trying not to melt in the heat and not thinking about fishing. But hey, that's why we're here- To give you a little poke now and then!

As for other news- The Fall Sucker River clean-up date has not been set, but we kicked around the idea of a combined Pink Salmon/Clean-up weekend. If you might be up for that just drop us a line. You don't have to commit now just a quick, "Yeah, that might be cool" or "Sorry Charlie" E-Mail would help us to gauge interest.

One item to consider: The pinks start just about the time that bird hunting and bow-hunting get going. You may already have plans, but there is a fair amount of public land up in the sawtooth and last year saw high grouse numbers taken. We'll be on the downswing of the cycle likely, but it still should be good. Pinks in the a.m. and grilled grouse for supper sounds good to me. Might even run into a sprucie or two. (Hey with this nutty "Hair Hackle" craze, I'll take all the feathers I can get!)

Regards-
NMF

08.07.11 Note: I just went back and reviewed the ruffed grouse numbers. Drumming counts were actually UP this spring and DNR states that the peak "Will likely continue". So I was incorrect but hey, just means even more available grouse and possibly a strong odd-year pink run to boot. I wish I was wrong like that more often!

2011 Photo Contest has begun - Enter Now!

2011-06-05T13:59:00.000-05:00

2011 Photo Contest - Starts today!

Did you take any great photos from this Spring steelhead season? If so, enter them in our 2011 Photo Contest!

All winning Photograph Photographers will receive a "goody bag" from Minnesota steelheader and the winning photos will be featured across our website, and social media pages.

Here are the rules:

1. Photo must be taken from Minnesota waters in 2011
2. jpg files only
3. Supply photographer's name, address and phone number
4. Enter as many photos as you wish
5. One winner will be selected from each category
6. Winner will be featured on our website and news blog
7. Deadline - July 10th, 2011
8. Submit by emailing to the email shown below or visit our website's contact page

Categories:
1. Fish Photograph (with angler)
2. Misc. steelheading/tackle photograph
2. Scenic photograph
3. Funny photograph
4. Youth photograph

Note: By submitting your photos, you are giving Minnesota Steelheader(MS) the rights to publish your photograph on www. minneostasteelheader.com, all related (MS) internet based social media, and in any related printed form for the use of promoting Minnesota Steelheader and our North Shore fishery.

All personal information supplied to (MS) will be keep exclusively on file with Minnesota Steelheader and will not be shared with anyone.

Final 2011 Run Statistics

2011-06-02T12:05:00.010-05:00

Lower Shore Creel vs. Trap Numbers:

Lower Shore Creel Survey Numbers:

Mid Shore Creel Survey Numbers:

Upper Shore Creel Survey Numbers:

Shorewide Combined Creel Numbers vs. the Shorewide Creel Average:

Only two notes: 1. I'm using the term "Shorewide Creel Average" pretty loosely. This is only the 2nd year the DNR has reported the numbers in the format they are now using. As such the "average" only represents 2010/2011. Still Better than nothin'! 2. There are still fish on the Upper Shore...

Any questions please post them in the comments section and I'll try and answer them asap. Regards - NMF

More Lutsen - Poplar River Issue

2011-05-29T21:40:00.001-05:00

We recently contacted State representative, C. McFarlane, looking for some clarity on the passed bill regarding the Lutsen Resort water consumption bill.

McFarlane informed us that the bill they passed will, for the the first time, limit the resort's use of water from the stream. Once that annual allocated limit is met, water will not be allowed to be pumped for the remainder of that that year. She also stated that the permit issued to Lutsen has a 5 year time limit to look for a long term solution.

Below is the language from the conference committee report:

Sec. 101. CONSUMPTIVE USE OF WATER.
53.11Pursuant to Minnesota Statutes, section 103G.265, subdivision 3, the legislature
53.12approves of the consumptive use of water under a permit of more than 2,000,000 gallons
53.13per day average in a 30-day period in Cook County, in connection with snowmaking
53.14and potable water. Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, the permit for the
53.15consumptive use of water approved under this section shall be issued, subject to the
53.16fees specified under Minnesota Statutes, section 103G.271, without any additional
53.17administrative process to withdraw up to 150,000,000 gallons of water annually for
53.18snowmaking and potable water purposes. The permit authorized under this section shall
53.19be suspended if the flow of the Poplar River falls below 15 cubic feet per second for more
53.20than five consecutive days. The permit authorized under this section shall be reinstated
53.21when the flow of the Poplar River resumes to 15 cubic feet per second or greater. The
53.22permit shall be for a term of five years.

In our email correspondence to Rep. McFarlane we also asked what studies or reports were cited that show that the amount of approved water usage will have no impact to the watershed or fishery. We were referred to Rep. Dill to answer that question. We will post any reports or studies that surface from Rep Dill.

To all our readers, we welcome constructive comments to our posts, but as stated in the previous posts we are not going political on this. we plan to be rational and get all the facts. If the facts state harm to the fishery is possible, then let's fight with all we have. Republican, Independent, Democrat does not matter here. In a fight you are either with us and the fishery or against us. It will be that simple from Minnesota Steelheader.

To those that have commented and stated you are not political, then proceed to negatively name one political party 3 times in a single paragraph... well, as you can see your comments are not published.... sorry. Keep it real and we will happily share your thoughts with our readers. Keep it political and your letters and paragraphs will evaporate into the cyber abyss. Not fair? Come on guys!

In the mean time we will continue to track this frustrating issue and do our best to bring unbiased clarity to our reports.

Lutsen - Poplar River Issue

2011-05-24T17:37:00.000-05:00

Here is a great read from Dennis Anderson, Star Tribune outdoor writer and editor. It helps bring a little more light on the Lutsen - Poplar River water pumping issue.

Minnesota Steelheader is not interested in political slants or emotional opinions on this subject. You will have to go somewhere else to read that junk.

Fact: A designated trout stream is turning into a dependable water source for a local growing business. We want the bottom line answer: Could this pumping of water from the Poplar have a negative impact on the brook trout, rainbow trout and salmon fisheries? If yes than we feel Lusten needs to find an alternative water source or reduce water consumption to levels that would not have any negative impact to the fishery or watershed. If no, well... it is hard to believe a study will show conclusive evidence that the no harm is possible.

Here is a portion of Mr. Anderson's article. we encourage you to click on the link below to read his entire article.

"Who speaks for resources that can't speak for themselves is at the heart of the nation's conservation dilemma. Having long defined mountains, rivers, prairies, fish and wildlife as commodities, we too often quantify their highest and best use as the ones that ring cash registers the fastest, and the longest. Aesthetic values by comparison seem a poor sister, and proclamations of their worth the tireless errands of idealists, fools, or both.

The mess at Lutsen, the North Shore ski area, makes the point. The owners there have sought this legislative session to legitimize what they have been doing illegitimately now for nearly a decade. Or if not illegitimately, without permission. Call it that. Without permission, beginning in 2001, Lutsen took 60 million gallons of water a year from the Poplar River to make artificial snow as cheaply as possible, according to the DNR. The ski area's permit called for 12.6 million gallons. In some years since, the extraction has jumped to as high as 108 million gallons, according to the DNR.

Notably, the Poplar River is a designated trout stream. In Minnesota, it's been illegal since 1977 to withdraw water from such streams. Lutsen has a waiver from this prohibition."

Read entire article here.

2011 Run Wind-Down

2011-05-21T10:21:00.011-05:00

While we're getting close to the end, it's not over yet. The recent rains have brought in yet another push of fish albeit not as large as the previous ones. Here's the Shore-Wide picture as of 05.20.2011 (Click thumbs for larger images):

Lower Shore Creel Survey

Lower Shore Creel vs. Trap Numbers

Mid Shore Creel Survey

Upper Shore Creel Survey

2011 Shore-Wide Combined Creel Numbers vs. Average

The last graphic is the 2011 total combined Lower, Mid and Upper Shore Kamloops/Steelhead numbers up against the average for the Creel data we have. 2010 continues to stand out as an example of an extremely early run and skews the stats just a bit. After the 2011 Creel ceases, I'll try to get the final numbers up as soon as I can. Note that the survey will cease around 05.25.2011, but we still should be getting a push or two of fish with precipitation events. In the meantime, get out and enjoy!

Regards-
NMF

Fishing Report 5-16-11

2011-05-16T20:11:00.000-05:00

MN DNR creel update:

From 5/13 through 5/15, water temperatures ranged from 46 to 56 on the Lower and Middle Shore, and were 45 to 51 on the Upper Shore.

Interviewed anglers caught 4 Steelhead, 3 Kamloops, and 1 Brown Trout on the Lower Shore, 13 Steelhead and 1 Kamloops on the Middle Shore, and 17 Steelhead, 2 Kamloops, and 4 Brook Trout on the Upper Shore.

The Knife Trap totals are 405 Steelhead and 29 Kamloops, while French River Trap totals are 815 Kamloops and 94 Steelhead.

Stream flows shorewide are decreasing and running with average to above average, clear flows.

Fishing reports are updated on the web on Mondays and Fridays at http://mndnr.gov/areas/fisheries/lakesuperior/report.html

or by calling our office at 218-525-0853 and selecting 1 for the updated fishing report

Lutsen Resort looking to take more - millions of gallons from the Poplar River

2011-05-15T23:12:00.007-05:00

Pictured here is a nice little Coho Salmon
caught out of the Poplar River

It is true, Lutsen is hoping to take more water out of the Poplar River. Not just a few gallons, but millions and millions of water anually.

Can there be any good to the fishery out of this... really? We do not think so. We are going to dive head first into this ASAP and will do our best to keep you posted on a regular basis.

Here is an expert from the Star tribune article, written by: Josephine Marcotty. You can click on the link below for the full article.

"For decades, the Poplar River has made Minnesotans happy year-round as it tumbles down from the Boundary Waters wilderness to the North Shore of Lake Superior. In fishing season, anglers hook trout and other game fish from its rocky pools. In winter, its lower reach supplies water that Lutsen Mountain Resort uses to make snow for skiers.

Now, in a move that has outraged conservationists, the Legislature is poised to give the skiers and the privately owned resort an advantage over the anglers and the trout. It is expected to pass a law that would give Lutsen special dispensation to draw millions of gallons of water from the small river -- a designated trout stream -- to ensure that Lutsen has enough snow from November to March."

Read the full article - click here

Latest 2011 Analysis

2011-05-15T00:47:00.012-05:00

My apologies! I've been in several intensive job-related schools over the last four weeks and haven't had much time to play with the data let alone fish...

So here's the current picture more or less. I put the Lower Shore creel up against the trap numbers and although there are no surprizes, there are some items to take note of:

Three points of clarification: The vertical lines are all annotated for what they represent and are accurate to the date they occured, not simply the week they occured in. The black vertical line is Knife River ice-out, the blue vertical line is the average date 4 Lower Shore streams reached the upstream migration temp threshold. The red line represents the date Lower Shore streams maintained 40 degrees overnight which according to DNR data, typically represents the peak of the return/migration.

Once again you can see very clearly the relationships between temperatures and early-run activity. Once temps hit the upstream movement initiation threshold, things really kicked off. Peak returns based on trap numbers also occurred as soon as temps maintained that magic 40 degrees overnight which is a well studied MN phenomenon. There is a little fudge-factor there due to the date the traps opened, but it's still pretty clear.

One significant item to note: The Upper Shore returns lag the Lower Shore by anywhere from 14-21 days. This is significant because when you do the math based on the above graphic well, you get the picture. There are still plenty of fish to be found as DB says.
Regards-
NMF

Fishing Report 5-14-11

2011-05-14T16:43:00.000-05:00

We are well into the Minnesota walleye opener today and the weather still smells of steelhead. Are you done steelheading for the season? I am not!

As you will read in the DNR creel report below, the numbers of fish in the survey seem few - they are. What you need to remember though is that most fair weather steelhead anglers are already off the water and either done for the year or back in the woods chasing other species today. Fewer anglers on the water mean fewer fish recorded.

For those wondering if the steelhead are still running, quit wondering and get out and fish - they are! When conditions are favorable, like they are this month, You can bet that there are still fish moving in most middle and upper shore steelhead rivers. Yes, it is true that we are near the end of the 2011 spring run, but some of my best fishing has been done late season. In fact, a couple of us will still be on the water into next weekend. Hope to still see a few of you out with us!

~DB

DNR Creel Report:

From 5/9 through 5/12, water temperatures ranged from 52 to 58 on the Lower Shore, 48-52 on the Middle Shore, and were 45 to 57 on the Upper Shore.

Interviewed anglers caught 5 Steelhead, 5 Kamloops, and 17 Suckers on the Lower Shore, 5 Steelhead, 5 Brook Trout, 1 Kamloops and 1 Sucker on the Middle Shore, and 6 Steelhead on the Upper Shore. The Knife Trap totals are 396 Steelhead and 27 Kamloops, while French River Trap totals are 813 Kamloops and 93 Steelhead.

Stream flows shorewide are still decreasing, but still running with above average clear flows.

Fishing reports are updated on the web on Mondays and Fridays at http://mndnr.gov/areas/fisheries/lakesuperior/report.html

or by calling our office at 218-525-0853 and selecting 1 for the updated fishing report

Photo Challenge III

2011-05-09T22:10:00.000-05:00

So you think you know your North Shore Rivers do you? Test your wits and take the Photo Challenge - III

To be eligible you must be a facebook page fan and not a recent photo challenge winner. All voting is done on our facebook page. To take the challenge, simply submit your answer by clicking the comment link below the photo on facebook... it looks just like this one.

The 1^st correct answer receives a complimentary MN steelheader window decal.

Here is a link to our facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/MinnesotaSteelheader

Fishing Report - 5-9-11

2011-05-09T20:25:00.001-05:00

The fishing is still hot. These pics were sent in from our buddy Jared after a weekend on the water. As you can see we have a couple of happy campers with some nice bright fish...in May!

This week looks to still be a great week to get out and fish. Most anglers have shift the focus on middle and upper shore waters where conditions are more favorable.

Here is some creel data from the DNR.

From 5/6 through 5/8, water temperatures ranged from 51 to 55 on the Lower Shore, 48-52 on the Middle Shore, and were 41 to 51 on the Upper Shore.

Interviewed anglers caught 14 Steelhead, 17 Kamloops, 2 Brook Trout, and 26 Suckers on the Lower Shore, 17 Steelhead on the Middle Shore, and 4 Steelhead on the Upper Shore.

The Knife Trap totals are 378 Steelhead and 26 Kamloops, while French River Trap totals are 798 Kamloops and 91 Steelhead.

Stream flows shorewide are decreasing, but still running with above average clear flows.

MN DNR Fishing creel reports are updated on the web on Mondays and Fridays at http://mndnr.gov/areas/fisheries/lakesuperior/report.html or

by calling our office at 218-525-0853 and selecting 1 for the updated fishing report

Photo Challenge

2011-05-07T15:26:00.000-05:00

Here is a challenge for all who fish and explore the North Shore Rivers of Minnesota.

To play you must visit our facebook page. To be eligible you must first "like" our page. Good Luck!

Lower Shore Creel Numbers as of 05.06.2011

2011-05-07T11:40:00.018-05:00

Here are the latest Lower Shore Creel Numbers for 05.06.2011

As you can see, the Lower Shore based on creel numbers appears to have peaked. DNR studies show that peak return typically occurs once stream temps maintain 40 degrees overnight, and you can see that has occurred as well. I just haven't had time to chart the trap numbers but it likely shows the same thing.

However, just because it likely has peaked doesn't mean that fishing is done on the Lower Shore. We'll still have fish returning for some time as well as spawned-out fish dropping back out of the tributaries. Not to mention the Mid and Upper Shores are still cooking. There's still a lot of fishing to be done...

Couple items- There have been some questions regarding how to arrive at the numbers shown on the charts. I apologise Zinger, I just hadn't had the time to get in a response to your questions from the previous blog entry, so here goes:

Whenever you see a chart that has a daily reporting format as in the April 26 blog post, there are a couple things to keep in mind. The flow and temperature values reported for that day are an average of all the readings taken throughout the day except for the maximum temperature where depicted. They are in all cases though a daily reported value.

The issue with flow is that normally it's much higher than the numbers being reported for temperature or fish returns whether they are creel or trap numbers. If I put flow at actual scale of 400cfs for example, then creel numbers are 20 fish and the average temp is 41, the lower numbers for temp and creel are all squashed together in a way that makes seeing the important relationships impossible. This is why you'll see a notation in the legend indicating flows have been divided by 10 and then plotted. It's still accurately depicting what flows are doing, but more importantly you can actually see the more subtle temperature, flow and run relationships. My problem is sometimes I copy a chart to make it easier to update some new info and forget to update the X and Y axis labels. That probably confuses the crap out of people and I apologize for it...

With the fish numbers it gets a little trickier. The issue, and I think this is what you were getting at Zinger, is that while the flow and temp values are daily values - in other words I have an actual number for each day shown - the creel and trap numbers are only reported every few days. If I depict the number reported for the day it is reported, it shows up as an isolated data point with no relationship to the previous or next reported number. You'd just see a dot and all you can tell is that it's higher or lower than the previous dot and the next dot, like this:

Generally what I do to make the chart a little more intuitive is to then connect the dots like this:

All the computer is doing to draw the line is interpolating a point between the actual reported data points. That's where it gets tricky because it looks at first glance like there are fish being trapped each day. That's the case in reality, but the DNR is only reporting the totals trapped every few days, so I don't have a daily figure. All you can really say then is that on 04.18 the Knife trap had zero fish in it. On 4.21 they had 134 fish in the trap. What you can't say is exactly how many fish came in on the 19th and 20th. Again, all I can do is plot the actual data for the day it's reported. Daily flow and temp data I have, not the case for trap and creel numbers. But, you still get a good sense of what's going on if I connect the dots as it were.

Which gets us to the type of chart posted at the beginning. The daily values are great for seeing relationships between flow, temperature and fish movement. However the weekly format/values better illustrate exactly where the run is at. The only difference between the two is that all the trap or creel numbers are added up for a particular week, and then plotted, so it's a total for the dates shown. In the above chart, I haven't posted what weeks 10-15 are, but you can figure it out because the peak of the Lower Shore steelhead return is week 16 or April 16-22. Which means that week 15 was April 15-21 etc.

Because the trap and/or creel numbers are cumulative for that particular week, you can see that total Lower Shore steelhead creel for week 16 was 88 fish. Kamloops appeared to have peaked out in week 17 (April 4.23-4.29) at 55 fish. Kamloop numbers are a little trickier though because even though they might be kept by the fisherman reporting to the creel census clerk, the ones getting trapped all get returned to the lake, which means they might get trapped again, or potentially caught and eaten. I'm not saying this skews the numbers, only that it's something to be aware of.

In the end, all this crazy mathematical contortionism just serves two purposes:
1. The daily numbers give you a feel for what's going on more or less real time.
2. The weekly averages such as in the chart above tell you roughly what stage the run is at and from there you can draw your own conclusions about conditions elsewhere.

The charts do serve another purpose, but that's a discussion for another time. Right now it's time to get out and fish.
Regards-
NMF

fishing report - 5-6-11

2011-05-06T19:38:00.000-05:00

Conditions on the North Shore are still favorable. If you think the run is over, think again. Though the river levels are coming down, many are still higher than normal and running clear - lots of fish still to be caught.

Here is the latest creel info from the DNR:

From 5/2 through 5/5, water temperatures ranged from 35 to 45 in the morning and 46 to 47 in the afternoon on the Lower and Middle Shore, while they were 43 to 45 in the afternoon on the Upper Shore.

Interviewed anglers caught 11 Steelhead, 30 Kamloops, and 25 Suckers on the Lower Shore, 12 Steelhead, 2 Kamloops, and 1 Brook Trout on the Middle Shore, and 9 Steelhead, 1 Kamloops, and 4 Brook Trout on the Upper Shore. The Knife Trap totals are 363 Steelhead and 21 Kamloops, while French River Trap totals are 704 Kamloops and 79 Steelhead.

Stream flows shorewide are decreasing, but running with above average clear flows.

DNR Fishing reports are updated on the web on Mondays and Fridays at http://mndnr.gov/areas/fisheries/lakesuperior/report.html or

by calling our office at 218-525-0853 and selecting 1 for the updated fishing report

Adopt-A-River: Clean up Success!

2011-05-03T15:00:00.000-05:00

Pictured here are Minnesota Steelheader staff, DB and TU, posing with some of the trash they picked up during the Sunday Adopt-A-River clean up on the Sucker River. Though we wish more of you would have been able to give some time, we appreciated the few that showed up to clean up.

We ended up with an estimated 170lbs of trash. Most of it was drink containers, plastic bags of one sort or another, and cigarette filters. We also pulled out a fair amount of Styrofoam. The big items were cast iron drain pipe, steel posts, and an old highway sign.

While removing garbage along the river banks and the adjacent property we appreciated the two anglers that recognized our efforts. We remain positive that the other 20+ anglers must have just been shy. As the season moves forward we hope that each of you who walk the banks and water of the Sucker River find energy to pick up and dispose of the trash you discover.

Stay tuned for a post regarding our fall clean up date. We are working to organize an on-the-water pink salmon seminar along with steelhead water scouting techniques for those that sign up to volunteer for the clean up.

Thanks again to those that stepped up on Sunday your time and energy was greatly appreciated.

Fishing Report 5-2-11

2011-05-02T16:43:00.001-05:00

DNR Creel Report:

From 4/29 through 5/1, water temperatures ranged from 38 to 45 in the morning and 45 to 50 in the afternoon on the Lower and Middle Shore, while they were 38 to 39 on the Upper Shore.

Interviewed anglers caught 16 Steelhead, 22 Kamloops, 1 Brook Trout, and 1 Coho on the Lower Shore, 34 Steelhead, 8 Kamloops, and 3 Brook Trout on the Middle Shore, and 13 Steelhead and 3 Kamloops on the Upper Shore. The Knife Trap totals are 345 Steelhead and 20 Kamloops, while French River Trap totals are 640 Kamloops and 69 Steelhead.

Stream flows shorewide rose again on 4/30 with over an inch of rain and are still running high.

Fishing Report 4-30-11

2011-05-01T17:02:00.001-05:00

A couple of the MS staff fished from Thursday through Sunday. We managed to catch fish on 6 of the 8 rivers we fished, though the numbers were not fantastic, we did enjoy the fish caught.

We fished mostly the rivers from Two harbors North to the Middle shore rivers. All the water was high but very fishable and clear, temps were prime two averaging 40 - 44f. Most of the fish caught were steelhead -fresh females. The one shown here is s 29.5" bright hen. She put up a fight worth the whole trip, burning line from my real several times before she was landed.

Saturday brought some rain...wait, lots of rain. The knife ended up coming up to approx. 1200cfs. by the evening - unfishable. During the day on Saturday we caught a couple fish on the larger Middle shore rivers and saw several others hooked and caught. Sunday brought dirty high water from the rain on Saturday, subsequently this brought some tough fishing conditions with it.

We wound down the trip with a morning of fishing on the Sucker River. We managed to get a nice looper in literally the 11th hour prior to joining in on the Adopt-A-River Clean up project.

In a nut shell we estimate that there is still plenty of fishing to come. The middle and upper shore will still be active with fish for the next week or two. The lower shore will still get some fish too. Heck we have caught steelhead over memorial weekend, and June steelhead are not unheard of.

Get out and fish - DB

Fishing Report 4-29-11

2011-04-29T18:54:00.003-05:00

From 4/25 through 4/28, water temperatures ranged from 38 to 42 in the morning and 39 to 45 in the afternoon on the Lower and Middle Shore, while they were 38 to 39 on the Upper Shore.

Interviewed anglers caught 13 Steelhead and 24 Kamloops on the Lower Shore, 13 Steelhead, 4 Kamloops, and 4 Brook Trout on the Middle Shore, and 5 Steelhead on the Upper Shore. The Knife Trap totals are 299 Steelhead and 16 Kamloops, while French River Trap totals are 579 Kamloops and 58 Steelhead.

Stream flows shorewide rose again on 4/27 and have stayed high. Several of the middle shore river, though high are running clear.

DNR Fishing reports are updated on the web on Mondays and Fridays at ttp://mndnr.gov/areas/fisheries/lakesuperior/report.html or by calling our office at 218-525-0853 and selecting 1 for the updated fishing report

Some quick 2011 analysis...

2011-04-29T14:28:00.015-05:00

Couple items to note: Quickie graphic through 04.29.2011 to show how 2011 Lower Shore creel is shaping up against 2010. The data displayed are all weekly averages. (Update - All the prior graphics are day by day updates. What you see below are weekly averages and are a better way to make year to year comparisons. We just haven't had enough data to work with until now).

Last year was a bit of an oddball simply because of how early things started. 2011 is beginning to be an oddball due to the wild daily swings in temps and flows we are getting. It's certainly affecting fishing success. Lots of hard-slogging days...

Keep in mind too that there is a threshold discharge which limits (or ceases) upstream movement of steelhead and presumably kamloops. It doesn't mean fish aren't there or that it's futile fishing, it just means the fish are hunkered down and you need to change tactics. This halt only lasts until flows drop below that particular level, and on the Knife it corresponds to roughly 500cfs. I'd be interested to find out if there is a universal North Shore constant in there somewhere with regards to current speed (in mph) as a limiting factor on upstream movement. (Second update - I spooled the March-April flow data but here's the big caveat: There were some significant ice-dams on the Knife prior to the gauge going live. The first ice-dam is noted on the graphic, but it's hard to say how much the later spike is ice-affected. The flow based on gauge readings was off the charts, and I can only say the flow rates were ice affected. This is partly why the USGS doesn't display flow during the winter months and is a whole other technical argument. At any rate, take the flow rate prior to ice-out with a grain of salt).

Anyway, enough nerdliness, here's the latest graphic. If I were an artiste I would entitle it: "Crayola on Crack". Enjoy!

Latest 2011 Spring Run Numbers

2011-04-26T15:06:00.008-05:00

Latest Lower, Middle & Upper Shore creel numbers along with the latest Knife & French Weir/Trap numbers. Please note that some scale normalization has taken place to accommodate the different temperature & capture scales. Where you see an XXX/10 in a legend it means original number was divided by 10. To get the actual you'll need to multiply. Where you see a XXX*10 the original number was multiplied by ten so you'll need to divide.

One additional note: The Upper Shore numbers seem low, but they are always low because there are simply less people to interview (less people fishing) than on the Lower/Mid Shores. So it's an artificial low if you follow that logic, not necessarily low numbers of fish. Also, the trap numbers are capture numbers by date, not total numbers (Click for Larger Images):

Lower Shore Creel:

Mid Shore Creel:

Upper Shore Creel:

Knife River Trap:

French River Trap:

Fishing Report - 4-25-11

2011-04-25T13:25:00.003-05:00

DNR - North Shore Stream Report 4/25/11:

From 4/22 through 4/24, water temperatures ranged from 37 to 41 in the morning and 39 to 45 in the afternoon on the Lower and Middle Shore, while they were 35 to 40 on the Upper Shore.

Interviewed anglers caught 34 Steelhead and 31 Kamloops on the Lower Shore, 19 Steelhead and 3 Kamloops on the Middle Shore, and 5 Steelhead and 3 Kamloops on the Upper Shore. The Knife Trap totals are 247 Steelhead and 9 Kamloops, while French River Trap totals are 424 Kamloops and 38 Steelhead.

Stream flows shorewide rose on 4/23 and are now decreasing but running high and clear.

Several of us MN Steelheaders will be on the water later this week. Stay tuned as we hope to update the reports daily. Reminder that Sunday is our river clean up. This is open to everyone willing to volunteer a bit of time. With enough help we should all be able to be back on the water in no time. Please spread the word and we will see you on Sunday.

Casual Gathering: Saturday night in Two Harbors (local lounge) for those interested in meeting, swapping fish tales, or simply relaxing will fellow anglers. Email us here for location and time.

Adopt-a-River clean up: Sunday, May 1st. HWY 61 (scenic parking lot) 11:30am.

One can read fishing reports updated on the web on Mondays and Fridays at:http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/areas/fisheries/lakesuperior/report.html or by calling our office at 218-525-0853 and selecting 1 for the fishing report updated every Monday and Friday.

DNR Creel Report

2011-04-23T22:07:00.026-05:00

Here is the latest information from the North Shore Creel report. The photo is a great shot from a late week outting that our friend preston and a buddy had.

From 4/18 through 4/21, water temperatures ranged from 34 to 40 on the Lower and Middle Shore, while they were 33 to 35 on the Upper Shore.

From 4/18 through 4/21, interviewed anglers caught 37 Steelhead and 14 Kamloops on the Lower Shore, 58 Steelhead and 18 Kamloops on the Middle Shore, and 2 Steelhead on the Upper Shore. The Knife Trap totals are 134 Steelhead and 7 Kamloops, while French River Trap totals are 257 Kamloops and 20 Steelhead.

Stream flows on the Lower and Middle Shore are decreasing and becoming clear, while flows on the Upper Shore are running high but clear.

Kamloop thief on the loose

2011-04-23T09:20:00.000-05:00

Pictured here is a shot from our buddy Jesse. He was out late last enjoying a day on the shore. He had some good success with both steelhead and kamloop. Saving the looper for the table seemed like a great idea until he notice it was on the move!

"I had an otter the size of a lab run off with my 8 lb looper. I had to track the looper through the grass by following spilled spawn. I came upon the otter and had to chase him off my fish. Crazy!"

I have seen all sorts of wildlife on the shore during steelheading trips but never experience ia fish thief.

Keep you eyes out for this poacher the next time you are in steelhead, or should I say, otter country.

DB

2011 Spring Run Update Part II

2011-04-22T12:10:00.009-05:00

Current Index Stream flow and 2011 DNR Creel Census numbers through latest reporting date. My apologies but the DNR/MPCA sonde packages don't appear to transmit the temperature data anymore for the Mid and Upper Shore index streams (Click for Larger Image)
Mid Shore Creel Graphic:

Upper Shore Creel Graphic:

2011 Spring Run Update

2011-04-21T11:10:00.012-05:00

Interesting stuff from last weekend...

It appears that the initial push of steelhead from last week was better than we thought; and while overall temps decreased in Lower Shore tribs, two things happened which certainly helped fishing:

First, the stream temps didn't bottom out, which meant that fish which did enter the tribs were quite active despite the snow, wind and cold air temps. Second, discharge decreased despite the storm to very good levels of flow and clarity which was a big change from just a few days prior. Those that adjusted tactics based on stream conditions did very well. Once again carrying a thermometer is critical.

It will be interesting to see the trap numbers once they start coming out. The creel numbers are a great tool for getting a sense of what kinds of numbers are already in the streams, while the trap numbers give you a good sense of the overall stage of the steelhead and kamloops returns.

One item of practical note- We should already be seeing the second push of fish on both the Lower and Mid-North Shore.

At any rate, here is the latest temperature data for the Lower North Shore. We've taken all the individual trib data and averaged it out so it's a little less confusing. The full chart looked like I got out a box of Crayola 64's after drinking an entire 12-pack of barley-pop... The chart depicts the daily average and maximum temps (the blue lines) along with the average and max temps at which steelhead and kamloops begin their initial returns (the red lines). We've also added the Lower Shore Creel numbers along with average daily flow (yellow line) for one Lower Shore index stream. The whole point of these mathematical gymnastics are that as the run progresses, you'll be able to watch how various environmental variables affect both catch rates (creel) as well as the overall timing and/or stage of the run. Keep in mind that the temps are actual, but the flow has been divided by 10 to better show against the temps depicted (Click Chart for Larger Image):

Sucker River clean up date set!

2011-04-18T20:56:00.003-05:00

Update on our Spring Sucker River Cleanup.

For those not aware, Minnesota Steelheader is participating in the Minnesota Dept. of Natural Resources Adopt-a-River Program. Our first scheduled clean up will take place Sunday May 1st at 11:30am. on the Sucker river.

We will meet in the parking lot on Scenic HWY 61 with trash bags and gloves on hand. We appreciate any time you can provide. This is open to EVERYONE! Don't be shy this is a great opportunity to give back to our fishery, meet fellow anglers and share tales & tips.

We are really hoping for a great turn out. The more volunteers the faster we can complete our efforts and get back on the water. Please send us a note if you are planning on joining us for this event. We are also planning an informal get together at a local area watering hole for a beverage and a fun, casual meet & greet Saturday Evening, April 30th. If interested shoot us a note and we will give you more details on location.

Bring a friend and let’s meet on the water! You can emails through this link: EMAIL US

Nice catch!

2011-04-18T16:09:00.001-05:00

Here is a great shot of one respectable Kamloop caught by our friend Jesse this past weekend.

Thanks for Sharing buddy!

4-18-11 Report

2011-04-18T06:27:00.000-05:00

Despite the cold weather and the snow storm, anglers had decent success over the weekend. Attached is one of several fish caught by some fellow MN Steelheaders.

Here is the latest creel info from our friends at the DNR:
From 4/15 through 4/18, water temperatures ranged from 33 to 35 in the morning and 40 to 42 in the afternoon on the Lower and Middle Shore. Water temperatures were 33 to 35 on Upper Shore tributaries.

From 4/15 through 4/18, interviewed anglers caught 51 Steelhead and 33 Kamloops on the Lower Shore, 19 Steelhead and 9 Kamloops on the Middle Shore, and 3 Steelhead and 1 Kamloops on the Upper Shore. The Knife and French River Traps were opened in the morning on 4/18. Stream flows on the Lower and Middle Shore are decreasing and becoming clear, while flows on the Upper Shore are still running high but becoming clearer.

The run is on - get out and fish!

DB

4-14-11 DNR Report

2011-04-15T21:19:00.008-05:00

From 4/11 through 4/14, water temperatures ranged from 42-44 Tuesday and Wednesday and from 36-40 the rest of the days on the Lower Shore. Water temperatures on 4/14 on the Middle shore ranged from36 to 40. From 4/11 through 4/14, interviewed anglers caught 20 Kamloops, 20 Steelhead, 3 Brook trout and 1 Coho and on the Lower Shore. Eight Kamloops were reported being caught on the Middle Shore on 4/14. Photo courtesy Big Idea

The spring creel will begin on the Upper Shore on 4/16. The Knife and French River Traps will be opened on 4/18. Stream flows on the Lower Shore are decreasing and becoming clear, while flows on the Middle and Upper Shore are still running high with debris and ice chunks. The brief warm up on 4/12 and 4/13 resulted in a run of fish on Lower Shore streams, but nighttime air temperatures the rest of the week were below freezing and have slowed things down. Two to six inches of snow is predicted for this weekend, with night time air temperatures below freezing.

One can also read fishing reports updated on the DNR website on Mondays and Fridays by clicking here: MN DNR Reports.You can also call the DNR office at 218-525-0853 and selecting 1 for the fishing report updated every Monday and Friday.

04.14.2011 Fishing Report Plus

2011-04-15T12:18:00.010-05:00

I was able to sneak out yesterday with the General for a rare early run fishing opportunity and it was an interesting day...

I apologize in advance, the SD card on my camera apparently fried. I took a whole slug of photos I wanted to post, but all I got when I went to download them last night was a formatting error...

Flows were well up on all the streams we stopped at and some of them are still screaming. Temperatures varied widely, but ranged from 36-43 degrees depending on when we stopped (morning or afternoon). The big baugaboo of the day was the wind which was cold and relentless. Thank goodness for the sun and some sheltered areas because at 15-25mph gusting to over 30mph at times, certain areas were not a lot of fun to fish.

We hit fish everywhere we went, however actually landing one was a different story. I am sure I personally missed a fair number of fish just due to the wind. The gusts made keeping a tight line impossible at times, and often pulled the business end up and out of the zone. That was probably the worst fish-killer since keeping it within a very narrow zone was critical due to conditions.

The most productive presentation/pattern was high-sticking big, bright orange, cerise or gold yarn on mono with either egg scent or a smaller spawnbag. The critical piece again was fishing the right areas and then keeping the presentation in that narrow zone. The Knife was a perfect example: It was 500cfs dropping to about 450cfs, dirty and 39 degrees while we were there. We started looking for quieter water first and then dialing things in. Even in the quieter water, the current was cooking, so we used short tippet sections (under 12").

We also overweighted on shot-droppers to the point that we had almost constant bottom contact as opposed to the every 1-3 foot tick of a more normal presentation. I call it skidding for lack of a better term because that's what it feels like your weight is doing.

The purpose of skidding is two-fold: First, fish will tightly hug bottom in high flows, and with the reduced visibility, they can't see far so you need to put it on their nose. Secondly, skidding slows down your presentation which again, in severly limited visibility, allows the fish to see it for a much longer time.

I'm going to commit steelhead heresy here, but I think it's a fair point to bring up. The accepted wisdom is that your presentation needs to be moving at the same speed as the current or steelhead will reject it. I think that's mostly true, although fishing the chocolate yeti (like the Knife was yesterday), means you need to be a little more flexible with your thinking.

A perfect example of this: I know a person that puts hundreds of hours in on a well known trib each year; in fact, it's pretty much the only place he fishes. He also takes obscene numbers of fish on yarn tipped with waxies. What's different is that he fishes by walking his yarn down through holes, stopping it and twitching it for long periods of time. Nothing at all natural about that presentation, but he's still very successful.

At any rate, we found fish tight to the bottom and hugging well-defined seams between slow and fast water, sometimes really close to the bank. I also got bumped in the legs while wading by several fish that were facing downstream and holding in a large back-eddy. You can fish floats very effectively to take advantage of the back eddies, but I didn't want to run back to the truck. It is another trick to consider though in really high water.

We missed a number of fish and broke several off while fishing the Knife alone, one of which was a really big, really chrome steelhead so the fish were definately around. The increase in temps over the 12th-14th definately kicked off the first push of fish. Check the latest DNR creel report and consider what they are emphasizing against the latest Minnesota Steelheader temp data (Click for Larger Image): Problem is that we're now seeing temps nosedive which is really going to slow down initial returns. This weekend is going to be tough despite the fact that there are fish around. They're just going to be hunkered down without a whole lot of movement going on. Once again, think big,bright, smelly and slow... I'll continue to update the following as information comes in, but it's interesting to watch how temps influence the initial returns of fish until we maintain that magic 40 degree mark. After that watch flow take over (Click for Larger Image): It's going to be a tough weekend for sure, but fish are there to be had and you can't catch them if you're sitting at home! Regards- NMF

2011 Lower Shore Temperature Tracking

2011-04-11T21:31:00.027-05:00

04.13.2011 Update: The smaller Lower Shore tribs should be seeing their first substantial push of fish if the sun stays out today. Hard to say regarding the bigger ones, I just haven't gotten a reliable temp from those recently. The next creel census numbers will say a lot about what's happening. I suspect the numbers won't be as good as they could be due to a couple factors: The tribs are still blowing out: Big, high and dirty affects catch rates. That and it looks like the weather might slow things down again this weekend... (Click for Larger Image)

Wow we're close! Using the DNR steelhead return study data along with plotting the temperatures of several Lower Shore tribs, you can see we're getting very close to the main returns beginning. No question we have fish movement going on already, but it's just first scouts as it were. I wish I would have had all of today's data, but I thought it better to get the chart put together and worry about what happened today with temps tomorrow (big jump across the board). Lets just say things are really heating up. Man what a cruddy joke. I'm sorry, pretty pathetic I know.... Remember that according to DNR data, "Upstream movement of adult steelhead in the spring initiates when maximum daily water temperatures exceed 4.4*C (39.92*F) and mean daily water temperatures exceed 3.3*C (37.94*F)." Schreiner et.al. Minnesota DNR. As you can see, the available temp data is showing were pretty close. Tomorrow should be interesting... Only item of note is that I'm a little suspicious of the Sucker data. Seems a little low, but then again it's been getting a ton of melt. Crazy readings this afternoon though, so we'll check it tomorrow. Anyway, here's the chart (Click for Larger Image): I'll be posting other numbers as soon as I can run them through the matrix.

Regards- NMF

Fishing Report: 4-11-11

2011-04-11T17:41:00.000-05:00

Here is the latest report on fishing and conditions from our friends a the Minnesota DNR:

From 4/8 through 4/10, water temperatures ranged from 34-35 in the morning and 35-37 in the afternoon on the Lower Shore. From 4/8 through 4/10, interviewed anglers caught 16 Kamloops, 2 Steelhead, and 1 coho and on the Lower Shore. The spring creel will begin on the Middle Shore on 4/14 and on the Upper Shore on 4/16. The Knife and French River Traps will be opened to catch fish sometime in the next week depending on water temperatures and flows. Streams shorewide have high flows with a lot of debris and ice chunks, after the warm air temperatures on Saturday and rain on Sunday. We do not expect the smelt run to begin until water temperatures exceed 45 degrees overnight for several days in a row, which will most likely not occur for several weeks.

One can also read fishing reports updated on the DNR website on Mondays and Fridays by clicking here: MN DNR Reports
You can also call the DNR office at 218-525-0853 and selecting 1 for the fishing report updated every Monday and Friday.

Fishing Report: 4-7-11

2011-04-08T21:58:00.000-05:00

The DNR spring creel on the lower shore will begin today, Friday, April 8.

The spring creel on the middle and upper shore will begin when conditions become appropriate.

Today we received teh follow report from the DNR. Our field Staffer, GL, has been on the water virtually everyday this past week checking out the conditions. His report estimates that by mid week several of the lower shore rivers should be in good shape to fish. Next weekend he feels should be a good bet if you are a weekend angler.

MN DNR report:
On Wednesday, April 6 I drove from the Lester River north to the Temperance River to assess stream conditions. Water temperatures from the Lester to the French were 35-36 degrees; from the Sucker to the Beaver were 34 degrees; and from the Baptism to the Temperance were 33 degrees. The stream channels downstream of the upstream barriers were 75% ice free from the Lester to the French; 50% ice free from the Sucker to the Beaver; and 25% ice from the Baptism to the Temperance. Anglers stated they had caught either Kamloops or Steelhead along the lake shore adjacent to river mouths on five streams. The Lester River was the only stream anglers stated they had caught fish in the stream.

Widow Decals - hot of the printer

2011-04-08T15:28:00.000-05:00

Show your support with one of our new window decals!

We are excited to say that we just received our first batch of Minnesota Steelheader window decals from our printer today. Our goal is to have them available online over the weekend. Check out our website in the next 48 hours for how you can get your hands on one.

We will be selling these through our website for a nominal cost. All proceeds will go towards growing Minnesota Steelheader and our cause.

Adopt-A-River Program moves forward

2011-04-06T21:44:00.003-05:00

This past winter, as most of you probably saw, we had a poll on this blog asking for your feedback on which river would be a good fit for Minnesota Steelheader (MS) to Adopt through the MN DNR Adopt-a-River program. A big thanks to all of you who took the time to vote and/or contact us with your comments and opinions

The Poll recently expired and after collecting the data we received a tie with the two highest votes gong to the Sucker River and the Devil Track River. The Baptism River was a close second.

Through the course of the poll we received a variety of comments and opinions as to which river would be the best fit for us.  We received feedback from interest in helping rivers from the Lester River all the way up to the Flute Reed River- a pretty impressive span.

Reiterating what we stated previously, our selection process needed to focus on a few key elements: level of visible trash/pollution, accessibility for a diverse group of volunteers, and overall steelhead habitat. All the rivers that were in the poll have the steelhead habitat so that pretty much cancels itself off as a primary focal point.

The river accessibility element on the other hand varies dramatically along the North Shore and deserved a close look.  We have a diverse group of friends at MS, from your teenagers to veteran anglers in their 70's. Selecting a river that requires some major hiking or wadding in tough conditions could dramatically limit the amount of volunteers able to assist for stream-side clean-up. The distance up the shore is also a factor. With the majority of the Steelhead fishing done South of Grand Marais, it is questionable whether we will have an adequate volunteer staff willing to make the journey for a clean up day in the upper shore area.

Finally we have the trash/pollution element. This is obviously the biggest factor in our decision. Our Field Staffers referred to years of mental notes as to what river consistently has had an issue with trash along trails, river, parking area etc. We also looked at which river would also get a fair amount of tourist pressure throughout the year. We all know that the trash thing is not just from careless anglers, tourist play a role in this as well.

Now I know some of you voiced your opinion on some pretty sweet Steelhead rivers, but the trash/pollution was not as bad as some other rivers. Sure the fishing may be more pristine, maybe fewer anglers,  and more awe inspiring, but we are are not adopting a river for the coolness factor. We are adopting a river that needs help from a group of willing volunteers - Minnesota Steelheader friends.

After a collective review we decided that the river to adopt is the Sucker River. The Sucker fits all 3 of our criteria well. The proximity is convenient for the majority and the accessibility is not to difficult even under tough conditions. The habitat is good and the fish, in our opinion are getting bigger.  I won't go into details but let me just say a couple of us have measured some trophy class steelhead in the past 5 years in stretches of the Sucker River. I think we can all agree that the trash issue definitely needs to be addressed on this River as well.

So, We moved forward with the DNR and are now the official Sponsor of the Sucker River. The section we committed to is from Lake Superior inland to the upstream boundary. We will focus extra awareness in our clean up efforts in the lower reaches of the river that receive the most fishing and tourist pressure. We plan to have 2 outings annually. The first date has yet to be finalized but we are looking at sometime before May 15th. We will also have a fall outing sometime during the fall salmon run in September.

If you are interested in volunteering please send us an email through our website or via facebook... sorry no email links here, demented spammers like blogs. Anyway, we will give you more of the specific details on date, time and place.  We are also working on plans for a casual off the water meeting around the clean-up date to share some suds, stories, and fishing tips. Check back for more details both here and on our facebook page.

Don't be a stranger!  Now is your chance to step up and give back a little to our fishery and meet some great anglers to boot!

DB

Do you know your tags?

2011-04-04T11:05:00.001-05:00

With the Season just around the corner, now is a good time to brush up on your tag knowledge. The DNR inserts individual numbered tags at the base of the dorsal fin on hatchery (clipped) and wild steelhead that are caught at the Knife and French river fish traps. They insert grey numbered tags are into steelhead at the Knife River trap and yellow numbered tags into steelhead at the French River trap. The DNR uses these individual numbered tags are to gather information on steelhead movement patterns within Lake Superior, occurrence of repeat spawning, age and growth, and trap efficiency.

If you catch a tagged steelhead, leave the tag in the fish and record the number. Report the tag number, along with the date, location, and if the fish was harvested or released to the Lake Superior Fisheries. With this info you can find when and where the fish was tagged and also the age of the fish.

Remember that unclipped steelhead cannot be harvested in Minnesota waters.

Kamloops are also tagged but the tags used are a bit different than those given to our steelhead.

The DNR uses unnumbered plastic tags for the Kamloops strain rainbow trout that are captured at the French River fish trap. The color tag used changes each year (table below). These tags quickly identify which fish have already been captured and used in spawning operations at the French River Hatchery.

2007 yellow - 2008 gray - 2009 green - 2010 clear - 2011 blue

Click HERE to go to the online fish tag reporting program. Thanks for the link NMF!

Psst hey... wanna see something kinda cool?

2011-03-30T14:51:00.032-05:00

In the interest of being a well rounded steelheader, I'm always on the prowl for information sources which can give me a feel for what's going on out there.

One thing I like to do prior to the spring runs is to keep tabs on the progression of snowmelt going on in the various Superior watersheds. But there's another reason I like to look at this type of information.

Migratory fish use all kinds of chemical markers in the water to navigate home, and part of what gives each river a "smell" all it's own are the unique soil compositions within the home watersheds. Sometimes in spring you can be driving along 61 and the water is a clear, sparkling blue (or a dark, angry, roiling green as often as not). Other times all you see for the first hundred yards or so out is a sea of reddish-brown stained water; the result of snowmelt or rain causing the rivers to rise and carry local sediments out into the Big Lake.

However it happens, even if I'm not looking forward to the prospect of fishing the chocolate yeti that day, it puts a smile on my face because this is all part of the process which calls the fish home. Which is all a roundabout way of introducing you to The NOAA MODIS Sattellite.

I was watching the images back around the 14th of March which is about when I first started to notice the "brown up" occurring in the St. Louis River estuary. That and I was looking for changes in the imagery related to ice-out and snowmelt. What I didn't notice at first was the sediment plume just starting to come out of the St. Louis, but primarily the Nemadji River. What follows is a pretty amazing set of images of that sediment plume being ejected out into the Lake (Click thumbnails for larger image - Warning, they are huge):

Keep in mind that the smallest feature you can see, (and I'm talking about the smallest dot you can find like one of the ice-floes below the pack-ice off Cornucopia WI there) in something like 900 feet across, which gives you some insight into just how large this plume is.

Couple fun facts for you as to the reasons why the plume is so large- The vast majority of the watershed lies in an area that used to be the bottom of a huge glacial lake. The average yearly sediment load deposited at the mouth of the Nemadji alone is 131,100 tons: 117,000 tons of silt and clay, 14,000 tons of sand. From 1975 to 1994, the Army Corp of Engineers dredged more than 1 million cubic yards of sediment (mostly sand) from Superior bay near the Nemadji River.

Those are some pretty crazy numbers and it affects natural steelhead reproduction in a big way; but more about that another time. I just thought the images, aside from being pretty spectacular, are really just telling the steelhead, "It's time to come home..."

Regards- NMF

Fishing Report 3-25-11

2011-03-25T16:00:00.004-05:00

If you are like me you are getting anxious to get on the water. We received a fishing report from the DNR at the French River Hatchery today and so far it is still to early to get into the rivers. Stay tuned as we hope to have weekly condition updates and fishing reports starting next week. We also encourage you to post your own reports either through the comment section below or feel free to send via email. We also encourage you to send in your steelhead photos!

"Currently anglers are fishing from the shore around the mouth of the French River with some success for Kamloops, on calm days. All tributaries remain frozen, although some at the Duluth end of the shore have some water flowing on top of the ice."

03.18.2011 Update

2011-03-18T22:25:00.011-05:00

All right, I know I said I was going to lay off for a bit, but the General stopped by this evening and dropped off a present for me in the form of freshly tied, small and medium sized spawn-bags; needless to say I got a little jazzed up... I fish a trib or two which never seem to clear up, consequently you better have a highly pungent offering on the end of your line or it just isn't happening.

Anyway, the recent warm weather has changed the game somewhat. I've noticed a few things which have me watching conditions on the ground closer than ever.

First, I walked outside Thursday morning to a veritable spring cacophany: The chickadee males were duking it out over territory, the cardinal males were singing to beat the band, and seemingly overnight the robins had come back in force, and the snow in my yard was blood-red with the destroyed remains of sumac seed cones. With the nearly full moon, I think the returning hordes took advantage of the easy food-source and fed all night - piggies... The local tom was in full strut tending his harem for the first time, and the eagles were engaged in their spring courtship. If you've never seen it, it's a seeming dogfight between males and females which would put the Duluth fighter wing to shame - No offense Bird Dog, I've just never seen two F16's lock gear belly to belly, tumble for hundreds of feet only to release, climb to altitude, and do it again and again...

At any rate there are a number of other signs of note: I noticed in the latest satellite photos a distinct "brown-up" occurring in the St. Louis estuary. There's still quite a bit of snow in the highlands yet, but this might change if the weather remains sunny. I also noted that flows on lower shore tribs have jumped. This isn't unusual on it's own, however stream temps have tanked at the same time, which tells me the melt is on. The infusion of cold meltwater to the systems are the only thing which causes this during such a rapid rise in flows. I think the big question now is how long is it going to take the snow in the uplands to decrease before the stream temps are able to start edging up? That's the million dollar question at this point. The lake ice has also retreated from the lower arm and out towards the Bayfield Penninsula based on the latest imagery.

Either way, fishing off the mouths has been quite good for kamloops and the steelhead can't be too far behind. Methinks 'tis time to strap on the modified bearpaws for a little tour...
Regards-
NMF

Time's a Wastin'!

2011-03-06T09:30:00.002-06:00

Well everyone, in case you haven't noticed, it's MARCH! Which means that steelheading is just around the corner, even if it seems like the snow will never end. If you haven't already, it's time to get your gear together, patch those waders, finish tying flies or spawn, and quit dreamin' about seeing that first enormous square, spotted tail distorted by a boil the size of a garbage-can lid.

For me personally, I can't wait to step out of the car and get my first whiff of cedar mixed with balsam. To hear the sound of breakers over the the rush of snowmelt-laden water; or to see stars so thick I can't tell where the sky stops and water begins on the big lake.

Let's face it, whether you catch a fish or not, we are blessed with incredible opportunities every spring, and steelheading is so much more than simply fishing. We encourage you all to take at least one opportunity this year to pass along a little of what you know to the next generation. Whether it's a son or daughter, niece or nephew, or maybe it's the neighbor kid whose parent (or parents!) are away serving our country in the military; you can make a big difference in their lives.

As for me, it's time to change gears and shift into watch-mode. Nothing moving here yet, but I'm seeing the first hint of signs. The ice-out has already begun in SE Wisconsin, and is progressing north-westward slowly but surely. The male chickadees have begun singing their spring songs on warmer mornings, and the cardinals can't be too far behind. So I'll be keeping a much closer eye on conditions, my ear to the ground, and getting out actually scouting as time allows. You probably won't be hearing much from me over the next two weeks or so, but only because it's but the deep breath before the plunge. Until then, start getting ready because all to soon it's going to be time to, as the Hanson Brothers would say, start "Foiling Up".

I'll talk to you later, I gotta go put a fresh coat of varnish on the snowshoes, I think it's gonna be one of those springs...

Regards-
NMF

Trout Unlimited - Fundraising Banquet

2011-03-05T14:51:00.000-06:00

To those who are interested, Trout Unlimited is having a Fundraising Banquet Saturday March 19th 2011. It is being held at the newly renovated Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, MN. Registration is a breeze on the website, here is a link: TU Banquet Registration

The event is open to all Trout Unlimited members. They are also encouraging non-members attend. If you are interested in meeting up with anyone from Minnesota Steelheader while at the banquet, please drop us an email (click here) with your contact information. We hope to be in attendance.

Flow Data Interpretation for Steelheaders

2011-02-22T15:45:00.006-06:00

Flow is a vitally important factor for understanding fish movement in the grand scheme of steelhead fishing. Flow is arguably the single-most important variable when taken in the context of fish movement, just as temperatures dictate when fish begin to run, when they spawn, where they locate within a stream, and when they are the most vulnerable to bait or fly presentations. But even there, you'll be looking for a certain type of "flow".

Many people are initially baffled when it comes to interpreting flow charts from USGS and others. Fortunately, the folks at Minnesota Steelheader can walk you through interpretation and when you are done with this article, you’ll be able to read the charts like a pro.

To understand the charts, it is helpful to understand a few terms that are used on any chart you might encounter:

CFS: Cubic Feet per Second or "CFS," is the rate of flow in streams and rivers. It is equal to a volume of water one foot high, one foot long and one foot wide (a cube) flowing a distance of one foot in one second as measured by a sonde. The higher the number the higher the water volume flowing past the sonde -the instrument which measures flow- at a given point in time. By way of comparison, 1 cubic foot per second of water volume is equal to approximately 7.5 gallons per second of water volume.

Discharge: The total volume of water which passes a given location within a given period of time expressed in cubic feet per second. Think of discharge as the total CFS measurement passing a distinct point in a tributary (wherever the sonde is located); the higher the number, the higher the flow. Discharge readings are displayed in CFS typically as in Figure 1 below:

Figure 1

Exceedence: This is the tough one to wrap your brain around however, exceedence is an important way to describe the percentage of time for which a measured stream-flow is greater than, equal to, or less than all of the measured stream-flow values taken on a particular date. Exceedence is used because discharge is not normally distributed, i.e. flows go up and down, but don’t typically follow classic bell-shaped curves. Also, low-flows generally have high exceedence percentages, and high-flows generally have low exceedence percentages. Low-flow events have a high exceedence percentage because most of the time, the current measured flow exceeds the low flow value. Similarly, high-flow events generally have low exceedence percentages because most of the time, measured flows are lower than the high-flow value. In other words they rarely exceed the value given.

Exceedence then is useful in understanding when a tributary is low, normal or high for a given time of year, although the mean (read average) value is a more intuitive way to get a feel for where a tributary is at in the context of a particular time of year. This is arguably the most important concept to grasp with regards to fishing migratory salmonids. More on that later. There are two measurements generally given for exceedence: 20% and 80%.

Figure 2: The Exceedence chart for a hypothetical stream

In the example illustrated by the Figure 2, a hypothetical stream has an average (mean) flow of 45 cfs, and a median flow of 38cfs. The 50% exceedence value is the median flow of 38cfs. This means that the median flow -the mathematical “middle” of all measured flow values for this date- will be greater than or equal to 38cfs 5 out of every 10 years. Another way to put it is that one-half of all measurements were higher, and one-half of all measurements were lower than 38cfs.

The stream has an 80% exceedence flow of 25cfs. An 80% exceedence flow means that the measured flow will be equal to or greater than 25cfs 8 years out of 10. The stream has an 10% exceedence flow of 72cfs. A 10% exceedence flow means that the measured flow will only be equal to or greater than 72cfs 1 year out of 10.

O.k., I know, you’re looking at 10% when I said 20%. Generally USGS only provides the 20% and 80% exceedence values, but you get the point, and we're talking about a hypothetical stream anyway. The other thing to remember is that when any chart provides exceedence, mean and median values, those apply only to the date you are looking at. Yesterday was different and so too will tomorrow’s values be.

So why is this important? When looking at any USGS chart, you need to be able to interpret what is low, normal or high for that date AND that specific time of year. Most fall readings on any given tributary are vastly different from spring readings, particularly on the North Shore. What might seem like absurdly low flow in fall in comparison to spring flow, could really be a discharge rate that will draw fish like crazy. This is because migratory fish “adjust” as it were to individual tributary’s annual flow cycles. Somehow the fish seem to know just what works for them in terms of flows with regards to time of year on a specific tributary. On one upper shore trib I fish, a flow rising to 11-15cfs in fall will draw Coasters, Pink, Coho & Chinook Salmon, while a spring steelhead would simply yawn and wait for flow values in 85-100cfs range.

Gage Height: The height of the water surface above the gage datum (zero point). Gage height is often used interchangeably with the more general term stage, although gage height is more appropriate when used with a gage reading. Gage heights generally correspond to distinct discharge readings and are how Rating Curves are developed. This is important to understand because many people think that gage and CFS are not related, they are. A distinct gage reading corresponds to a distinct CFS rate. In a perfect world, they would always be the same however, in the real world they are not quite the same, but that gets into a technical argument regarding stream cross-section and is not highly relavent to the discussion. You Cliff Clavin types can feel free to e-mail me if you want to know why... At any rate, it really doesn't matter whether you intuitively understand stage or CFS better, the point is to be able to know what readings mean that it's time to go fishing. Figure 3 illustrates Gage Height and is the corresponding sonde reading to Figure 1.

Figure 3:

Mean: The “average” in plain English. For a data-set such as discharge, the mean is the sum of all readings divided by the total number of observations for a given date. This value is then used as the basis for all other annual data. Figure 4 shows Means, Medians and Exceedence as depicted on USGS charts in the following manner:

Figure 4:

Here you can see that for May 11th, the flow is actually quite low. Well below the average of 219cfs, and very close to the lowest historically recorded flow value. This graphic is very telling with regards to what’s going on with the fish.

Median: The number dividing the higher half of a discharge data-set from the lower half. The median of a list of numbers is simply calculated by arranging all the observations from lowest value to highest value and using the middle value. Medians are depicted pictorially on USGS charts as a Triangle (See Figure 1) as well textually in the summary method depicted in Figure 4.

Sonde: A type of instrument package ideal for profiling and monitoring water conditions in lakes, rivers & wetlands. Sondes may have multiple sensors that record a range of water quality data such as: Gauge Height, Discharge, Turbidity (how much dirt etc. is suspended in the water), Temperature, Dissolved Oxygen etc. If the sonde has “on board” battery power, it can be left unattended for weeks at a time, with measurement parameters sampled at pre-programmed intervals and data securely saved in the unit's internal memory. Some sondes transmit data automatically while others require physical retrieval from the water. The sonde's information is downloaded to a computer and specialized software is used to graph and interpret the data.

Getting Started

There are three very good resources for obtaining flow on North Shore and other area tributaries. The first is the US Geological Survey Site
This link is specific to Minnesota and displays tributaries in a table format. To get other State’s tributary data, simply select that State from the dropdown menu located in the upper right-hand corner of the screen, then click on the trib you wish to view. A useful feature of this table is that you can quickly scroll through all available tributaries to see what they are doing once you get a feel for each tribs flow cycle.

The second resource is: Lake Superior Duluth Streams
This link has data on a few lower shore tribs along several upper-shore tribs. The data is displayed in a slightly different format, but still shows discharge and stage (gauge height). These are important, but greatest tools available here are temperature and precipitation. Another great feature of this site is the Data Visualization Tool and Color Data Plot. It does require Java to display, but you can download it from the site. If you don’t want Java on your machine, you can still load the data in an Excel format although temperatures will be displayed in degrees Celsius.

The third resource is: MPCA - MN DNR Cooperative Stream Gaging Program. This one is great because you can get limited temp data along with access to at least one mid-shore tributary.

One note on available Minnesota tributary data: Because of the relative lack of available sondes, you will have to make assumptions about flows between stations. Generally this means watching weather stations in addition to looking at tribs with sondes for precipitation events. The general rule of thumb is that 15-20 miles is about the maximum distance you can assume general conditions of flow will be similar when comparing tribs with sondes to tribs without sondes. Meaning that if flow is going up or down at a given station, it will be going up or down on tribs within 15-20 miles either direction. This is why you need to look at radar in particular to get a feel for how widespread a precipitation event is.

For our discussion, we’ll us the data displayed above from the Knife River. You can follow along however by opening the USGS link and performing the following steps:

1. Open the USGS link to the Minnesota table
2. Click on the Knife River Station ID: 04015330
You should now see the graphic displays containing the gauge height backup, discharge and primary gauge height. The current display is for a full month of data. The very top of the page has selections to specify parameters for each of those displays. Generally one week (7 days) is a more useful display. This is also where you can specify that you would like the means, medians and exceedence displayed.

3. Under Available Parameters located at the top of the page, select “Graph w/Stats” then type the number 7 in the “Days” box. Now click the “Go” button. This will refresh the displays to give you the full range of available data from the latest reading going back a full seven days.

Using the examples provided above, you can see that the flow and gage readings are trending slightly downward meaning that the flow on the Knife is dropping. The actual current discharge is 37cfs, or about 277 gallons per second. This is well below the mean or average flow of 219cfs, as well as the median flow of 144. This tells you that the flows are very low for this particular time of year. You can now draw several important conclusions from the available data:
It indicates that there is probably very little fish movement, and that the Knife is about as clear as it’s going to get. You can also infer that other area tribs are also similarly low and clear, and that you’ll have to adjust your tactics and presentations to the current conditions. Fishing deeper holes and runs or broken pocket water in low light periods with long leaders and light tippets, along with small natural flies or baits and a stealthy approach will be the order of the day. You can also see by the date that the run is probably winding down, and any remaining fish have likely been pressured.

If the current reading were closer to the mean flow, the water would be more discolored. Fish movement would most likely be greater. Less stealthy approaches could be used along with shorter leaders, heavier tippets and larger brighter flies and baits should now be employed. All of these conclusions can be drawn from a simple glance at the current data and go a long way towards making any outing that much more successful.

One final note: I’ve mentioned the term flow cycles several times. Again, each tributary has it’s own natural rhythm which the fish somehow adapt to. Each tributary also has a point at which the fish seem to shut down, and looking elsewhere can make or break a day. Because this is highly variable between Spring and Fall based on the cycle, the only way to know for sure is to watch for those means along with keeping track of your observations and success, or lack thereof, while comparing this against the available flow data. On the Knife in Spring for example, a 450-500cfs reading tells me that the river is basically what is referred to as, “blown out.” In other words it is high, dirty and just about un-fishable, not to mention dangerous to attempt wading. The DNR studies also show that fish movement on the Knife pretty much shuts down as you approach 500 cfs.

And if you do see these high readings, but it's the only time you can fish, at least you are going in armed. Fishing close to the bank between the points of outside turns and the mid-point of the inside bends, or any other sheltered area with really big, really bright or really dark baits or flies is going to be the the order of the day.

Similarly, a 150cfs spring reading on the Knife tells me that it is getting pretty low based upon my own past observations. However, I’ve had some pretty good days fishing it at this level so I won’t count the Knife out, I just know I have to change tactics. In Fall, a 150cfs reading by way of comparison would put a huge smile on my face.

But what if you have never fished a particular tributary before? A good rule of thumb is that the closer a discharge reading is to the mean, the greater your chances are of finding active fish and being successful. Keep in mind that Spring and Fall means are normally very different and that the actual flow may not be as important as how close the current flow is to the mean value. This is why it is important to consider them since the means indicate how close the current reading is by comparison to where it should be for that specific time of year. Again, the fish adapt to the cycle.

Being able to interpret flow data goes a long way towards making you a more successful steelheader. Once you know how to interpret the data, you can quickly visualize what the current conditions are, as well as to formulate a plan on where to fish and what presentations to try first. And now that you know how, it’s all a matter of putting these concepts into practice.

One item of significant import for North Shore Steelheaders: Keep in mind that while flow is very important to fish movement, temperature also plays a huge role in initial run activity. Early on in late March or early April, you can have the most ideal flow in the universe, but if the temps aren't where they need to be, things can be mighty slow. That's not to say we don't get early fish forays into the tribs, particularly loopers, because we do; it's just that the initial push is highly dependant upon temperature. Here's a quote found in multiple DNR Adult Trap Operation Reports typically located under Spring Environmental Variables. "Upstream movement of adult steelhead in the spring initiates when maximum daily water temperatures exceed 4.4*C (39.92*F) and mean daily water temperatures exceed 3.3*C (37.94*F)." Schreiner et.al. Minnesota DNR. Once daily temps hit these ranges and maintain, flow once again takes over as the factor that dictates upstream fish movement.

Regards and Good Fishing!
NMF

Pom-Pom Eggs - The Inexpensive Glo-Bug

2011-02-07T10:23:00.008-06:00

One of the most useful and productive fly patterns you can carry when you fish the runs for steelhead, kamloops and salmon are eggs. Any time free drifting eggs are in the stream is a good time to fish them and, they can be fished with any type of equipment from Fly to Spinning rods. A wise SE Wisconsin guide once told me, "Any pattern will catch fish, as long as it has an egg in it."

As with all flies, you will go through A LOT of them. One option is to purchase them, but at a dollar a pop or more, making your own is a simple and inexpensive proposition.

In a short amount of time and with just a few simple tools, you can crank out eggs by the hundreds at just pennies per piece. I’m going to assume that you know how to do some basic tying; but if you don’t, this is a good pattern to start learning with because it will teach you some of the basics: How to Start Your Thread, how to position materials, and the Whip Finish.

On Sizing
I use the metric standard because it is easier than using a bunch of goofy fractions or tenths of an inch when trying to describe patterns. That and most poms are sold by the millimeter anyway. Eggs from salmonid species in the Great Lakes range in diameter from roughly two to just under ten millimeters (mm). Steelhead, Kamloops, Brown and Pink Salmon eggs can run anywhere from around 2 to 5mm. Chinook and Coho eggs run anywhere from 5 to 10mm but typically fall right around 6-8mm in size. By way of reference, a pencil lead from a typical #2 is about 1.5mm in diameter. The eraser on a pencil or the holes in notebook paper are about 5mm, and the keys on your keyboard are right around 12mm.

To begin, here are the materials you will need (Fabric Paint Optional):

The first items is the egg- Basically the egg is nothing more than a craft pom-pom. These can be purchased at just about any craft store and in many different colors. One I like in particular is
Sunshine Discount Crafts because they sell poms as small as 3mm which are sometimes necessary in very clear water. Other local stores where you can find poms are: Michael's, Wal-Mart and JoAnn Fabrics.

Good colors to start with are white, red, chartreuse, orange, yellow & pink. Don't overlook colors like blue, black and moss green (if you can find it). A selection of 3, 5, & 7mm poms is hard to beat and a pack of fifty 5mm eggs will only set you back about .50 cents.

The second item is the hook- Some things to consider: First, any hook you buy will have to be sized properly for the egg and proper sizing is pretty crucial. The easiest way to determine sizing is to hold a pom up to the hook gap. If the egg fits just inside the gap you have the right size. If it's bigger than the gap keep looking.

Most 5mm poms will fit properly on a size 10 hook, but it depends on the hook design. The reason you need to properly size the hook and egg is that you do NOT want the pom to interfere with the hook gape. An egg that is too large for the hook will interfere with your hook-set and cause you to miss fish you should have otherwise hooked.

Second, try to match the hook to the species you are after. An egg tied to catch a 20-pound chinook salmon had better be pretty robust. A similar egg tied to catch pinks doesn’t have to be as strong, and sometimes you get better hook-sets on a lighter wire hook. I tie the majority of my egg patterns on a Mustad C67S. This is a 2X heavy, 3X short hook that can handle any species the Great Lakes has to offer. The only problem with any heavy hook is that it can make sliding the pom on a bit tougher. Other hook options like TMC 105's and Daiichi are also good choices.

The Third (Optional) item: Fabric Paints- This isn’t a required item, but it’s nice for making fertilized eggs and blood dots. The stuff you see in the photo is called Scribbles 3D and is available from most craft stores. It comes in a ton of colors, including fluorescents, and one bottle is only .80 cents. The bottle has a tiny, pointy applicator tip, and should last for... Not sure? My bottles have dried out somewhere around the 600-800 egg mark before the paint has been used up. The other option is to use colored fabric pens. I like the ease of the pens, but I can get better fluorescent colors in paint and they make a better dot...

Fourth item: Some tying tools- A vise is nice but not completely necessary. A buddy of mine ties them using only his hands while riding in the car from stream to stream... You can pick up used vises very cheap and the vise doesn't have to be top of the line; just good enough to hold the hook. Same goes for a bobbin, but the bobbins are handy and do speed the process. You WILL need thread. Some guys insist on matching the color of the thread to the egg, but I end up using 70 denier flat-waxed white a lot and the fish don't seem to notice. Another handy tool is a whip finisher but again, not required; it just makes life a whole lot simpler like the bobbin. Last, a hemostat or better yet, pair of small needle-nose pliers for crimping barbs and to help with those fat hooks and or stubborn poms.

To get started, take a hook and crimp down the barb with your pliers. Pick out a pom-pom and push the hook point completely through the pom. Try to get it right through the center because that is the point around which the pom is tied. I take a little extra time during this step to locate the tie orientation of the poms. If you look closely, you can usually see the line where the pom is tied. It’ll look like a fine line in the material, much like the equator on a globe. I always try to push the hook through the center of the pom and perpendicular to this line. If you do this, your egg-fly will be practically indestructible and should never come apart or off the hook on it's own. Slide the pom onto the hook about one third of the way up the shank if you are going to put a bumper in front of the egg (see below). If you're not tying a front bumper, push it all the way to within one eye-width of the hook eye itself and position it in the vise. Egg illustrated here is a white 5mm in position for tying the front bumper.

I like to make about six or seven thread wraps around the hook and just behind the eye. This keeps the egg from sliding up and covering the eye, but it’s not necessary. What IS necessary is to put six or seven turns of thread BEHIND the egg and whip finish. This acts as a stop or bumper and if you don’t, the egg will just slide down onto the bend after repeated casting. The original design used glue to hold the egg in place, but it wasn’t always reliable and the eggs often absorbed too much glue and became hard. Another method is to buy bait-holder hooks with the little barbs on the shank. You can slide the egg between the two barbs and they will hold the egg in place. This is a great option for those of you that don't tie, or for emergency on-stream "tying" when you run out of the hot pattern.

Once you've put the optional forward wrap in place, push the egg forward to roughly one eye-width behind the eye. Next make your stopper wraps behind the egg. Try to catch a little material from the egg in your thread. This will keep the egg from rotating if you add a blood dot. When you are done with the whip finish, it should look like this:

Now clip the thread off and apply a small amount of the fabric paint if you wish to make a blood dot. It doesn’t take much paint and the small applicator tip makes it easy to make a nice round dot. Be sure not to overload on the paint or the egg will get hard. The fly shown in the photo is actually a fertilized egg pattern. The white represents milt from the male, which is surrounding the orange dot of the egg.

Now all you need to do is to set the paint. You can allow the paint to air dry, but heat setting will make it far more durable. While you are tying, pre-heat the oven to 130-150 degrees. Take an old baking pan and spread the eggs out on it.

When you have enough eggs, put them in the oven for no more than 15 minutes. When you take them out, they will immediately be ready for use.

An alternate and highly successful pattern to try is a veiled egg, also known as a sperm or milt fly and similar to a nuke egg. These flies all represent a fertilized egg.

Follow the same steps as above but tie a 1-2 inch piece of champagne or white colored yarn in front of the egg as shown in place of the front bumper.

Now slide the egg forward and tie the rear bumper. Fold the yarn back over the egg and run a couple of turns of thread over the front of the yarn to hold it in position. Pull the yarn back and clip it off at about 2X the egg diameter.

I have tremendous luck with this style egg when conventional egg patterns are not working. Clear water and or pressured fish are two prime examples, just be sure to downsize.

Give these pom eggs a try. At around .12 cents an egg, how can you go wrong?
Regards & Good Fishing!
NMF

Trout Program Update

2011-01-30T21:35:00.002-06:00

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 steelhead programs beyond the 2012 production." ~Ross Pearson - Kamloops Advocates

photo by: Minnesota Steelheader

Mono on the Fly

2011-01-17T09:57:00.004-06:00

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 of time, and longer drifts mean more time in the strike zone.

Long rods also allow you to easily "high stick." The quick and dirty theory behind high sticking is that you want to keep as much line off the water as possible by holding your arm up and keeping your rod-tip high. This means that the mono enters the water at point just above the fly, and at a steep enough angle that the least amount or length of line required is in the water at any given time. This reduces drag on the terminal end, allows pinpoint accuracy and is critical for proper presentation.

As for length, a 9-1/2 to 10 foot rod works very well. You can go longer or slightly shorter, but arm fatigue becomes a factor in longer rods, and the above lengths will effectively cover most North Shore situations. You don't have to break the bank to find a suitable rod either. I prefer to use fly rods so I can switch back and forth between fat line and mono as required; but there are a plethora of other applications out there that work well for steelheading (certain crappie rods come to mind), and you can be in business for under 75$.

What you do want however in any rod would be a minimum of IM6 graphite, a range from say about 4-10lb. line and an extended butt section. This doesn't have to be a rounded "fighting butt" style, however the extension should be there as it allows you to stabilize the rod against your forearm and reduces fatigue along with helping you fight fish.

Reels? Up to you... You can use a large-arbor fly reel, a Martin 72 "Coffee Grinder", any open-faced spinning reel, a Zebco 505 or even the reel off a Snoopy pole if you like. The effectiveness of the rig lies in the rod and presentation.

Setting the Stage
Take a really close look at the water in the photo below. Typical rocky North Shore pocket run right? Absolutely, but it's what's going on both at the surface and at the bottom that's critical. There are many many different current speeds and multiple seams in front of me there along with the general downstream flow and one large back-eddy plus a boil.

What you're not seeing is also critical. In just the small section from directly in front of me to the upstream edge of the picture, the water depth varies from mid-calf depth to over belly deep. There are lots of rocks, but also patches of washtub size gravel pockets, and these get a LOT of scrutiny from both steelhead and kamloops on their way upstream, although they are infrequently used for spawning. Again, very typical North Shore stream composition with limited suitable reproduction habitat below the main upstream barrier.

Let me set the stage just a bit further. This day was very early in the run however, flow was up and stream temps warmed from approximately 38 degrees to 44 degrees. Visibility was apparently about 6-8 inches clarity. My partner and I were also using identical flies.

Where and Why Does it Work?
Again, if you look at the picture above, it illustrates the ideal conditions in which to use mono for presenting flies: A multitude of current speeds, highly inconsistent bottom depths, and stream temperatures in the 42+ degree range. Steelhead and kamloops are creatures of metabolism, and position themselves according to water temperatures as well as flow. On this day as the temperatures rose into the 40's, fish not only began to move upstream in search of gravel, but began to move out of deep holes and into the faster pocket-water in numbers. Fish in faster water have a split-second to decide whether something is food or not. In slower water they can scrutinize potential food at their leisure, often following flies for several feet downstream before ultimately rejecting them for any number of reasons. Sometimes in slow water they simply mouth the fly and reject it faster than you can react, oftentimes before you see the take whether by mouth flash in clear water or before the indicator even moves when indie fishing. This is why bait like spawn works so well in cold water: It looks, feels, smells and tastes like food, and the fish will grab it and hang on a long time. But again in faster water there's no time for leisurely scrutiny, and the suddeness in which your line stops or moves allows you to see these more aggressive takes, which in combination with line drag many times causes the fish to hook itself.

On the North Shore, streams go from babbling to raging very quickly, This tends to scour the bottoms of steeper sections clean. However, the reason the gravel pockets develop in the sections illustrated above, are the same reasons fish utilize them. The pockets where gravel develops are better protected from higher flows, and offer places where the fish can dart out for food, or food simply comes to them. Essentially the lower the flow, the smaller the substrate that can develop. This is why you see none or only large rocks on top of bedrock in steep, fast sections, and muddier clay-type bottoms in the deep, flat and slow pools of North Shore tribs. In these faster sections, the current breaks provided by small bedrock ledges and large rocks causes current speed to drop. Gravel-sized substrate then gets deposited in these depressions and breaks where it builds up. The fish use the natural current break to hold in while waiting for food, but they are also looking at the gravel as potential redding sites. Usually these pockets are too small and of too poor quality to provide a good redd, but even as females test the gravel, they dislodge invertibrates which get picked off by fish nearby.

The big advantage to using mono in these sections -and there are a lot of them on the North Shore- lies in it's smaller diameter with decreased line drag in combination with the high-stick method. Once you have established the proper amount of weight, you can pick apart the run with almost surgical precision, dancing the fly around rocks and down into the pockets where the fish are. The reduced drag on the line combined with no line lying on the water allows you to navigate the multiple current speeds without uncontrolled line drag causing the fly to ride up out of the strike zone. Think of it this way: If you have a length of line lying across the water as depicted above, some will be going faster, some slower, and the fly will be moving at it's own speed. If the fly slows but the line above it speeds up, the fly gets dragged up and out of the strike zone. If the fly speeds up but the line above slows, the fly still gets dragged up out of the strike zone. Now picture lots of line out lying across many current speeds and it becomes impossible to keep the fly where it's supposed to be - In the strike zone.

Nuts and Bolts
Here's how to set it up (See also the graphic below, Click for Larger Image). I like a high-visibility 10lb. monofilament running line such as Iron Silk in Solar Mint on the reel for a couple reasons; most importantly because you need to be able to see and follow your drift's progress along with making sure you are keeping the line off the water all the way to just above the fly. The green/red/orange line above the water also acts as your strike indicator. With this method, you CAN NOT use an indicator. If you do, your fly will ride right over the top of too many pockets.

At the terminal end of the running line you tie on a 6-9 foot leader in 8-10lb. test. You can use a small barrel swivel if you like, or tie a blood knot or similar. If you use a barrel swivel with longer leaders, you may have trouble with the swivel hanging up in the end guides while casting, particularly if they are icing up, just something to consider. I like an abrasion-resistant fluorocarbon line for this section because the end where the tippet section is tied is going to take a lot of abuse and should be checked frequently.

The tippet section is nothing more than a short 15-20 inch section of line chosen based on conditions. Clear water dictates lighter, slightly longer tippet. Dirty faster water means you can get away with shorter, heavier tippet. Remember however, one of the advantages to the longer rod means you can fish tippets as light as 2lb. test and still effectively fight large fish. Here I tend to use quality fluorocarbon line, just be careful to wet the knot.

As for tying this section, a surgeon's knot or surgeon's improved works fine. Whatever knot you use, be sure to tie it with a 3-5 inch long tag. After tying, clip the leader section tag, but leave the lighter tippet tag in place. This tag is where you'll add your weight. Put a granny knot at the very bottom of this tag which will act as a bumper and prevent your weight from sliding off the line.

There are several purposes for this weight dropper: First it provides more of a direct line connection to the fly and I am a firm believer in the fact that it allows you to detect takes quicker than having weight directly on the line. Secondly, weight directly on the line is a sure recipe for unfortunate breakages at exactly the wrong time. Crimping that weight on the main leader or tippet damages the line, and hangups cause it to slide up and down further fraying and weakning the line which is bad steelhead ju-ju. Third, having the weight on the tippet tag means that you can usually break the weight off when you hang up, rather than breaking off the entire line from the weight all the way down and loosing your fly as well.

Last obviously is the fly. If you're just starting out, our Flybox Section is a good place to start. You don't need an entire box full either. Since you can fish yarn very effectively with this method as well as flies, a two-sided box with yarn on one side and a small selection of flies and glo-bugs on the other will serve you very well and won't break the bank.

Fishing Method
Once you get set up, the next critical step is to locate the fastest water in front of you within the section you want to fish. Shallower fast water is better because it gives you a better baseline for gauging the required weight. Simply test-cast and then add weight until you feel the shot ticking along the bottom every 1-3 feet of drift. Once you have the necessary weight established it's time to fish.

Start by casting quartering upstream far enough so that the fly begins ticking along the bottom before it gets to the area you are targeting. A couple things need to happen on your part: First, Immediately get any spare line onto the spool and maintain a tight line throughout the drift. Second, keep your elbow out slightly from your body with your forearm at about a 45 degree angle forward, and hold the rod-tip high so as to keep all the line off the water until the point of entry. The ideal angle between line and water is 45 degrees or more (45-90 degrees). Less than that (0-45 degrees) means too much drag and a fly not in the strike zone. Thirdly, lead your drift slightly with your rod-tip throughout the entire drift. This will allow you to direct your line in and out of seams and around rocks with a minimum of effort. The absolute beauty of the rigging (and why it's critical to set it up in the faster water) is that as the dropper weight and fly move into deeper slower pockets, and the weight overcomes the current's ability to keep it moving, the increased drag on the extra -yet still minimal- line in the water help to keep the rig moving at the proper speed until current picks up again.

So give it a try if you never have before. Use glo-bugs or yarn first to build skill and confidence, but don't overlook nymphs, particularly if it's late in the run and water temps are warm. As for what happened in the photo above. When we saw the water temps were hitting 44, we quickly left a very crowded hole and tailout for a wide-open pocket water section. I swapped out my fat line for mono while my partner stuck with fly line. Without a sink-tip, he just wasn't getting down to the fish and the constant need to mend componded the problem. As for me, the bend in the rod tells the whole story. Just don't grab it above the upper grip like that unless you want to consistently break rods. Yikes!

Regards and Good Fishing-
NMF

Dropper Rigs - Not Here!

2011-01-13T10:35:00.000-06:00

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, the wording in the regulations is not 100% clear. Several individuals have interpreted this as single hooks are ok even if using two. No matter how you read it, we decided to dig into this a bit further to provide crystal clear clarity.
We spoke with Conservation Officer, 1st Lieutenant Jeff Koehn, of the MN DNR Enforcement Division and got what we were looking for - clarity. Lt Koehn sited the actual rules as stated under MN Administrative Rules: 6262.0200 and Rule 6226.0300. As with most state laws, regulations and rules, these rules are quite a bit longer than what is actually listed. The Rules for fishing have been summarized to help reduce the size of our regulation booklet and reduce confusion. Lt. Koehn directed us to the specific wording that clearly states one hook and one hook only. He also stated that they will be making recommendations for further clarity on the existing questionable verbiage so there is no future confusion.

To those not familiar with what this is all about, the North Shore Rivers have special fishing regulations. Single hooks only on the designated water from the upstream boundary down to Lake Superior, including 100’ of shoreline on either side of each river mouth. For more information on where the upstream boundary are located please visit the website, the DNR Designated trout water map, or contact us and we will see that you get the information. Note that the upstream boundaries are not always at Hwy 61. This has to be one of the biggest misconceptions we have encountered while on the water.

If you notice someone in violation of the dropper hook ruling you have decision to make. If the situation feels right, educating an angler may be all that is needed. For those blatant Jack wagons, the decision should be simple - please report them to the MN 24/7/365 TIP Line: 1-800-652-9093

Adopt-a-River Program

2011-01-06T15:53:00.001-06:00

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.

If you are interested in becoming more involved within Minnesota Steelheader, now is the time to step up. Visit the poll to the right and select one of the listed rivers that you think best suits our needs and the needs of a clean up effort. Realize this might not be your favorite river but one in need of help.

We are also collecting names of those interested in volunteering streamside time. With enough of you supporting, we will select one of the rivers, form our clean up coalition, and organize time on the water with an on-River meeting date during summer or fall low water conditions. Please reply by email with your contact info if you are interested in joining the cause. Feel free to also include any thoughts/opinions you have on the Adopt-a-River Program

Go to our website to contact us. You can select the "contact us page" and send an email. Leaving an email address here is a recipe for nasty spammers! You can also click here (click here - to visit website)

Stay tuned for more info as this program develops.

Effective PT Nymph Variant Pattern

2010-12-16T13:59:00.009-06:00

While we're on the subject, here is a very productive Pheasant Tail variant: The PM Stone.

A buddy of mine showed me this pattern as he demolished pink salmon after pink salmon at the Baptism one afternoon while I was resigned to playing tiddly-winks for lack of better things to do.

I've subsequently caught everything from panfish to inland trout, to steelhead & chinook/coho salmon on this pattern. Just size the hook/fly appropriately to species. Where legal such as on the Brule, this fly makes an absolutely deadly dropper.

Pattern illustrated was tied for salmon on a #10 TMC 2457 with 0.025 lead wire under the thorax & no bead.

Hook: TMC 2457
Thread: Black 70-140 Denier based on fly sizing
Bead: Gold or Copper optional
Weight: 6-8 turns of 0.010-0.030 lead wire (optional & to size)
Tail: 8-10 Rooster Pheasant barbs from the bottom 1/2 of the tail
Abdomen: 2-4 long Peacock Herl barbs
Thorax: 2-4 long Peacock Herl barbs
Shellback/Wing Pad: 8-10 Rooster Pheasant barbs
Gills: 8-10 Rooster Pheasant barbs split

Quick note regarding this pattern - If you use quality Peacock Herl and Pheasant tail, you can tie this fly with just 8 Pheasant Tail Barbs, and 2-4 Peacock Herl

Slip on the bead (optional) & wind a thread underbody from bead to tail. A tail-bump isn't critical but it helps.

Tie in the pheasant tail barbs using appropropriate proportioning but do not cut them, then tie in the wire. On smaller flies, electrical wire stripped out of the insulation from defunct christmas tree light strands or earbud style headphones is the greatest thing since sliced bread. (Save the remaining for brassies etc.)

Stroke the pheasant barbs back over the tail and put a wrap over the bend to hold them down & back. This will simply slide forward once you complete the next step. Now tie in the peacock, tips first, and wind the thread forward to the thorax area.

Note: If you are going to weight the fly with lead wire (optional), it doesn't matter when you tie it in; before the tail or after the peacock. All you need to do is make 5-7 wraps in the thorax area just behind the bead and secure it. I like doing it before the tail, but that's just me...

Now wrap the peacock forward to the thorax and tie off with 1-2 wraps, but don't cut it. Try not to twist the herl as you wrap it, it flares better if you don't.

Pull the pheasant tail barb tag up and over the top of the peacock to make a shellback over the top of the abdomen (the back). Tie this off with 1-2 wraps at the back of the thorax area. Bind the entire pheasant tail/peacock abdomen together by palmering the wire rib forward and in the opposite direction you wrapped the peacock herl. This makes for a very durable, clean looking fly. At this point you should again stroke the pheasant barbs back and put a wrap or 2 over the top to hold them back and out of the way.

Take the remaining tag ends of the peacock, & wrap them forward to form a thorax & tie off.

Note: Using lead wire not only helps to get your fly down and keep it in the strike zone, but also makes a great abdomen underbody and better fly profile. You can substitute non-toxic wire, chenille or floss to build up this profile if you prefer. Once this is tied in, cover it with the remaining peacock tags as in the step above. If you don't have enough, tie in an additional 1-2 herls. This is where quality herl pays off, it breaks less and it's very bulky after it flares.

Now pull the tag-end pheasant tail barbs up and over the peacock thorax to make a wing pad and tie off just behind the bead. Split the barbs into 2 groups (i.e. 4 barbs on each side) & pull each group down along the sides of the fly, holding it from below with your fingers. Put a couple wraps over the top to secure them & whip-finish.

Again, quality PT barbs from the lower half of a rooster tail will allow you to tie the entire fly with the same 8 barbs you used for the tail of the fly.

Clip the remaining PT tags off about equal to the rear of the thorax to represent the gills/legs.

I know this reads/sounds like a huge pain, but it really is a quick and simple pattern to tie once you get the mechanics and order down. Not to mention steelhead really like this fly once the water gets warmer, clearer and skinny.

Here are a couple other PT Variant Patterns just for comparison. Both utilize traditional PT abdomens but substitute red wire and soft partridge hackle collars for the gills/legs. The pink thorax pattern is ostritch herl tied on a Mustad R70, the green is chartreuse sparkle dub tied on a TMC 2457 using a dubbing loop. Both are stained water patterns that have worked well on North Shore loopers, steelhead and pink salmon:

Regards-
NMF

What are you doing in the "Off Season"

2010-12-14T09:59:00.003-06:00

As NMF stated in the previous post, the off season is a great time to go through your gear and review your notes. The mapping info he has provided is also a terrific plan and I strongly recommend following his lead. Having a good grasp on the water you will fish is essential for increasing your likelihood of an excursion with fish on the end of your line.

This time of year is also a great time to start tying flies or if you do not, maybe start giving it some serious thought. If you are like several of us here at MS, you not only fish, you also do a bit of hunting. Personally, I enjoy a few weekends each year out in the prairies of South Dakota pursuing the clever Ringnecks that have been in wonderful abundance over the past decade. This passion is mostly due to my inherent love of the outdoors and the joy of upland hunting that started in my youth, though the camaraderie with buddies, enjoying great table fair and the collection of an endless supply of tying materials is not without mention.

If you are a Steelheader new to tying, you will will soon discover that nymphs are a mainstay in most serious Steelheader's fly box. I have several favorites that fill my nymph box. The more popular are variations of the Pheasant tail nymph. I usually have this fly in a few sizes, colors and styles though most are simply the standard pattern.

There are three reasons why this pattern continues to be a mainstay in my fly box after 25 years. First, the fly catches fish, period! Steelhead, browns, brookie, coho and even pinks with take this scrumptious fly. For steelies I usually start bringing them out once the water warms and clears up a bit. Typically this is a later season fly for me. The second reason is that it is a simply fly to tie. I am not one to sit and tie flies because I love to tie, I tie for my box. The pheasant tail nymph is a quick tie and can be mastered with little frustration as long as you have good materials. This leads me to my third reason - Materials. Materials for the Pheasant tail nymph are composed of about 80% Rooster Pheasant tail. As a Pheasant hunter, you should be able to get more than enough tails for you and all of your buddies. If you shooting is off, I bet you can get tails from one of your hunting buddies. I usually take the whole tail sections home with me. Once home I can sort through the bunch and discard any that may be damaged or not to my liking. I find the longer the barbs on the tail, the better. You can find a recipe for tying the pheasant tail nymph on our website.

The picture above was taken this past Saturday after a snow storm blew through my favorite area west of Huron, SD. You can still see the residual wind still moving snow. Needless to say this did not hamper the hunting and we have pheasant tails for another season of fly tying.

Map Magic

2010-12-04T18:05:00.012-06:00

Now that everything is locked up in ice until spring, all we can do is dream about the tribs opening up again. But there are some important things you can do to get ready for next spring's runs. There are all the usual tasks: Wiping down rods, cleaning ferrule joints, swabbing guides, cleaning reels and backing down drags, cleaning line, repairing waders etc. All important tasks because North Shore tribs and the sediment they carry are heck on equipment.

Then there are things like restocking the fly-boxes, making leaders or slinkies, tying spawn... If you're like me, the vest finally gets pulled out of the trunk and gets a once-over. My vest is usually an atrocious collection of debris and junk come November that takes hours to sort out, having been piled into the car in late March and staying there until freeze-up. Even simple things like waxing a stubborn zipper can save you from big headaches later on.

I also like to go back over notes I've made so that I can do some winter scouting. Now I'm not talking about strapping on snowshoes and walking the streams (although that can be really enjoyable), I'm talking about using some simple but effective tools to put together plans for next year.

Some of the best at-home tools available to you come in the form of aerial/sattelite photos available from a number of sources. Three very good ones are: Google, Yahoo and the MN DNR aerial imagery although there are many others. It's always good to look at multiple sources due to the vagaries of this type of imagery. Sometimes the sun angle is bad causing bright reflections that obscure stream features, sometimes the time of year the imagery was captured means too much overhead cover in the form of tree canopy which hides the stream etc; but usually you can find a suitable image to create your own custom tributary map library.

Now there are tons of free apps out there available to create this kind of imagery, but I'm going to show you a relatively simple method that only requires MS Paint to pull off (sorry everyone, I'm not much of a MAC guy not having access to one).

So here's the basic method, I'll use Google imagery as the example:

First open up MS Paint. Now click on the “Select” icon (highlighted by the red circle). This allows you complete the third step.

Step two- Open up your browser, go to Google and hit the "Maps" link on the top left part of the screen. If you stay on the “Street Map” selection, navigation and zoom is quicker than immediately selecting “Satellite Imagery”. You can also navigate to an area by typing in a name. Sometimes typing a town in the search box close to the river you want works better than typing the river name itself, just depends on the search engine’s base map. Once you’ve found your trib, select “Satellite Imagery”, then zoom in so you can see the finer details of the area you’re interested in. Some key types of features you should be looking for are: Barrier falls, ledges, riffle sections, gravel stretches or larger holes. If you want to view a larger area on your screen, hitting the F11 button on your keyboard will hide the search bar and increase the viewing area. To view the search bar again, just hit F11 again and it will drop back into place.

Step three- While pressing the “Alt” key (next to the space bar), press the “Print Screen” button above the numeric pad on your keyboard (Alt+Print Screen). Next, toggle back to Paint and making sure the “Select” button has been pressed, click once anywhere in the paint area with your cursor then press the “Ctrl” and “V” keys (Ctrl+V). This will paste your screen shot from the satellite imagery into Paint. From there you can use the simple tools in Paint to highlight areas you are interested in like in the example below (Click photo for larger image):

Notice I’ve done some simple highlighting. The red circles are falls and the yellow box is a gravel section. If you use Google “My Maps”, any information you call up: Distance Measurements, GPS Coordinates, Topographic Information etc., will also be transferred to your map in Paint. The possibilities are endless but basically you can customize the map any way you want.

If you want to make larger maps, you can make your own mosaics by opening up a second Paint window, pasting the new imagery there, then copying it to your original by edge-matching the photos. The only thing you’ll need to do when making large mosaics is to expand the original blank Paint window BEFORE you start by resizing it under the “Image” button.

Usually 500% resizing in both Vertical/Horizontal will cover just about any size map mosaic you want to make. After that you just need to paste in your imagery, save it to file and that’s it. The image below is the Adult/Juvenile trap on the Knife and demostrates the quality of map you can produce (Click photo for larger image):

What’s really useful is that you can scout new streams you’ve never fished before. This allows you to get a good idea of what areas to start with on your first trip. You can also pick out features of familiar streams and areas to target on future trips, customize your maps with all sorts of information, and even e-mail them to fishing friends. The possibilities are varied and nearly endless, so give it a whirl.

Regards and Good Fishing-
NMF

Lake Superior Coasters and Sulfide Mining

2010-11-21T22:32:00.000-06:00

This is not a video about the coaster brook trout of our waters, but with mining interests and exploration around the entire Lake Superior region, it is a great refresher course as to what the byproduct of a Sulfide Mine is. Watch all the way to the end.

DNR seeks comments on Grand Marais area lake and stream management plans

2010-11-17T11:56:00.004-06:00

(Released November 15, 2010)

Citizens interested in learning about or commenting on Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) strategies for managing Grand Marais area lakes and streams have until Dec. 31, to ask questions or submit comments.

“Management plans describe the past, present and desired future conditions of the waters,” said Steve Persons, Grand Marais Area Fisheries supervisor. “The plans identify specific management activities planned for that lake or stream in the next five to 20 years.”

Every year DNR fisheries staff prepares or revises individual lake and stream management plans for several waters in each management area.

The Rivers that have special interest to us here at Minnesota Steelheader are the two rivers that are habitable to migratory and young Steelhead. The rivers are:

Flute Reed River - managed for steelhead, plan will focus on acquisition, habitat protection and restoration, and monitoring.
Onion River - managed for brook trout and steelhead, plan will emphasize habitat protection and monitoring.

We sent an email to Steve Persons and received a prompt reply with the most current plans for each of these rivers. We will make these available on our website in the near future. Mr Persons informed us that it may be some time yet before we have new draft plans prepared for the Flute Reed and Onion Rivers.

He also stated that the ability to accomplish much in stream improvement is limited due to the limited funding available these days. The revised plans for either river do not expect to be vary ambitious though Steve did add: "the Flute reed river is lucky to have a very active watershed group". The group apparently received a large grant to implement a water quality improvement project across the watershed.

Minnesota Steelheader will keep a close eye on the new plans and will make them available for those who wish to view them. We also look forward to any opportunities to work with the MN DNR in any way we can. we will keep you posted as developments happen.

DB

Tom Helgeson 1939 - 2010

2010-11-16T08:35:00.001-06:00

"On Friday, November 12, the world of fly fishing lost one of its most passionate practitioners; those concerned about the stewardship of natural resources lost an eloquent advocate; those who fished with him lost a mentor; and those who knew him as a friend lost a priceless companion."

Tom was most recently noted as the owner of Midwest Fly Fishing Magazine and the founder and producer of the annual Great Water Fly Fishing Shows.

Our good buddy Paul Hanson with Sporting Life Outfitters said: "When I started guiding in 1991 it was Tom who gave me the advice and encouragement to do so. I will miss his humor and wisdom. See you on the next river Tom. God Bless."

A memorial service for Tom will be held on Saturday, November 20th, at 2 pm at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, 700 Snelling Ave, So, St. Paul MN. You can also visit his website for future information: Midwest Fly Fishing

2010-11-11T11:47:00.000-06:00

I hope you found time in your busy day to reflect on the importance of this honorable day. We sure did and we are thankful for all who have served this blessed country of ours.

Over the years I have meet many who have not known anyone who has served this country through one of our military branches. I have also meet many who have never walked up to thank a solder or veteran for the service they gave or our giving.

With so many great heroes out there I thought it would be appropriate to share with you one Metal of Honor recipients citation, this one from a not so popular war. His name is Ed Freeman.

Not only has Captain Freeman received a Metal of Honor for his valiant acts of heroism in Vietnam but he also lived to receive it. Captain Freeman also fought in WWII and in Korea, most notably at the horrific battle of Porkchop Hill where he was 1 of the 14 of 256 soldiers who survived the first stage of that battle.

Here is how Captain Ed Freeman's official metal of Honor Citation reads:.

"Captain Ed W. Freeman, United States Army, distinguished himself by numerous acts of conspicuous gallantry and extraordinary intrepidity on 14 November 1965 while serving with Company A, 229th Assault Helicopter Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile). As a flight leader and second in command of a 16-helicopter lift unit, he supported a heavily engaged American infantry battalion at Landing Zone X-Ray in the Ia Drang Valley, Republic of Vietnam. The unit was almost out of ammunition after taking some of the heaviest casualties of the war, fighting off a relentless attack from a highly motivated, heavily armed enemy force. When the infantry commander closed the helicopter landing zone due to intense direct enemy fire, Captain Freeman risked his own life by flying his unarmed helicopter through a gauntlet of enemy fire time after time, delivering critically needed ammunition, water and medical supplies to the besieged battalion. His flights had a direct impact on the battle's outcome by providing the engaged units with timely supplies of ammunition critical to their survival, without which they would almost surely have gone down, with much greater loss of life. After medical evacuation helicopters refused to fly into the area due to intense enemy fire, Captain Freeman flew 14 separate rescue missions, providing life-saving evacuation of an estimated 30 seriously wounded soldiers -- some of whom would not have survived had he not acted. All flights were made into a small emergency landing zone within 100 to 200 meters of the defensive perimeter where heavily committed units were perilously holding off the attacking elements. Captain Freeman's selfless acts of great valor, extraordinary perseverance and intrepidity were far above and beyond the call of duty or mission and set a superb example of leadership and courage for all of his peers. Captain Freeman's extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit and the United States Army."

May Captain freeman and all who have served this great country be eternally blessed.

What a Beauty

2010-11-04T21:11:00.000-05:00

Do you have any great shots of steelhead from 2010 or past seasons? We would love to post them!

You can email pictures by submit through our website or through facebook.

Thanks to our friend Dale Eggen for posting this picture of a bright steelie on our Facebook page.

Sucker River Restoration Project

2010-10-14T20:49:00.001-05:00

In May 2009 the Minnesota Legislature appropriated $2,050,000 to enable Minnesota Trout Unlimited to undertaken trout stream habitat improvement projects in 10 counties around the state. In March 2009 the Lessard-Sams Outdoor Heritage Council had recommended full funding of MNTU’s proposal to improve coldwater habitat in eleven streams. By June 2011 over 14 miles of streams will be restored and enhanced by MNTU’s seven chapters with the assistance of the Minnesota DNR and other conservation groups. The projects will stabilize stream banks, improve water quality, and increase habitat for trout and non-game species.

How does this impact steelhead on the North Shore? Well, it really doesn't directly, but it does help improve fish and fishing quality on a section of accessible trout water on a great North Shore watershed - The Sucker River.

The Sucker River project will restore and enhance year-round adult trout cover and habitat to provide a stable brook trout fishery. Work includes adding woody cover and rock veining along 1,300 feet of river, seeding of disturbed areas with native vegetation, tree planting and fending to protect plantings.

The project area is approximately 9.5 miles upstream from Lake Superior, above a barrier that prevents upstream migration from anadromous fish such as our steelhead. Even though this habitat improvement is not directly affecting steelhead habitat, is does help improve an important fish and fishery.

For more info please visit MNTU to read the full summery and see the maps and project overview.

We have been in contact with our friends and MNTU, offering an extra hand as needed to help implement further improvements. Stay tuned, as we will post further information on this project as it becomes available.

2010-10-11T21:24:00.000-05:00

A Fall Day with Dad

2010-10-07T21:05:00.001-05:00

For those of you outside the Twin Cities, Chris Niskanen is the long-time Outdoors Editor for the St. Paul Pioneer Press. He covers just about everything that has to do with the outdoors across the Midwest. He also runs the Outdoors Now blog - a great blog too I might add! Today he featured a story on his blog that pertains to the previous post here on Minnesota Steelheader.

You can click here to read this story about a fall day fishing....enjoy.

Coho Salmon Time

2010-09-30T22:03:00.002-05:00

A couple of us were up on the upper shore the past couple days for a somewhat impromptu pursuit of fish and birds. In short success all around. The Grouse we plentiful and so were the fish.

The Pink Salmon we saw were all well into the fall run. we saw several fish spawning and nearly all fish observed showed the signs that their end was soon to arrive. Even with the fish in the condition they were in they still were spunky little buggers. Speaking of buggers...used 'em almost exclusively and just today witnessed several pinks swim out of their comfort zone to whack my tasty looking treat.

Coho were far and few but check out the picture. This was caught yesterday evening at a terminal hole on an upper shore river. This fish hit with a BAM and was dime bright to boot! This coho measured 20" on the rodrule. Average on the North Shore is in the 17-18" with some in the 22" class but that is about it.

A few small coaster were taking the fly as well but it is still a bit early for the biggie fish. If you are planning a fall salmon trip, please take note that the coaster brook trout season is closed. All brookies need to be released. As for the salmon - go get 'em!

Send us a story or picks of your fall trips, will are happy to post!

Fishing Report update

2010-09-28T20:26:00.000-05:00

Reminder to those of you who are also inland trout fishermen or fisherwomen. The season officially closes on Thursday, September 30th.

Inland waters on the North Shore are those waters above each of the posted boundaries. You can check out our website for a printable list of these locations. Note that not all rivers use HWY 61 as the upstream boundary so be sure to read the regulations. A link to the regulations is posted on our home page. Having said that, the water below the posted boundaries is open year round, Though not all species can be harvested year round. Please observe the signs posted and read up on the regulations.

A couple of us will be heading out in the morning for a two day trip in search for some great fall fishing. Our buddies with the DNR just informed us that fish are in the rivers and plenty of them: Brookies, Browns, Pinks & Coho. We will try to get a post up before the weekend to bring you all up to date on conditions and fish. If you can, get out and fish!

See you on the water....

DB

Fishing Report 9-24-10

2010-09-25T12:15:00.001-05:00

North Shore Pink Salmon Report

The pink salmon run on the lower North Shore Rivers has peaked and the number of fish entering is on the decline. On Monday, 15 pink salmon were caught at the Knife River trap and by Wednesday, only 5 were in the trap. Anglers report they can still see them in the river; however, it appears the peak of the run on the Lower Shore has passed. Lake surface water temperatures were in the mid 50s.

The upper shore rivers are still showing some decent numbers of Pink salmon in several of the rivers. Good numbers of Pink salmon were visible in the Temperance, Cascade and Brule rivers.

Some info provided by the MN DNR

FDA to consider approval of modified salmon

2010-09-20T22:38:00.001-05:00

No, this is not a "News of the Weird" or some sort of spoof article. Some people actually think it is better for us if we also have a salmon that has been genetically altered. Not sure about you, but I think God did just fine on the mighty salmon the first time around.

September 20, 2010
By Mary Clare Jalonick, Associated Press Writer

Washington (AP) - Federal food regulators pondered Monday whether to say, for the first time, that it's OK to market a genetically engineered animal as safe for people to eat.

The Food and Drug Administration is holding two days of hearings on a request to market genetically modified salmon. Ron Stotish, CEO of AquaBounty, the Massachusetts company that made the marketing request, said at the meeting Monday that his company's fish product is safe and environmentally sustainable.

Critics, however, call the modified salmon "frankenfish" that could cause allergies in humans and the eventual decimation of the wild salmon population. An FDA advisory committee is reviewing the science of the genetically engineered fish this week and hearing such criticisms as the agency ponders approval.

Read full article here.

A nice '09 Pink

2010-09-19T20:57:00.000-05:00

Hers is a shot of D. Allen with a nice fall run North Shore Pink Salmon. This was caught mid-September and he went 22"! This is a biggie by Minnesota Standards.

Thanks for sharing your photo!

Fishing Report 9-16-10

2010-09-17T15:35:00.000-05:00

Wednesday brought with it gray skies and drizzle rain all day. It was enough rain to keep you in rain gear all day but not quite enough to bring up water levels.

I fished the middle shore area with great success - coasters and Pinks. Key is to find a river with a decent flow. This ruled out all the lower shore rivers for me. The First river remotely worthy to stop at was the Split Rock. Problem here is the wayside is closed - getting a new face lift.

All fish caught were aggressive and had no problem snapping up my dysfunctional woolly bugger. The best success was actually casting into the lake right at the river mouth. The low water kept most of the visible river fish a bit uneasy and skittish, though with some stealth in fly delivery, and good water depth, fish are very catchable.

DB

Saturdays catch

2010-09-13T21:10:00.000-05:00

Our buddy John sent us some picks and info from a Saturday outing. He had no problem catching plenty of fresh run Pinks. Pictured here is a nice bright Pink fresh in from the big Lake.

All the fish John reported were fresh, bright and aggressive. He used a #10 streamer and stripped near the bottom with fish aggressively chasing his fly.

As of Saturday all fish spotted were fresh, no big humpies yet. Fish like you see here are great for the table, but you better get out soon as it does not take long for the Pink salmon of the North Shore to start their eventual spawning deterioration.

Tight lines.

Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia has been detected in fish in Lake Superior

2010-09-12T00:16:00.000-05:00

If you are not aware of what Viral Hemorrahagic Septicemia (VHSV) is please watch the videos and help spread awareness of this nasty disease.

Two separate discoveries announced in 2010 documented the arrival of viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus (VHSV) in Lake Superior. Read more VHSV.

The Pinks have started

2010-09-11T21:48:00.000-05:00

The Pink salmon have begun their annual fall spawning migration. Reports came in on Friday with fish spotted in a few of the Northern Rivers.

Remember that the fall is a great time of year to do some exploring for your next spring steelhead trip. The water is usually substantially lower than in the spring, offering great opportunities to explore some usually unseen river structure. With the Salmon starting their run the timing is right - get on the water.

Stay tuned as we bring you some staff and visitor pictures.

Proposed Federal Ban on Lead in Fishing Tackle

2010-09-03T16:14:00.001-05:00

The Situation

On August 23, 2010, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was petitioned by the Center for Biological Diversity and four other organizations to ban all lead in fishing tackle under the Toxic Substances Control Act. This includes sinkers, jigs, weighted fly line, and components that contain lead such as brass and ballast in a wide variety of lures, including spinners, stick baits and more.

The petition was presented with the aim of reducing bird deaths caused by the ingestion of lead sinkers and jig heads; however, a study conducted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service found that less than one percent of all waterfowl and other birds such as eagles are killed by lead sinker ingestion. Remember too that the petition wants to also ban your sink tip fly line and weighted flies.

Minnesota Steelheader will watch this closely and do our best to keep you up to date. In the mean time you can find out more information on what you can do at: KeepAmericaFishing.org

Visitor's Note

2010-09-01T15:21:00.003-05:00

Dear Minnesota Steelheaders,

I'd like to thank you for your time today! I called to book a guide, and ended up talking with Davin, and got a whole lot more. One of the things about fly fishing is the elitist attitude some fishermen and guides have. I've never had a conversation where the guide helped me to understand that I might not even need him, and if I did, a different season would be a better bang for my buck. I also appreciate you sharing some tips with me on where and how to get started.

The Tying Bench - PM Stone (PT Nymph Variant)

2010-08-25T12:35:00.007-05:00

My buddy Dan who is an Alaska State Wildlife Trooper is the one that showed me this pattern, but only after I threatened to push him in the river. He was demolishing pink salmon at the Baptism on this fly one afternoon while I, inept and ham-fisted as I am, was resigned to playing tiddly-winks for lack of better things to do. (I certainly wasn't catching fish...)

Since then I've caught quite a bit of everything on this pattern from inland trout, to steelhead & salmon. The only adjustment needed is to size the hook/fly appropriately to species. This is a killer skinny-water fly on steelhead and where legal, makes an absolutely deadly dropper.

Pattern illustrated tied on a #10 TMC 2457 with 0.025 lead wire under the thorax & no bead.

Hook: TMC 2457
Thread: Black 70-140 Denier based on fly sizing
Bead: Gold or Copper optional
Weight: 6-8 turns of 0.010-0.030 wire (optional & to size)
Tail: 8-10 Rooster Pheasant barbs from the bottom 1/2 of the tail
Abdomen: 2-4 long Peacock Herl barbs
Rib: Copper Wire to size
Thorax: 2-4 long Peacock Herl barbs
Shellback/Wing Pad: 8-10 Rooster Pheasant barbs
Gills: 8-10 Rooster Pheasant barbs split

Here's the deal, if you use quality Peacock Herl and Pheasant tail, you can tie this fly with just the 8 Pheasant Tail Barbs, and 2-4 Peacock Herl. The trick is to get the longest barbs you can find which usually means the bottom 1/3rd of a jumbo tail feather. Soaking the herl for a bit helps to make them less brittle as well for better tying.

First slip on the bead (optional). Copper seems to fish better than gold with this pattern. Now wind a thread underbody from bead to tail. A tail-bump isn't critical but it helps.

Tie in the pheasant barbs using appropropriate proportioning but do not cut them; then tie in the wire. Using speaker wire or christmas light wire stripped out of defunct light sets is the greatest thing since sliced bread on smaller flies.

Stroke the butt-ends of the pheasant barbs back over the tail and put a wrap or 2 over the bend to hold them down & out of the way. Now tie in the peacock, tips first, and wind the thread forward to the thorax area.

Note: If you are going to weight the fly with lead wire (optional), it doesn't matter when you tie it in; before the tail or after the peacock. All you need to do is make 5-7 wraps in the thorax area just behind the bead and secure it. Wrap the peacock forward to the thorax and tie off with 1-2 wraps, but DON'T cut it. Try not to twist the herl as you wrap it, it flares better if you don't. If you don't use weighting wire, use floss or some other material such as micro-chenille in black to give the thorax a nice, fat profile.

Next pull the pheasant tail barb butts up over the top of the peacock to make a shellback along the top of the abdomen, and tie off with 1-2 wraps at the back of the thorax area. Now bind the whole mess together by palmering the wire rib forward in the opposite direction you wrapped the peacock herl. This make for a very durable, clean looking fly. At this point you should again stroke the pheasant barbs back and put a wrap or 2 over the top to hold them out of the way.

Take the remaining tag ends of the peacock, & wrap them to form an abdomen & tie off.

Now pull the tag-end pheasant tail barbs up and over the peacock thorax to make a wing pad and tie off just behind the bead. Split the barbs into 2 groups (i.e. 4 barbs on each side) and pull each group down along the sides of the fly, holding it from below with your fingers. Put a couple wraps over the top to secure them. Whip-finish.

Again, quality PT barbs from the lower half of the tail will allow you to tie the entire fly with the same 8 barbs you used for the tail. If you want a fancier looking finished fly, use the pointy ends from a new set of 8 barbs instead for the gills.

Clip the remaining PT tags off about equal to the rear of the thorax to represent the gills.

I know this sounds like a huge pain to tie, but it really is a pretty simple pattern once you get the mechanics and order down.
Regards,
NMF

Fall Fishing is Coming

2010-08-10T09:20:00.009-05:00

If you haven't been paying attention, or maybe your brain is about melted from all this heat & humidity like mine is, but fall fishing is just around the corner. Browns have been coming in on select tribs & pinks have been staging in numbers off of North Shore tributaries.

What's interesting is that in a typical year, the first reports of pinks show up in the DNR summer lake creel just about a month to the day before they show up in the streams. Usually this takes place in the Grand Marais/Hovland area & around the middle of August. This year, reports of near-shore pinks started showing up around the 20th of July which is really early. That & very good numbers are being caught as far south as Two Harbors.

You'll probably get tired of hearing me say it, but fall pink fishing is a great way to get out and learn streams for spring steelheading. The fish utilize similar areas, & you're better able to spot things about individual streams you wouldn't ordinarily be able to see during high, dirty spring conditions. This can pay off big time when you are actually targeting steelhead. Plus fall is a beautiful time to be out fishing.

One item that's not so rosy is the drought status in the Arrowhead.

One of the chronic problems young steelhead face on the North Shore are low flows & near lethal to lethal summertime temperatures. It's a wonder that steelhead are able to survive at all considering the sheer number of limiting factors steelhead deal with, but they do. It's nice when flows come up at the right time in the fall, but I'd certainly trade some of that for more stable summertime stream levels; primarily for the sake of young-of-year, naturally produced fish.

At any rate, start watching flows come the last week in August, it just might be an early start to the fall runs.
Regards-
NMF

2009 Fall Bois Brule Numbers

2010-07-13T12:01:00.007-05:00

I finally got time to run the 2009 Fall numbers and this is how it looked-
(Click Thumbnails for Larger Image)

Browns

Coho

Steelhead

Couple items to note:

The first is that once again, actual returns (which were decent) didn't match up with reports (which were generally poor) although some hard-working folks reported outstanding fishing. We did have quite low water for parts of the fall, but that just means you have to adjust your tactics because the fish typically are there provided you are fishing the prime return window. Finding deeper holding water (read anywhere the bottom can't be seen) off the beaten path along with fishing early and late low-light periods will go a long way towards making you more successful under tough conditions. Fish will shift quite a bit of movement to night time periods and hunker down during the day. That and in the skinny, clear water, downsizing is often not just a good idea, it's almost required. Don't be afraid to throw patterns in the 14-18 range if you are flyfishing. After dark, particularly with the browns, it can be a different story.

Speaking of browns, note that we are moving closer to the historical peak window (hint, hint start watching the flows)...

Secondly, the Fall runs in particular tend to occur on a very orderly basis year after year. Weather patterns have generally stabilized and although fall upstream movement is heavily influenced by increases in flow, these bumps tend to happen around the same time each year as our overall pattern moves towards the winter months. Note that start, peak and end dates for 2009 fell nicely within the historical means. Once you've identified historical peak windows, you can be sure that a good pricipitation event will bring in good numbers of fish once you are inside that window. Having the historical data IS NOT a predictor of a given years run by any means, but it can give you a very good indication of when to begin watching local conditions. After that it's up to you to find the fish.

Thirdly, it's tough to sit tight in early October if you are a steelhead junky. The urge to get out after a long, hot summer can be overwhelming. However, if you can wait it out, late fishing can produce some of the best steelheading. Remember that returning fall Brule steelhead will winter over in the stream. They lolligag about, and move up or back on a whim, or as a response to angling pressure. The advantage to waiting is that, unlike the Spring run, overall population continues to increase as we move closer to the closer. So even though the peak returns usually happen earlier in October, by early November, there are actually more fish in the stream to target since these fish are not returning to the Lake. Conditions are tougher, but it becomes a numbers game. Quick note about the Steelhead graphic- I inadvertanly posted the historical flow average on this chart. It should be the actual 2009 flow as depicted in the Brown and Coho graphics.
Regards-
NMF

Steelhead of th North Shore

2010-05-22T12:02:00.005-05:00

For those that have not read the article yet, here is a link to a great article written by a noted North Shore Steelhead veteran angler and author, Michael Furtman. The article appeared in the March/April issue of the Minnesota Conservation Volunteer.

Steelhead of the North Shore
"As North Shore streams swell with snowmelt, anglers can once again fish for supersized rainbow trout. How have these native fish of the Pacific Northwest made themselves at home in Lake Superior and its tributaries?”

Click here to read the rest of the article.

Picture courtesy of the MN DNR

Post Season Analysis

2010-05-22T09:36:00.011-05:00

Well, I shouldn't say, "Post Season" quite yet. There are fish around if you know where and when to look. I do have some intesting graphics assembled now that the DNR creel and fishing reports are done for the spring. MANY thanks to the hard-working folks at DNR fisheries, they rarely get enough public credit; usually they are just getting an earfull....

One of the most useful ways I've found of looking at all the numbers has been to use a weekly format as it does a few things:
1. It smoothes out any wild fluctuations in the numbers
2. It allows comparisons between different years along with different State's data
3. It's a bit more intuitive and easy to grasp
Without boring you further with a whole bunch of mental gymnastics used to produce the charts, here's how the Lower Shore combined trap numbers looked through May 20th (Click Thumbnail for larger image):

The blue/green lines are the total returns by week, the yellow is the average Knife River discharge in CFS by week and the black the Knife ice-out date reported by USGS.

If you want to see just how strange a year it has been, here is 2010 compared to the long-term return averages by week. Warning, it's going to look like I was on crack when I produced the chart, but bear with me:

Note that 2010 ice-out occurred nearly three weeks earlier than normal. In fact, the steelhead return peak was in full swing during the time ice is usually going out on Lower Shore tribs. Return peaks occurred about two weeks earlier than the historical average as well. 2010 Kamloops returns are skewed by a couple days, but it's related to the way the graph works, or more accurately doesn't work; it's not a terribly sophisticated graphing program. Close enough though...

And finally, the Lower Shore creel survey numbers:

I've added stream temps to the creel graphics and for good reason. DNR Fisheries has been quietly reporting for some time now that temperatures closely approaching or exceeding 40°F are a critical factor and influence on initial upstream movement of Kamloops and Steelhead. I've since gone back and run numerous years returns against mean temperature and flow, and the correlations are too strong to ignore. Remember, we're talking about initial upstream movement only with regards to the magic 40°F average. Once that occurs and fish move upstream in numbers, it appears that flow once again takes over as the main factor in upstream movement.

Now, that doesn't mean we don't get early forays of fish into the streams at say 33-36°F because we do. I've even seen them running through meltwater over the ice to get to a hole; were really talking about significant numbers of fish. Coincidentally, magic 40°F also seems to be the point at which flies begin to be increasingly effective. Below that bait seems to outfish flies by a wide margin. Keep these things in mind on the North Shore and you'll be a better and a more successful fisherman.

Last but not least, the Mid and Upper Shore creel surveys:

Note that early fishing success/higher numbers of fish caught really didn't get going until temps hit the 40°F average.

Last item- Don't let the low numbers of Upper Shore fish throw you. The Upper shore simply has lower numbers of fishermen/women out and about at any given time so the overall numbers of fish caught are generally lower and there are less folks to survey.

Regards & Good Fishing!
NMF

Fishing Report 5-17-10

2010-05-18T10:24:00.003-05:00

The Minnesota DNR creel survey was only run on the Upper Shore this past weekend, and now is over shorewide for the year.

From 5/14 through 5/16, water temperatures ranged from 45-55 on the Upper Shore, and interviewed anglers caught 1 Steelhead and 1 Brook Trout. Flows from the May 13th rain are now decreasing and streams have moderate water clarity. The forecast calls for sunny skies all week, which should push late spawning fish to move in and out of Grand Marais area streams within the next week. Angling pressure continues to be light.

Totals for the Knife Trap are so far are 382 unclipped steelhead, 297 maxillary clipped steelhead, and 26 Kamloops. Totals for the French River are 89 unclipped steelhead, 8 maxillary clipped steelhead and 395 Kamloops.

This is the last fishing report for the spring creel. We thank our friends at the Minnesota Dept. of Natural Resources for their hard work this spring.

I was also on the shore from Friday to Sunday - not fishing. The water conditions looked good and I only observed two sets of Anglers from the Beaver to the Brule. What a strange year. The conditions are a bit different that a typical year but the fish are still running. If you are still thinking of steelhead fishing this year I would not hesitate - go now!

Fishing Report 5-14-10

2010-05-18T10:19:00.001-05:00

The MN DNR creel survey concluded on the Lower and Middle shores on 5/9/10, and will conclude on the Upper Shore on 5/16/10.

From 5/10 through 5/13, water temperatures ranged from 42-49, and interviewed anglers caught 5 Steelhead on the Upper Shore. As a result of nearly an inch of rain shorewide on Thursday the 13th, flows have increased substantially in all tributaries. The forecast calls for sunny skies both Saturday and Sunday, and angling conditions should be good. Prior to this rain, spawning fish were still being observed on upper shore rivers up to the Flute Reed. Angling pressure has remained light on the Upper Shore, so anglers should be able to select where they want to fish.

Totals for the Knife Trap are so far are 373 unclipped steelhead, 293 maxillary clipped steelhead, and 25 Kamloops. Totals for the French River are 89 unclipped steelhead, 6 maxillary clipped steelhead and 395 Kamloops.

Fishing Report 5- 10-10

2010-05-11T11:55:00.001-05:00

From 5/7 through 5/9, water temperatures ranged from 46-54 on the Lower Shore, 43-51 on the Middle Shore, and 42-49 on the Upper Shore.

From 5/7 through 5/9, interviewed anglers caught 4 Steelhead, 2 Kamloops, and 2 Coho on the Lower Shore, 7 Steelhead and 1 Brook Trout on the Middle Shore, and 4 Steelhead and 4 Brook Trout on the Upper Shore.

Only the largest of streams from the Baptism to Canada continue to have good water levels with slight color, making good angling conditions. Most moderate to small tributaries are now low and clear. There is a good chance of rain from Tuesday through Friday in the Grand Marais area, which should raise water level and add color to the water.

There are currently, and will be more fish to catch from the Baptism to Canada if the forecast is accurate.

Totals for the Knife Trap are so far are 371 unclipped steelhead, 286 maxillary clipped steelhead, and 25 Kamloops. Totals for the French River are 89 unclipped steelhead, 6 maxillary clipped steelhead and 395 Kamloops

Fishing Report - Field Staff

2010-05-05T21:31:00.004-05:00

Fished the middle to upper shore Wednesday (4/28) thru Saturday AM.

The water conditions on many of the rivers were low and clear. Water temps ranged from 42-54.

Wednesday was slow with my Dad hooking 2 fish, landing 1 on a Chartreuse Sucker Spawn and I landed one, also on the Chart. SS.
Thursday and Friday were quite a different story.
On many smaller rivers fish were visible and podded up but were not interested in any offerings. Paired fish on redds were left alone.

Due to warmer water temps I needed to change it up a bit so I tied on a #6 Woolly Bugger and my third swing was met with a vicious strike. A mean and ugly 26” male was soon in hand. I stuck with bugs and the big brown and black buggers really produced. In those 2 days I went 15 for 22 with only 3 fish not taken on buggers. Those fish were taken on a Freight Train and a unnamed bright colored wet fly.

The majority of the fish were fooled on the dead drift with rest coming via the swing. I used Type 3 and 6 sink tips in deeper pools but due to the low water that was only necessary in one or two areas. Every large fish caught or hooked made no doubt they were after my fly. The strikes were brutal and the fights intense, with one fish leaping 9 times!

I did not see many bright fish most had tremendous color as evident in the photos.
In addition to the Steelhead, many smaller smolt were caught along with numerous Brookies and the occasional sucker. The water was coming up as I was leaving on Saturday.

Go Fish - AB

Fishing Report - 5-7-10

2010-05-04T23:48:00.002-05:00

From 5/3 through 5/6, water temperatures ranged from 49-57 on the Lower Shore, 42-51 on the Middle Shore, and 42-50 on the Upper Shore.

From 5/3 through 5/6, interviewed anglers caught 1 steelhead and 2 Kamloops on the Lower Shore, 8 Steelhead, 2 Kamloops, and 2 Brook Trout on the Middle Shore, and 2 Steelhead and 2 Brook Trout on the Upper Shore.

Most streams from the Baptism to the Flute Reed have good water levels with slight color, making good angling conditions. There are still lots of fish to catch in this section of the shore. Angler pressure remained light this past week, despite favorable conditions??? Anglers should continue to select natural presentations due to water clarity. We expect a cold afternoon and evening tonight with rain and snow, but predicted weekend weather will be 50 and sunny. Last call before walleye opener, go fishing.

Totals for the Knife Trap are so far are 364 unclipped steelhead, 285 maxillary clipped steelhead, and 25 Kamloops. Totals for the French River are 87 unclipped steelhead, 6 maxillary clipped steelhead and 394 Kamloops. Smelting is over for the year.

Fishing Report - 5-3-10

2010-05-04T08:45:00.003-05:00

Go Fishing! There are still fish on the Upper Shore Rivers.

From 4/30 through 5/2, water temperatures ranged from 49-50 in the morning on the Lower Shore, 45-47 on the Middle Shore, and 44-46 on the Upper Shore. In the afternoon water temperatures ranged from 53-54 on the Lower Shore, 49-51 degrees on the Middle Shore, and 49-54 degrees on the Upper Shore.

From 4/30 through 5/2, interviewed anglers caught nothing on the Lower Shore, 1 Steelhead, 1 Kamloops, and 1 Brook Trout on the Middle Shore, and 6 Steelhead and 1 Brook Trout on the Upper Shore.

Rain accumulation in most watersheds from the Baptism to the Flute Reed was greater than 1 inch over the past four days. Most stream water levels rose and became slightly turbid. The run is still on in this section of the shore, and there are fish to catch. Slightly higher and more turbid conditions should be good for angling. Angler pressure remained light in the Grand Marias area over the weekend, despite favorable conditions?

Totals for the Knife Trap are so far are 349 unclipped steelhead, 273 maxillary clipped steelhead, and 25 Kamloops. Totals for the French River are 87 unclipped steelhead, 4 maxillary clipped steelhead and 383 Kamloops.

Report courtesy of the MN DNR

Fishing Report - 4-29-10

2010-05-01T16:52:00.008-05:00

If you are still thinking of heading up the shore for steelhead this spring - GO!

By now you probably have all heard that the shore needs rain. You may have also heard that there is "no water". Well it is true that the shore could use some rain and it is true that some of the rivers are very low but that does not mean fish are not there.

After speaking with some people on Friday there are still a lot of fish in the rivers considering the conditions. We have had reports of fish being caught from the Knife all the way past the Brule. The key is that you need to find the bigger water or use some stealth on the rivers with lower water.

The myth that low water will not produce a quality run is just that - a myth. It's similar to telling a mother-to-be that she can't give birth because it is a blizzard outside, it simply has no effect. She may not drive as far or deliver where she wants to but she will have her baby. Same holds true with a hen Steelhead. She may not swim to the ideal spawning waters, or stay in the river very long but you can count that if she has eggs she will spawn.

Here is a report from the MN DNR:

From 4/26 through 4/29, water temperatures ranged from 49-53 in the morning on the Lower Shore, 46-47 on the Middle Shore, and 43-45 on the Upper Shore. In the afternoon water temperatures ranged from 53-59 on the Lower Shore, 49-52 degrees on the Middle Shore, and 49-55 degrees on the Upper Shore.

From 4/26 through 4/29, interviewed anglers caught 6 Steelhead, 2 Kamloops, and 2 Brook Trout on the Lower Shore, 2 Steelhead on the Middle Shore, and 8 Steelhead and 1 Brook Trout on the Upper Shore.

Most watersheds on the North Shore received less than ½ inch of rain over the past few days, and all streams are still low and clear. The run is still peaking in the section of the shore from the Baptism to the Brule, and fish are present and visible in all streams in this section. Successful anglers fished early and late, used flies or worms, spotted fish, snuck up on them, and made accurate casts. There are very few anglers fishing. Go fishing; there are still lots of fish to catch from Silver Bay to Hovland.

Totals for the Knife Trap are so far are 349 unclipped steelhead, 273 maxillary clipped steelhead, and 25 Kamloops. Totals for the French River are 87 unclipped steelhead, 4 maxillary clipped steelhead and 383 Kamloops.

Fishing Report 4-26-10

2010-04-26T17:04:00.001-05:00

From 4/23 through 4/26, water temperatures ranged from 51-52 in the morning on the Lower Shore, 45-47 on the Middle Shore, and 44-46 on the Upper Shore. In the afternoon water temperatures ranged from 53-55 on the Lower Shore, 48-52 degrees on the Middle Shore, and 49-51 degrees on the Upper Shore.

From 4/23 through 4/26, interviewed anglers caught 2 Steelhead and 2 Kamloops on the Lower Shore, 9 Steelhead, 2 Kamloops, and 2 Brook Trout on the Middle Shore, and 12 Steelhead, 1 Kamloops, and 2 Brook Trout on the Upper Shore.

It has still not rained more than 1/10th of an inch anywhere on the shore since the snow melted in mid-March. All streams are low and clear. The run is peaking in the section of the shore from the Baptism to the Brule. Successful anglers fished early and late, used flies, spotted fish, snuck up on them, and made accurate casts.

Totals for the Knife Trap are thus far are 346 unclipped steelhead, 271 maxillary clipped steelhead, and 24 Kamloops. Totals for the French River are 87 unclipped steelhead, 4 maxillary clipped steelhead and 381 Kamloops.

report provided by the MN DNR