HELP

[carpmanjake]

ok, so im going down to brownsville MN with my family turkey hunting. but i wont be turkey hunting, ill be fishing!

i will be down there for a week. and i want to catch some trout! (never caught a trout before)

over the week i want a grand slam! i want to catch brown, brook, and rainbow trout.

please give me tips on catching all 3 of these species.

[waterbound]

Casting spinners will be your best bet. A #0 or #1 Mepps Aglia and Panther Martins (size 6 I think) are great sizes, but you could go bigger if you really wanted to. Cast just upstream of a pool, across the current and start retrieving, very slowly, letting the current push your spinner through the pool. The closer you can get the spinner to the bottom and keep it moving, the better so adding a couple split shots to keep it down isn't a bad idea. All three species will hit the same lures and I have caught all three species out of one pool on three different trips. If a trout takes a swing at your spinner and misses you can usually get it to hit by switching to a different color spinner of the same size. Rapalas can work as well, but I honestly think that spinners are the best way to catch numbers of fish. Live bait works for numbers as well, but getting the hang of presenting a crawler by drifting it takes practice before you start having good luck. One thing to remember is to walk upstream if you are wading because the current pushes the waves you make by walking downstream and the fish don't get spooked, while walking downstream kicks up silt and sand and reduces visibility and scares fish away. Good luck and take pictures.

[mark p]

Crooked creek has all 3 species of trout and no special regulations. Fish upstream of the upper hwy 249 bridge to find some small brook trout.

The catch & release season runs through Friday April 16th. The catch & keep opener is Saturday April 17th

[so haaad]

Yeah, if you've never caught a trout then definitely hit Crooked and Winnebago. Both are very close to Brownsville and pretty decent for fishing. Bring the fly rod with too. You'll have a blast on the streams.

[Scudly]

Those are some excellent recommendations for streams. While you are at Crooked, stop at Little Miami in Freeburg for broasted chicken. Cannot wait to get back and fish this area Memorial weekend.

[newmember]

I'm somewhat new to trout fishing, but I would say spinners if there's a fast flow and smaller rapalas in slow moving water.

[itchmesir]

Jake! Lets hook up.. i'm a bit north of Brownsville.. but i'd be willing to take ya to some holes if my time off coincides with your time down in the area...

i've always fished #1 #2 panthers red/yellow black/yellow and silver.. with copper or silver blades depending on the weather.. i started out fishing these streams with spinners before i got into fly fishing..

[waterbound]

I'm somewhat new to trout fishing, but I would say spinners if there's a fast flow and smaller rapalas in slow moving water.

That sounds about right. This past weekend I was up north fishing the Brule and there was a bend with a good pool that we couldn't easily access without crossing the river in deep water that I wanted to fish. I tied on an F-7 brook trout patterned Rapala and tossed it into the current to drift down into the pool. Once I got it where I wanted it I started a slow retrieve against the current and a big brown (easily over 20 inches) hit it...and then threw the hook The moral is, do what you need to in order to put the food in the trout's face and it will bite if it's hungry.

[carpmanjake]

Itch, i will be down there from the 17th to the 24th. my number is 320-766-0897. give me a call!

[itchmesir]

Awesome.. i've got the 17-19th off for trout opener..

[popriveter]

Hi Jake. I'd recommend you pick up a couple Mepps XD spinners. Size 1 and 2. They look like panther martins but don't cause as much line twist. A lot of guys try to go super small with their spinners, but it is really tough to cast accurately with a size 0. I catch more rainbows in fast water and browns in deeper water by fallen trees. If you specifically target brook trout on a small creek, bring worms. Use a long rod (fly rods work great) and just dip a worm 6 inches behind a splitshot. Brookies will hang out under every cutaway bank. One more tip, try to always fish water from as far away as possible. I've got buddies who throw on their waders and step right in. I may look silly moving slowly along a bank and trying to cast from my knees to avoid the trees, but I out fish them every time.

[popriveter]

Oh yeah... One more thing. Bring an extra spool of line. Between line twist issues, breaking off on trees/snags, and the tiny capacity of a small spinning reel, a few days of trout fishing can cost a whole spool. I remember getting awfully frustrated one time trying to find a place to buy fishing line in Hokah.

[goblueM]

hahah not much there in Hokah. Probably have to head over to TriState Bait and thats 15 or 20 minutes

[Scudly]

Itch I will be in Beaver Creek twice and Dakota once. As for Panther Martin I use #9 and #6. I don't e en use anything smaller. Up your size for bigger fish and mile long casts!

[itchmesir]

Im thinkin of camping in Beaver.. but not positive...

[Acemac]

super small gear with a little gulp twister tail on a split shot rig gets them every time!

[itchmesir]

Jake, sorry i haven't called ya yet.. when i haven't been fishing i have been working and trying to figure out a game plan for the weekend.. i just reserved my camping for beaver.. making sure i have streams in order and such and then i'll be calling you to figure something out...

honestly i know nothing about whats in brownsville.. besides the fishing... but i'll find out where your hotel is before i head that way.. probably call you wednesday..

Scudly.. are you gonna be camping in beaver? or just hitting that area up?