Has anyone ever fished Rambling River Park?

[PakAttack86]

I live in Eagan and didn't realize there was a trout stream this close to me in Farmington. The DNR HSOforum says that the park is very lightly fished and produces rainbows and browns, with some browns reportedly tipping the scales at 5 pounds on occasion. Anyone have luck there?

I was originally going to go to Whitewater this weekend, but I may instead make a pit stop here and try my hand.

[DrJuice1980]

I do not think you can fish there at this time. Winter catch and release is for the SE. I may be wrong though. It will be a very tough area to fish this time of year as well. I havent seen a brown in that stretch for over 3 years but I have caught and seen the ones you speak of in the past, they are going to be further east and be careful about trespassing if headed that way. It has been all rainbows and some pike in RRP. Also last years rain and flooding put a big hurting on the stocked rainbows, my worst year ever fishing the Vermillion. I still caught fish but not like other years.

[PakAttack86]

The DNR HSOforum is really confusing about that. It only specifies Northshore and SE trout stream regulations, doesn't say anything about metro trout stream seasons. I'm assuming Farmington is part of the metro stream system.

If that's the case maybe I'll just head to Winona.

[PakAttack86]

Unless there's strictly no winter catch and release for metro trout streams, in which case the DNR HSOforum should really clarify that.

[NoWiser]

I'd stay away unless you want a ticket. Read through the regulations a few times.

For the winter C&R season it says "See Experimental and Special Regulations." If you look at some SE MN streams in that section it specifies the dates for a winter season and the stretches of the stream that are open. The Vermillion River says nothing about a winter C&R season so I think it's safe to assume that it doesn't have one.

Also note that not all SE streams are open right now.

[PakAttack86]

Yeah I'm not going to bother. I'm familiar enough at least with what is open southeast. However down there all I seem to find are Rainbows. Any advice on where the bigger browns might be lurking? Particularly at or near the Whitewater area.

[NoWiser]

I've caught lots of browns in all branches of the Whitewater. Many more than rainbows, actually. I'm not sure why you are just catching rainbows. It could be technique related??

As far as big browns go, I can't help you there as most of the ones I catch down there are 10-14 inches. If I'm after big trout I head to Wisconsin.

Consider learning to flyfish if you want to really catch numbers of trout. A good day with spinning gear in SE MN might be a dozen trout for me. Flyfishing it would be more like 30-50 trout.

[PakAttack86]

Maybe it is a technique thing, I'm not sure. I may consider flyfishing one of these times, it just doesn't look appealing to me. That said I'll try anything once. With my spinning gear anytime I fish Whitewater I land a good 20-30 fish, ALL rainbows. Maybe the browns aren't interested in spinners.

[mwal]

The Vermillion is not a normal trout stream. Think of it more of warm water stream that can support some trout. It does not have habitat that is conducive to high number of little browns like the White water system. It is sand and silt based no rocky rapids for insect life etc unless you find where a farmer dumped field rocks in. It also does not run straight for more that a few yards as there is very little elevation change. The Vermillion trout have to learn to eat meat IE chubs suckers, sunnies each other while avoiding big pike that seem to live in every pool or log jam the further you get down stream. It is very difficult place to fly fish as the fish there are meat eaters and you are better off using streamers or rapalas as most of people in the know use. And be be prepared to do some door knocking as well as there is a lot of private land. Due to the high dirt banks thru fields and pasture land it is not possible to stay legal by staying in the stream and a normal canoe is to long to make the corners and any section thru trees has to much wood in it to get thru or cattle fences. The section in the Park may have some room to fly fish and there is a Stretch of public access thru Vermillion Highlands WMA with access from 2 roads that cross it. If you are up to a challenge and a chance at a trophy brown or pike up close and personal it maybe what you are looking for. If you are looking for a numbers day drifting nymphs behind riffles like the Rush or Whitewater you will not like it. Chubs love nymphs don't ask how I know.

Mwal

[mwal]

Pakattak86,

I have done well on Whitewater for browns on green roostertails with gold blades. You just have to be there at low light when the water is dropping after a rain event. Browns a way more wary than rainbows when the water is clear. Think of the rainbow as northern look something shiny yum and the brown as the musky will watch or follow only striking during short time windows when conditions are right. The better browns will also be in the wood. approach from downstream and cast quartering across and reel just fast enough to get spinner to spin and let current sweep it into the wood or as close to it as you dare if you don't get snagged or lose a few you are not fishing where the nice browns are.

Mwal

Mwal

[DrJuice1980]

mwal, a lot of what you say is true however, the Vermillion is a natural trout stream that was altered in the past to make it better for logging causing a die off. The DNR made some massive changes back in the 70's-80s? to reclaim it and be able to support Trout. I think it actually had native brook trout way back in the day. I would never attempt to fly fish it though, way too many trees and way too narrow, no room to operate.

[mwal]

Pakattak86,

Also remember that rainbows remain insect feeders there whole life and spend alot of time in fast water feeding on caddis and other nymphs in riffles/rapids. They are opportunists that will eat minnows so thats why they hit spinners. Browns once they get much over 20 inches generally do not eat insects unless its a giant hatch. They eat other fish and turn nocturnal or when conditions are right low light poor visibility they will feed. Since they are looking to eat other fish they become ambush predators and stay in undercut banks or log jams and dart out to attack. Little browns are voracious insect feeders and are what most fly fisherman are catching. I fly fish because I love to catch fish and enjoy tying flies to match the insects etc. but i will never get to many big browns. For that you have to go to the dark side spinners rapalas or bait.

That is why for big browns on the big rivers like the Brule in WI or PM in MI they fish for big Browns after Dark.

Mwal

[mwal]

DrJuice 1980

You are correct that the Headwaters stretch by the Bachman Green houses had native brookies but the problem is that since man came and trees shaded it it became to cold. The farm runoff then killed everything downstream till they really tried in the 80's to keep some cattle out of it and cut brush on the upper stretch to warm it up. My family has been in Rosemount since the 1880's and my dad has map of Farmington Rosemount Eagan area and Farmington was a giant slough and did not have trees just swamp and prairie. Trees started around Farquar lake and north and stopped in Eagan around Acatia Cemtetary that time everything else was prairie. If you go to Fort Snelling there are pictures taken from the fort showing that there were no trees looking up and down the river that is why the fort was built there because they could see canoes from miles away. In fact some tree hugger tried to stop the building of the Hiawatha rail line by the VA hospital because they would be cutting down old growth sacred oaks until someone found a turn of the century MPLS paper showing them being planted to get rid of the prairie. So contrary to what we may think about MN The real tree line was up by St Cloud. I have friends who have pictures of prairie chicken hunting up that way until the late 1920's.

[DrJuice1980]

Nice story, cool history. Might have to hit the river up sometime. I'm sure Ive passed by you a few times if you put a lot of hours in there.

BTW, what happened to Farquar? It used to produce some really nice gills and largemouth. Completely dead now. Im sure its winter killed every few years but killed everything?

[bobbymalone]

Unless there's strictly no winter catch and release for metro trout streams, in which case the DNR HSOforum should really clarify that.

....?

http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/fishing/trout_streams/winter.html

Winter trout streams are in Fillmore, Goodhue, Houston, and Winona counties, and specific streams are listed at the link.

[bobbymalone]

mwal, a lot of what you say is true however, the Vermillion is a natural trout stream that was altered in the past to make it better for logging causing a die off. The DNR made some massive changes back in the 70's-80s? to reclaim it and be able to support Trout. I think it actually had native brook trout way back in the day. I would never attempt to fly fish it though, way too many trees and way too narrow, no room to operate.

I've volunteered on an electrofishing trout counting expedition on the Vermillion and have to agree. It would be tough to fish with a long rod and practically impossible with a fly rod.

There are some monster browns in there though. We also netted a northern in there that was so big I bet it had trouble turning around in that narrow stream. I'm sure it was just getting fat gorging on trout.

[mwal]

Yes it froze out. But they wanted to kill of bullheads and carp. It is now aerated so I have not tried canoeing it and fishing. It was featured in lake detective article in outdoor news. Did you know it keeps rising so they pump it under ground and it ends up in the vermillion. Weird huh.

[DrJuice1980]

The pike are pretty hard to get a strike from, and if you get into one of them plan on needing saltwater gear to hank it out of those downed trees. Especially in the park area. If you don't know what you're doing you got little chance.

[MuntzAngling]

Is there a decent place to put a canoe in and out down there? An old timer I knew from Hastings always told be about the pike, trout and chubs in there he would catch. Seems pretty shallow where I've fished it just above the falls. I would like to try upstream of there.

[DrJuice1980]

pretty narrow and not really navigable. you'll probably make a lot of fisherman mad bobsledding down it. Id leave the canoe and put on some waders.

[JBMasterAngler]

The river rarely exceeds 7 or 8 ft in width, and is mostly less than thigh deep. A canoe would be nothing but trouble.

[mwal]

You could try to canoe but a standard 17 ft canoe will not make it around most of the corners. You also have cattle fences at each property line to deal with. Each stretch that has trees is a jumbled mess due to the fact that nobody floats it and cuts them. Look up or downstream from where hiway 52 crosses it and you get an idea of the twisted mess it is. In the 70's I did a lot of trapping on it and I fished it with my grandfather for chubs suckers and pike in the late 60's

Mwal