North Central Trout

[sparcebag]

Anyone ever fish by Menahga North of wadena? Cat creek? Straight River? Kabekona river? I visit there ever summer More than once,And at times I'd like to fish & let the women do their thing!

[DEADhead]

kabekona and cat creek are tight little creeks that can be diffcult to fly fish with all the cover. We just put in an angler parking area off of US71 at cat creek last fall. There are some fish in those streams, but not spectacular numbers. beaver dams can be a problem at times, although the usda trapper currently on contract is doing a great job.

straight river can be a blast if you can find a spot away from the crowds. Also, it is better to fish the river during the evening since browns are more active at night. The bite can be difficult if there is not a major hatch happening. The past few summers have been pretty weird weather wise, with last summer being abnormaly dry; supposedly the browns go bonkers during the hex hatch. I have yet to fish during the hatch, since the past couple years have been pretty inconsistent.

[sparcebag]

Deadhead Can I use a small kayak in any of these creeks,rivers? Also If no hatch do you have any suggestions on flys nymphs?

[DEADhead]

a kayak should be ok on the straight. I'm not sure about cat creek since it is so tiny. For flies, your usual nymph combo of prince nymphs, hares ear and pheasant tails are pretty prodctive, as well as copper johns, and caddis nymphs.

[sparcebag]

Thanks DH, Hope ya dont mind me with all my questions, but I am getting anxious.From 71 which way should I go for my first try? Should I get off 71 and enter from a county Rd.On google earth it looks as though I could get to out of the way spots in my yak,Do others use,canoes,yaks,boats?

Any other streams that have Trout I havent mentioned where the yak would be used? Or less traveled? My kayak will float me 230lbs in 5 inches of water.and I dont mind gettin out to go over around anything.

[DEADhead]

you mentioned most of the streams to fish. For the straight I have seen people put in by canoe on county road 123 and float downstream. I have no idea where they get out. Ususally it is a team of anglers, One would drop the canoe, and they would park one vehicle where they were going to get out. Depending on how much paddling you wanted to do, it could be a long trip upstream. Either way, I would plan on fishing upstream of hwy 71 for your best success. Your biggest key is to avoid other anglers, so anything after the first couple weekends after the opener would probably be ok.