Southern Minnesota Fishing

[The_Lee]

This is my very first year of trout fishing and I am hooked on it. It is by far my passion, I love everything about it. Being new I havent had much experience at it. I have not made a transition into fly fishing yet, I am just using a 5' Ultra Light pole and artificial lures. I have fished the Northbranch of the White Water River where I have pulled out some decent 9"-12" inch brown trout. I have also fished Watson Creek, the Root River, and Trout Run Creek near Chatfield. I am wondering what are some other good streams to try that are South of the Twin Cities. I would love to cach some that are bigger then 12" inches. What streams are good to fish in mid-July - August time frame? I am currently deployed to Kosovo with my National Guard unit until July 2008 so as soon as I get back I wanna jump right back into it and get as much time in as possible before the season ends. Any help will be greatly appreciated. What are also some good lures to use? I use mostly Panther Martins and Rooster Tails.

[DonBo]

Thanks for your service, and welcome to the Forum. You may not have heard, but SE MN just got washed away this weekend. 8+ inches of rain, more coming. This is sure to have a huge impact on all trout streams in this part of the state for years to come.

You may want to try some of the streams in Western WI. The Rush and Kinnikinic may be among the best in this area.

Stay safe, good luck, thanks!

[Abrams]

What are your thoughts on what will happen to the trout of the whitewater, root etc. Are they blown away? Will they make. I know the brown trout is a tough guy but I'm not sure they can take that.

[DonBo]

Can't be good. Too bad, cause at least the Root was as good as I've seen it in years.

[so haaad]

Yeah, I just posted the same question in the fly fishing forum. I'm afraid to see the damage to our trout streams. Especially some of the smaller streams. The aquatic insects and plant life took a beating, I'm sure. Without food (lack of plants and sediment), the remaining trout that survived will really struggle.

[WxGuy]

Southeast Minnesota Flooding

The road through Whitewater State Park no longer exists in places. The South Branch of the Whitewater has been wiped out and re-routed 150 yards from its old streambed. Rush creek looks like a nuke went off after 17" (yes, really) of rain fell in Lewiston and overtook the Rush Creek valley, subsequently flooding Rushford. Hundreds are still out of their homes in Rushford. All the branches of the Whitewater are blown...horribly.

All is not lost though, as portions of southeast Minnesota were not devastated in the manner that parts of Fillmore, Houston, and Winona counties were. Preliminary guesses are that Garvin Brook and Rush Creek in particular may not be fishable for the rest of this season and all of next...the fish and invertebrates will all be in the Gulf of Mexico.

[vermilionwally]

I wish some of that rain would come up north. We havent had a good rain for weeks and our streams are almost unfishable because they are so low. They took a beating with fish dieng last yr too because of the low warm water.

[Zenit]

Really sad story from the Pioneer Press today. The Whitewater has long been my favorite state park, in a state filled with great state parks.

http://www.twincities.com/ci_6683316?IADID=Search-www.twincities.com-www.twincities.com&nclick_check=1