I'm hooked!

[wakeguy]

Well good news and bad news. I was able to take two weeks off for a ski vacation in CO this year and managed to mess up my ankle on the first day. I decided to look into a guided fly fishing trip but once I discovered how expensive it was I was able to justify purchasing a nice fly rod instead reasoning that I could go out by myself many times with my rod instead of paying for a guide trip once. Then after several trips catching nothing but trees and rocks I justified a guide trip with the money I was saving by not buying lift tickets. I used a guide in Steamboat Springs and we had an incredible outing. Even with my terrible casting skills he managed to get me into numerous "average" 16' rainbows and one monster 23" fish. I'm now ready to pack up my ice house and look for some trout streams in the South Metro. Does such a think exist and where do I start. Any advice for a newbie?

[tom_w]

Sweet story. I can't imagine a 23 inch rainbow.

As far as south metro, there's Hay Creek near Red Wing. That is the closest stream that is open for the winter season. I think it gets a lot of pressure though.

If you drive down further south there's many more streams.

Maps and regs are on this site:

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

[wakeguy]

Thanks for the link. As soon as work slows down in a few weeks I'll be sure to give a report.

[OnAFly]

That's good to here you enjoy this great sport. I would suggest buying a Wisconsin license. There are a few good quality streams there that are much closer to the cities than many of the SE Minnesota streams. There are usually a few other people there who are more than willing to give advice to anyone willing to ask for it. There isn't a winter season I am aware of, but the spring/summer is great.

Search Google for Kinnikinnick and Rush rivers. They are plenty close to the cities and offer great potential. The Kinni more so for numbers and the Rush more for size.

[insufishentfunds*]

I also suggest a visit to your local fly shop. They are a wealth of knowledge and can get you started in the right direction. Let me know if you have trouble finding one.

I also suggest avoiding stream names on this forum. It's frowned upon in the larger online world and will get you kicked off many, like sites. Just a suggestion.

[delcecchi]

There are many trout streams south and east of rochester. I know that is stretching the "south metro" desire. There is a book of maps of the trout streams available from the DNR.

Some of the streams are open for catch/release fishing in winter if you are tough enough.

[Clay.P]

Fly Fishing is a great sport to get into. There are defineatly some great winter stream options that are producing fish right now.

As mentioned above, check out your local flyshop.

[wakeguy]

I'm not sure if there are any fly shops in the south metro, but I have a place in the north metro that gets all of my money for Muskie tackle and I know they have half of their store devoted to fly fishing. Thanks for the advice and I'm sure I'll be posting in this forum with many more questions in the future.

[tom_w]

I also suggest avoiding stream names on this forum. It's frowned upon in the larger online world and will get you kicked off many, like sites. Just a suggestion.

I don't this site has any sort of policy like that, informal or otherwise. Some creeks are no secret at all and I think it's important to get a newcomer information that may help him.

[insufishentfunds*]

These streams are certainly not secret, however naming specific streams is not generally popular. Many people have expressed disappointment that people desire instant gratification on the web. Fishing spots historically have been closely guarded information that is at most shared among friends, the general feeling has been that naming the small streams of the midwest on fishing websites, singles them out and exposes them to undue pressure.

General areas such as North, NW, NE, SW,SE, counties and nearby towns have been more widely accepted as a means of finding out if a specfic area has recieved to much rain or what's hatching in the general area.

If you ask nicely about a general location, you are likely to receive more feedback and offers to go fishing than you'd ever be able to use. This can best be accomplished via a personal email.

Thank you for your understanding on this issue.

[lakerunner]

insufishentfunds--If it means getting a newcomer into the sport, I have zero issues naming a creek, lake, whatever. This is a forum to share info and part of that info is where to fish.

[insufishentfunds*]

That's too bad. Not sure what real value there is to naming specific locales, but why you're at it how 'bout some gps coordinates? Where do I park? Like I said there are different, better ways to get this information communicated.

[Far-I]

I think finding your own spots is much more awarding than being shown one. I fish plenty of both, but just saying, putting in the work yourself is not only rewarding, but how things should be.