Trout Season Opens Without A Catch
One sure sign that spring is well underway is the beginning of trout fishing season in Minnesota. I opened the regular trout season in Goodhue County today realizing I only had a few hours to spare fishing before I needed to be home to meet the relatives (after all, it is Easter weekend you know). Still, even a few hours on the stream is far better than just sitting home dreaming about being there. Good to get some of the kinks out of my fly-fishing technique once again, too.
I started the day with my good friend Mike as we drove along most of the designated trout streams from western Goodhue county all the way over to Red Wing ending up fishing most of our short time on Hay Creek. I was amazed at how popular trout fishing has become in recent years seeing all the anglers parked along the streams. Twenty years ago I could have driven along several miles of trout stream and been lucky to find even one other angler wading the waters. Today, however, it has grown more competitive so that vehicles are found at nearly every bridge and most bridges have anywhere from 2 to 5 vehicles parked at them. Still, trout fishing in Minnesota on opening day is not the elbow to elbow action as it is for some states on the opener.
Actually, I view increased participation in the sport as a great sign. Oh sure, finding that solitude of no competing anglers is a bit more difficult, but what do you expect for an opening day? Frankly, if you go out fishing on the opener no matter what the target species might be…and do so expecting some peace and solitude, then you’re setting yourself up for disappointment right from the start.
I must tell you a cute little story that gave us a chuckle right from the get-go. In fact, it worked so well Mike and I both later agreed that in the future it might need to be technique we employ under certain circumstances. Here’s what happened…we were just about ready to shut the doors of the SUV with all of our gear on…and suddenly the panic alarm went off and my truck started honking in rapid succession. I’m not exactly sure what happened…but I suppose the keys in my pocket might have triggered the alarm. Otherwise, it could have been the security system on the truck, too. At first I was quickly embarrassed about all the noise I was making by obnoxiously disturbing the relative quiet in the valley for a few short moments. But then as we started walking from the parking area to the stream we noticed lots of anglers suddenly leaving the stream and heading back to their cars. Could we have possibly stumbled on a technique to clear the stream of anglers while they returned to check on the security of their vehicles…or was it mere coincidence? Whatever the case…we fished for the next couple of hours on a very popular stretch of trout stream without seeing another angler. 
As far as trout fishing goes our time spent on the stream today was not very productive. Our time spent having fun, however, was quite different. Walking the stream looking for suitable trout habitat and then attempting to coax those elusive trout into a quick feeding frenzy was what the day was all about. I kept asking myself why with as much fun as I have trout fishing don’t I make it more of a season-long activity…but the truth is most of my trout fishing seems to be confined to the early periods of the spring and summer season. Maybe this year that fact needs to change some.
For about three hours the two of us fished and did not land any fish or even cause any swirls. It works that way sometimes while trout fishing…but we were not dismayed or even frustrated by the lack of success. We knew that the conditions were against us and that this portion of the stream had already been hit hard before our arrival. Didn’t matter…we still had fun.
In talking to a few other anglers most of them had similar experiences on this opening day. I guess next time if we really wanted to get serious about trout fishing we would have packed up our gear and headed down to the streams south of Rochester. For my money that is where the real trout action in Minnesota lies as I just don’t feel the streams in Goodhue County are stocked as well or have the native wild populations that some streams have in the more southeastern portion of Minnesota. I might be wrong about that…but that is my hunch. At least I know that statement to be true in the streams further west in Goodhue County by Sogn.
To me spring trout fishing has also grown synonymous with wild turkey hunting. As we walked the streams I could hear some turkey hunters off higher up in the valley doing a very poor rendition of turkey calling. It reminded me how I first “cut my teeth,” so to speak, on turkey hunting in this valley nearly 25 years ago. At the time turkey hunting was still growing in popularity in this state and for most of us we were quite green in our hunting technique. Reminiscing about these fond memories gives a person a chance to reflect back on one’s sportsman career…just how far you’ve come, as well as where you want to go during the remaining years of your life.
Trout fishing (as well as turkey hunting) is a favored activity still today as much as it was 25 years ago. Perhaps walking the stream doesn’t seem quite as easy these days as it once did…but the reward of simply being outside and enjoying the quality of this life is as appreciated today as it ever has been.
Back 25 years ago I might have walked away from the stream slightly disappointed not to have netted a nice trout…yet today, landing a trout is no longer my benchmark for determining a successful day spent in trout waters. Thank God I have matured and redefined my belief as to what constitutes a successful day spent on the trout stream.
© 2006 Jim Braaten. All Rights Reserved. No Reproduction without Prior Permission.