Catching First Trout Hooks Angler On Sport

I’ve often thought that if I had to choose only one form of hunting it would come down to a decision between deer hunting and turkey hunting…with turkey hunting being the hands-down winner.   On the other hand, when it comes to choosing one type of fishing it would come down to either musky fishing or stream trout fishing.   Well, up until earlier today…that decision was still a toss-up, but no more.   Now, however, I am leaning slightly towards flyfishing with a dry fly.   It’s exciting and challenging while at the same time often quite aggravatingly captivating.

I spent the day fishing on small streams down in the Whitewater State Park area of Southeastern Minnesota.   I’ve said it before and I firmly believe it, if you want to get serious about stream trout fishing in the Gopher State then most roads lead to this blufflands region.   The area around Elba, MN is often referred to as “Trout Valley” and the region is certainly quite aptly named.   The small, winding streams seemingly have carved out their existence next to sheer bluffs that sometimes jet straight upward hundreds of feet.   Even when the fish are not cooperating the beauty of this countryside is absolutely spectacular.

Yet, today I was not on some sightseeing tour.   We had trout on the mind and again I was wading the streams with my good friend, Mike.   By the way, I failed to point this out in last week’s blog…but Mike is a relative newbie when it comes to trout fishing.   The goal today was to hone some of Mike’s flyfishing skills and also to help him land his first trout.   A mission, by the way, that he did succeed in accomplishing.

The one thing that I think a lot of new trout anglers don’t realize is you have to have patience AND perseverance.   When you see trout rising (feeding) up and down the stream and they just don’t take what you’re offering…it can be downright frustrating.   Even more aggravating is when they do take interest in your chosen fly but it doesn’t result in a good hookset.

Well, as the heavily clouded day progressed on eventually the sun broke out and almost instantly the temperature rose in the valley.   Soon, there was some moderate bug activity that quickly turned on a trout feeding frenzy that I knew was a good sign.   I summoned Mike to move further upstream as we staked out our claim on this 100 foot section of stream that offered the most promise.   Lots of swirls and jumping trout…but they were very finicky.   After more closely observing the live flies dancing along on the water I handed Mike a Light Cahill and told him to give this a try.   I knew it wasn’t perhaps the most perfect fly for the day…but the color closely matched the live bugs I was seeing.

Within about fifteen minutes Mike hooked his first-ever trout caught on a dry fly.   A gorgeous 12” Brown Trout.

I quickly realized that Mike was now “hooked” on trout fishing.   You see, the challenge of catching a trout on a fly is a fun one…but at the moment that you actually land your first trout, interest in the sport suddenly gets ratcheted up 10 fold.   In trout fishing, as in many things, it can be difficult to maintain interest without eventually tasting success.   On this day…in “Trout Valley” Minnesota…a single trout was caught (and released), but the real catch of the day was adding another angler to the ranks of those smitten with this great flyfishing sport.

© 2006 Jim Braaten.  All Rights Reserved.   No Reproduction without Prior Permission.