Winter Fly Fishing in Minnesota

Fishing for trout in Minnesota has a short season. First of all, winter lasts for approximately 13 months, and when the temperature is warm enough for fishing there are all sorts of other factors that make catching trout difficult here. It rains about once a week in the summer and by rain I mean torrential bust your windshield rain which means that the streams are clear for about 6 hours a week. On top of that we have the excessive heat and mosquitos that are so big most of the small trout, that apparently live in Minnesota streams, are so scared of the boieng 747 sized insects (about the size of a #8 humpty for you western anglers) on the surface they stay well hidden under the still frozen remains of the last guy who tried to fish for trout during the winter in Minnesota. Which brings me to my point: winter fly fishing in Minnesota is only slightly less dangerous than climbing mount Everest.

I am exaggerating a little about the fishing opportunities here in the tundra but all or some of those factors above do seem to work against you every trip out. Winter fishing is not new, in fact, many western anglers fish year around in the tail water fisheries where the water temp is constant year around. The same sort of thing happens around these parts but instead of huge dams and reservoirs keeping the water at a constant temp we have limestone springs. The driftless region of southeastern MN, southwestern WS, northern Iowa and about 10 square feet of Illinois was untouched by the last set of glaciers that blew through town about a brazilian years ago. The driftless region abounds with limestone bluffs and natural springs, which made the entire region a brook trout Shangri-La about a hundred years ago. Today, a few patches of hardwood forest remain, called state parks, and a handful of the original trout streams have been rehabilitated. Unfortunately, the streams were not stocked with the native brook trout but were populated with the more temperature tolerate brown trout. The area was devastated by poor farming practices and even poorer fishery management. The region is making quite a comeback and there are many beautiful streams to fish including a few that have thriving native populations of brook trout. If you can get someone to tell you where they are, good for you. Not going to happen here.
A select few streams in the driftless region of Minnesota are open for winter trout fishing. I’m almost sure this was done by the old walleye fisherman as some sort of joke on us feather and fur guys. In case you are from a warm climate and don’t comprehend how cold it gets up here I will try to explain (I’m from San Diego so I have a different prospective on the weather here than most natives). It gets so cold the ice on the lakes freezes so thick people can drive their huge trucks on the ice to their favorite fishing spot (they then proceed to drill a bunch of holes in the ice around their trucks to fish in. I never understood that logic). Some streams do end up freezing over. I have come up with a good rule of thumb you can use for picking a clear stream in the winter. Find out where I’m going and that will tell you, with out a doubt, which stream will be completely frozen over. I really know how to pick 'em. No, seriously, as long as you don’t go after a really cold snap (Ha, really cold. Its always really cold) some pools will be open. January and February can be a crapshoot but early March is the way to go.
The most common and universally infuriating nuance in winter fishing is iced up guides. Water sticks to your line and collects in the guides of your rod. Soon, you will completely freeze them shut and all line movement stops. This happens most often when a fish is on or when the fish are rising. At 30 degrees it will take about a dozen casts. 20, about 3 casts. 10, every cast. 0, I think your line freezes to the reel and won’t come off at all. I could be wrong. Even I will not fish when its zero. -10, go back to North Dakota.
Fishing tactics are a little different. You don’t have to get up at the crack of dawn. In fact, the warmest part of the day is the best and that is usually around 3 pm. As far as rods and stuff go, I like about an 8’ 3wt. You could go with a 5 but, unless there is a storm coming, the wind is pretty calm. Light and delicate presentations are the key. I use a 6x leader with either a 6x or 7x tippet. Theoretically, insects still hatch in the winter. There is actually a species of midge that has adapted to a winter hatch in Minnesota. There is a great article published a while back. The major scientific finding was that they had little purple #4 jerseys and came up to tailgate. A 70 denier purple thread with a fine gold rib and a purple plastic helmet makes a good imitation. The hard part is painting the horns on the size 20’s.

http://www.bioone.org/doi/pdf/10.1603/022.038.0131?cookieSet=1


Hatches do happen and trout do feed on the surface but the imitations are small. Really small. I’m talking maybe 32s. Okay maybe not that small. A 20-22 will do but even that is pretty small. I stick with an 18. On principle, I don’t fish with anything smaller than an 18. Your best bet is sub-surface stuff. I go with a #16 bead head pink squirrel and a midge emerger trailer. The bead head gets down deep and bounces off of trout heads and the trailer sits up in the water column a bit for actively feeding fish. A soft hackle would also be a good trailer too. I’ve heard about a hundred times to down size flies in the winter. I do, I guess. I usually would go with a #14 bead head whatever to start but in winter I start with 16. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t go for a bigger fly. Winter/summer/and both solstices (yes, the plural of solstice) I catch most of my big fish off a #12 bead head prince nymph. 2x long so the body looks meaty. Fish are not as spooky in the winter as they are in the summer, which means you have a better shot at big fish. It probably has something to do with the fact that there are no ¾ oz rooster tails thumping them on the head in the winter.
Everything down there is hungry and ready to bite but only at a certain time of day or on a particularly warm day. It is not just slow fishing when it is too cold and fish are not feeding, it's like someone flipped the trout off switch. If you are out there at the wrong time or on the wrong day, just try to enjoy the beauty of the stream or the ice in your guides. If you hit it right through, a 37-40 degree day in March, you will be in for a treat. Remember- Barbless hooks or pinched barbs and all streams are catch and release only. Try to limit pictures and time out of the water.