A HIDDEN GEM CLOSE BY!
The southeastern corner of Minnesota is loaded with spring creeks. They are the real deal – clear water, bright green weeds, lively riffles, and abundant brown trout. A couple of years ago my partner Deb and I sampled them for two weeks and had a blast. We also witnessed an electrofishing demonstration where state technicians hauled a dozen adult browns from a 30-foot section of stream. It was barely the width of your living room and not even prime holding water.
These creeks offer fantastic DIY opportunities. To experience them, download the publication, Trout Angling Opportunities in Southern and Central Minnesota. It shows where all these trout havens are relative to the roads. Then hop in your car and go exploring. If you want more detailed maps and descriptions, track down the Mickey O. Johnson book, Flyfisher’s Guide to Minnesota.
Googling “Trout Fishing Minnesota DNR” will also lead you to an informative website.
Most of the creeks are small and intimate. Some glide through meadows and others resemble bouncy freestones. A few offer easy wading for a beginner and some challenge bushwhackers who thrive on spooky fish. A few even gather enough tributaries to become a sizable stream. All of them, however, are publicly accessible, and incredibly fishable.
They are found in the kind of countryside that will bring out your inner Brian O’Keefe. Southeastern Minnesota, also known as “Bluff Country”, runs south and east of Minneapolis towards the Mississippi River and the Iowa border. On the surface, it is covered with rolling hills, red barns, and corn fields. But in those hills are forested valleys, limestone cliffs, and brownie-filled streams. The limestone cliffs are responsible for the Bluff Country name. The underlying limestone geology is responsible for the springs feeding the streams. Here are the highlights of my experiences in this part of Minnesota:
Duschee Creek
As Deb and I drove along Duschee Creek, it was almost an impossible task deciding where to fish. It’s a small creek; some sections were choked with overgrowth, and some were meadow-like. We finally settled on a picturesque spot where a line of trees shaded a boulder garden. After this, the creek turned sharply and ran deep, dark, and weedy through a pasture. I headed toward the boulders with a pheasant tail nymph underneath an elk hair caddis and Deb camped in the middle section with an indicator and a scud. Over the next couple hours, we both of connected with a few fish and left the creek fully satisfied.
West Indian Brook
Deb and I arrived here near the crack of noon in sweltering heat. We parked in the lot for BJ’s Bar, Grill, and Campground; they welcome all anglers. The section of creek that parallels the campground is great for less-than-hardcore fly fishers. The wading is easy with a mostly gravel bottom, shallow water, and a gentle current. The banks are grassy, with no back-cast-eating trees. Nevertheless, the amount of good holding water is amazing. There are undercut banks, deep troughs, some weeds, and promising riffles.
In about four hours of fishing – punctuated by a margarita break in the bar – we never left the campground. The slow progress was good because we were quite busy unhooking trout. Most took a small Hare’s Ear, but a few wanted the Madame X above it. Beware of the dive-bombing, territorial blackbird near the parking lot…
Root River
The Root River is well publicized. It gathers many tributaries and is a large river with a good smallmouth fishery in its lower reaches. However, my experience with the Root River is within Forestville State Park and just downstream of that. This section resembles a small to medium-sized freestone with alternating riffles and pools. When we visited this past July, heavy rains had pounded the watershed for a few days. As a result, it was high and muddy, and we fished it – without success – for a very brief time one evening.
However, a few years previously, I visited in August when the Tricos were hatching. Right beside our campsite, the Root River slid through a frothy chute and emptied into a deep run. Mayflies formed a shimmering cloud above the run. There were no rises yet, so I fumbled a tiny nymph into the water and plucked out a brown trout. Later, heads appeared with regularity. I switched over to a spinner imitation and plucked out another. I would have fished all day but had promised to take my daughter tubing a little further down the river.
Canfield Creek
This small creek rises out of nowhere from a limestone cliff inside Forestville State Park. It runs through the forest for about a mile and then enters the Root River. A hiking trail runs along its whole length. I fished Canfield Creek early one morning while the Root River was still high; the creek had a robust flow and resembled one long riffle. Nevertheless, the clarity was excellent and in a couple of calmer spots, the trout were numerous and willing. Another Madame X with a Prince nymph underneath did the trick. Those two flies resulted in my first ever double hook-up.
Middle Fork of the Whitewater River
This is a middle-sized stream that is quite long and gathers many tributaries. I fished the stretch within the confines of Whitewater State Park after some heavy rains. It has a riffle-pool structure similar to the Root River. The banks are forested and a lot of fallen timber provides good cover for the residents. The water was on the high side and slightly muddy, but it was still very fishable. Streamers fooled several browns.
Hay Creek
Hay Creek is probably the most challenging of the waters we fished. Although some of it flows briskly through forest, a lot of it moves slowly through pastureland. The water is clear, and the bottom is silty. The steep banks are overgrown and often undercut. Weeds are abundant. Although these things make it difficult to approach the fish, they also create great holding spots. And, in many cases, the fish are quite visible. Hay Creek was the mother lode for sight fishing! It was the only place where I didn’t use a dropper nymph. A single elk hair caddis was stealthier and led to several hook ups.
Camp Creek
We drove along a fair bit of Camp Creek. It is a promising-looking meadow stream for much of its length. The water was slightly off-coloured when we fished. Although it was the only place where we drew a blank, I am not ready to give up on it, and will return. I would also consider it a good place for a beginning fly fisher.
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Hopefully, this article will inspire you to explore the spring creek treasures of southeast Minnesota. I highlighted just a few possibilities. There are dozens more.
NOTES AND DETAILS
Some more “fishy” stuff about Bluff Country…
• The Driftless Fly Fishing Company is a well-stocked fly shop in Preston.
• Many creeks have public angling easements, which are highlighted in Trout Angling Opportunities in Southern and Central Minnesota.
• Most streams, although once stocked, have self-sustaining numbers of brown trout. We caught mostly 8- to 12-incher. There is always the possibility of a true lunker, even in smaller waters. A few streams have rainbows or native brookies.
• 3- or 4-weight rods around 8-feet long are good tools for much of southeastern Minnesota. The standard 9-foot 5-weight is not out of place on the Root River or Whitewater River, especially if you start throwing streamers. Euro nymphing might also be deadly.
• Fly fishing is not the only game! Light spinning gear can be very effective, according to several people I talked to.
• Trout Fishing in Southeast Minnesota by John van Vliet is another guidebook that might be helpful.
MORE THAN JUST FISHING
• Bluff Country is part of the “driftless” region, which extends into Wisconsin and Iowa. Driftless refers to the fact that glaciers did not cover it during the last ice age and glacial “drift” is absent.
• Besides fishing, Minnesota State Parks offer excellent camping and hiking opportunities. Although not mentioned above, Frontenac State Park is close to Hay Creek.
• There are several fantastic bike trails in the area. If you want to combine casting and cardio, the Preston-Harmony bike trail runs alongside a stretch of Camp Creek.
• The Root River offers canoeing and tubing in its lower reaches. Did I mention the smallmouths?
• Many of the towns – like Lanesboro and Red Wing – are cool little places. Rochester is a major city and might be considered the gateway to the region.