Rain can't keep trout anglers away on opening day

[h2ofwlr]

By John Weiss, Rochester Post Bulletin
Posted: Thursday, April 17, 2014 8:23 am | Updated: 8:24 am, Thu Apr 17, 2014.
Photo: http://www.postbulletin.com/sports/outd ... 1f6d0.html Braving wind, rain and skies threatening a serious storm, Nathan Johnson of the Twin Cities cast for trout Saturday during the trout fishing opener. He was on Trout Run Creek near Pilot Mound.

PILOT MOUND — Mike Baumann has fished for trout on some of the best rivers of Montana, Oregon and Idaho, but on Saturday, he put on his fly vest and waders to fish Trout Run Creek, just above the Bucksnort Dam near Pilot Mound.

It was his first try at Minnesota waters, and Trout Run is much smaller than the western rivers, so he wasn't sure how things would work out. The grumble of thunder and pattering of rain from darkening skies didn't make things rosier as he and his buddy Nathan Johnson, both of the Twin Cities, prepared to fish on the opening morning of the 2014 regular trout-fishing season.

Yet, as the two walked along the bank of Trout Run, Baumann was upbeat. "I'm already having fun, starting to feel like a winner — feeling better than the majority of people this morning," he said.

Those who did go out Saturday needed a positive attitude because rain, lightning wind and hail made it a lot harder to fish. Still, many braved the conditions and some caught fish.

Johnson and Baumann caught several fish, mostly in the 10-inch range. Then the rains came in earnest. "Before long, we were fishing in chocolate milk," Baumann said. Enough was enough. They left.

"It's definitely a different ball game with smaller streams," he said. "This was a new, different challenge." But he said he still felt like a winner.

Kyle Herman and his dad, Les Herman, both of the Twin Cities, fished below the dam, and Kyle Herman caught a 9-inch brown on his first cast in a pool. He, too, felt like a winner. It was small, but hey, a few that size would make a nice meal, he said.

Sure, the weather was threatening, but fishing down here has been a tradition for the two for about 30 years, ever since the son was big enough to hold a rod. They have a circuit they make, beginning on Trout Run and moving down to Duschee Creek at Lanesboro. Sometimes, if the weather is right, they will end at Mill Creek in Chatfield.

"I like it down here," Kyle Herman said. He, too, said he felt like a winner. When they were done, they had caught six fish.

Another popular place, as usual, was below the big dam on the Root River in Lanesboro.

Vang Her of St. Paul showed off a 12-inch trout he caught with a Rapala. "It's our to-go spot if we go trout fishing," he said. He also caught some smaller ones, but when skies began to darken, he called it quits.

At Duschee, Cheenou Xiong, 10, of Brooklyn Park, fished right through the rain as waning light made it feel like a half hour before dawn. He was rewarded with a 14-inch rainbow trout he caught with PowerBait. "This is my second or third fish," he said.

He flipped the bait below a small bridge. "I just reeled it in," he said. "The fish bit it and I reeled in as fast as I could."

It was a good day because "catching fish is just fun," he said.

And near Chatfield, 4-year-old Charter Johnson got his first shot at trout fishing. Well, at least he carried a little Spider-Man pole, with the line tipped with a plastic casting plug shaped like a fish. His dad, Tim Johnson of Rochester, was fishing a tiny stream going through his family's land. On state trout maps, it's just a light blue line without public access.

The stream isn't much, but it has consistent flow and some browns up to 16 inches long. And for the Johnsons, it's home water, a part of the dad's heritage and beginning to be part of his son's heritage.

They walked maybe 200 yards until they came to a small pool. "Now, we have to be sneaky," dad said.

Carter did his best at being sneaky, and his dad waded into a shallow to cast a spinner into a pool. There was a tree in it and he had to make sure to avoid that. Carter waded in, too, and dad had to remind him not to get in too deep or he would top his wading boots.

"You want to cast, buddy?" dad said.

Carter wanted to cast, and his dad helped him as the son pretended to fish.

They moved on to further pools, and dad caught four fish, the biggest a nice 13-incher. They took two home. "We'll have a little bit of trout tonight," he said.

Carter also went home with wet boots and muddy pants. Putting a 4-year-old into a stream is just asking for a mishap, but that's part of fishing with a child. Dad was happy they went.

"He loved it," he said of his son. "He was finding turkey feathers and everything else."

Next time, he decided he will let Carter use a bobber and minnows.