apoapsis

All the romance of trout fishing exists in the mind of the angler
and is in no way shared by the fish.
 ~Harold F. Blaisdell, The Philosophical Fisherman, 1969

in minnesota, we have four seasons.  spring, summer, autumn, and of course, winter (everyone's secret favorite, or they wouldn't live here, right?).  astronomical seasons are determined by the earth's position relative to the sun, while the "summer" of the northern-hemisphere is marked by the earth's intersection with the apoapsis, or the point at which our planet is furthest from the sun during our annual elliptical orbit.  Even though our eclipsing of this particular apsis means our planet is the furthest that it will be from the sun, the earth's topside tilt towards our solar system's gravitational center generates the conditions necessary for the warmest months in the midwest.

by all measurements we're having a very warm summer in Minnesota this year.  as our earth leans into the sun, and the atmospheric pressure systems ebb and flow, the heat waves blanket the midwest.  accompanying these days of increased heat inevitably comes the rising of temperatures of our lakes and streams.  for cold-blooded trout, this means they must seek cooler water, or minimally hide/rest during the hotter portions of the day so as to help regulate their own internal body temperatures from becoming too warm.

as joe, khang, and i headed to south-eastern minnesota for a couple days of trout fishing, we knew our work was cut out for us as the forecast was predicting slightly above average temperatures; which for this time of year translates into -- hot.

we planned on camping at whitewater state park, while spreading our time amongst three streams: the north and south branches of the whitewater river, and trout run which is about 20 minutes south of where we would otherwise be roaming.

our time was enjoyable as always, but certainly a mixed bag with regard to how well we did synchronizing with the trout.  we began our trip on trout run and had reasonable success before returning to camp for the night.  prior to climbing into our respective tents, we displayed some of our so-called "boy scout" skills and enjoyed an impromptu fire made from a fire starter that I had in my bag, and dead wood laying around our campsite.

we woke up to sunshine and the makings of another very warm day.  even at 9am in the morning, it was warm and we sought shade to compensate.  we began on the north branch of whitewater and had a modicum of success, but decided to pick up around lunch and hit the south branch to finish out our day.  the south branch trout proved our biggest challenge.  joe and khang caught a couple between them for the afternoon, and i managed to catch a little more than a handful, but this was clearly dumb luck for me i felt.

this trip was a reminder of the upcoming juncture with our planet's orbital apoapsis.  the mild, gentle, and comfortable weather of spring was giving way to meteorological summer.  our willingness to come out in the heat was a sign of our own unwillingness to let go of spring, and an anticipation for another day on the stream, but it was clear the trout did not share the same romance for the engagement as we did.

solitary refinement

a trip to the kinni that was supposed to involve both joe and khang ended up being a solo trek across the border today.  work pressures won out when it came down to brass tacks for both of these anglers this week.  their presence was missed as i left work early, and headed into the overcast horizon blanketing interstate 94.

i had worked an extra 8 hours over the weekend and was allowed to cash in some of the extra hours for an earlier exit than originally planned on monday.  this was nothing but good news for what seemed to be a perfect day to be on the stream.....  overcast, periodic rainfall, and temps in the mid-50s.

heaven.

i was able to arrive in river falls, gear up, and step into the water by 11:45am.  this meant i had about 8 hours of uninterrupted fishing to look forward to.  there was no one on the stream today (at least not within sight).  the dam itself was absent of pedestrians, shore fisher-persons, or other by-standers which was a sign that it was going to be thoroughly.....   quiet today.

but that's only partially true.  quiet in terms of people but it was certainly full of action in terms of trout.  the weather made for prime trout conditions.  hatches were occurring throughout the afternoon, and the trout responded in kind.  trout were rising from the time i stepped into the water, to the time i stepped out around 8:00pm.

joe had long instructed me to stay away from the dam, no matter how many fish i saw milling about there because the water is pretty calm, and the trout get hit there often.  i decided to try today anyway, as there was no one else around, and i felt like doing something unorthodox.  i spent 20 minutes there, and managed to pull out a nice 11 inch brown.  but i knew better fishing was down stream.

i found myself stopping at a hole that has long been one of the local favorites.  i ended up spending most of my afternoon there because the action on the surface was damn near a circus in the water.  trout were performing all sorts of aerial maneuvers, and aside from the fishing itself, was a marvel to witness.

i was amazed at how much i struggled to hook a trout given the activity i was seeing, but joe always told me that this can happen.  i just had a hard time believing it until i experienced it myself first hand.  the trout were feeding on something but that something wasn't at the end of my line apparently.  they flew out of the water for seemingly anything but what fly i had tied on.  i set aside my stubbornness and tried many different flies.

this did the trick.

i found that the insects they fed on changed throughout the day.  at some point they fed on elk hair caddis, and  at others they fed on BWO patterns.  it was so amazing to see this happen.  how these trout all happen to change together as to what they're focused on is just a small miracle to me.  i know there is a life aquatic explanation for this, but from up above, its just fascinating.

at other parts of the afternoon, i would catch nothing except for trout rising to snatch my flies as i was retrieving line to cast again.  after this happened twice, i learned a new technique that worked for awhile where i would literally try mimic the flying pattern of a caddis on the surface.  i would bob my caddis up and down just above the surface of the water, and i actually caught 4 fish this way when i was catching nothing else.

i must have been smiling ear to ear as i watched trout appear out of nowhere from the depths of the hole, and race to the surface to jump after my fly.  it was a fun change of pace to the other techniques i regularly employ.

toward the end of the day, tried my luck at "spot fishing."  this is a technique where you wait to spot the trout before casting.  this minimizes the chances of "spooking" the fish in conditions where that is more likely.  this location was one of those places.

the water was almost completely ripple free, with a slow but steady current as it moved downstream.  the trout were rising here, but a slap of your line on the surface resulting from a sloppy cast would undoubtedly send them to other, less annoying, places to eat.

i stood on some underwater branches to pull myself above the otherwise silty river bottom.  having casted all day in the wind, and given that the wind had died down by the early evening, i was finding my casting filled with ease of motion and solid form.....   all good news for this part of my day.

i saw a fish rise about 60 feet out.  i seemingly effortlessly casted out 65 feet of line, about 5 - 10 feet ahead of the rise.  two seconds later.....  SMASH!  and as i pulled back on my line, i had the excitement of a trout racing around in the calm water looking for a place to run to while being pulled back by my 3 weight sage flight rod.

that was one of 4 fish i ended up pulling from this area.  it was a very exciting hour i spent here.  much learned.

i fished one more hole on my way back, and all of a sudden, in the middle of my fishing this hole, the trout stopped rising almost as if some kind of internal alarm had gone off, and they all decided to sit still.  it was very bizarre after seeing them rise literally all day.  it took me about 5 minutes in the low light of late afternoon to realize that the stream was being muddied.  i wasn't sure from where but the water was opaque and cloudy.

as i walked back to the dam, ready to quit for the day, here is what the water looked like up ahead from where i first realized the water was now muddy.

beautiful in its own rite, but not so great for fly fishing!  it wasn't until i approached the dam, that i finally found the source of the conditions that ended my wonderful day on the stream.  it turned out that the rain taking place all day finally made its way to a recently created stream that was running down from the bluffs, and carrying all sorts of sediment with it.  see the picture below of this temporary stream.

normally, there is not water running down over those rocks, but there was today!  and carrying a lot of mud with it.  as it emptied into the water by the dam, it looked like the following.  you can easily see the two-tones in the water.

i ended my day catching one more trout by the dam, as there was a little water left untainted by the mud there.

i walked back to my van, processing all that i had learned today.  it was an afternoon filled with lessons that can hardly be taught.... at least not as effective as it is to be forced to work through it yourself when you encounter the conditions i did today.  words and ideas and lessons became action today.  joe had prepared me well to think through my choices in what the fish were throwing at me, and i had a very successful day as a result.

all it took was a little solitary refinement.