All winter long anglers anxiously await the opening of the spring trout season in Southeastern Minn. April 1 first marks the first day of the catch and release season in the southeast region while April 18 opens up trout fisheries statewide. Anglers from across bluff country and greater Minnesota annually converge on the Root River, Whitewater River, Forestville, Beaver, and Winnebago Creeks eager to explore their favorite fishing holes in hopes of catching the big one and enjoying a little serenity in the meantime.
Minnesota, well known for its 10,000 lakes, is not as popular a destination when it comes to trout fishing bluff country streams. “This is the last frontier for trout fishing,” stated Vaughn Snook of the DNR Lanesboro Regional Office. “A lot of people don’t know there are trout here. I grew up in Michigan and you ain’t seen nothing yet as I said to some people here when I first got here. Relative to a lot of states we don’t have a lot of angling pressure. In Michigan you’re shoulder to shoulder in some places.”
A season long survey (see sidebar) conducted in 2005 reported 90.6% of anglers were Minnesota residents while 3.9% and 0.9% hailed from Wisconsin and Iowa respectively. Over half, 52.3%, of anglers were Southeastern Minnesota residents while 31.1% came from the seven county metro region.
After the flooding in ‘07, and again last spring, raised water levels more than 50 feet above normal flow in some streams, many anglers assumed the population numbers would be low as a direct result of stream damage. Snook reports, however, that the numbers tell a different story.
He explained, “we looked at how successful spawning was based on numbers of little guys we catch. In May/June of ‘08 the catch was huge, off the charts. We don’t know for a fact, but we can kind of deduce that the floods may have had some positive affect in their spawning.” In one instance, an average of 533 fish/mile in three streams surveyed was reported pre-flood, and an average of 672 fish/mile was recorded after the ’07 floods in the same streams. How populations will react in the long term is still unknown, but for now population numbers look promising.
Snook noted trout populations generally go in a seven year cycle. At the time of the flooding, populations in the Whitewater river were already bottoming out, perhaps explaining the disappointment experienced by some post-flood anglers.
Rainbow, brown, and brook trout represent the trout species in local streams. Only brook trout are native. The others were introduced to fill niches left by brook trout as brook trout populations plummeted through the 1930s, ‘40s, and ‘50s according to Ed Stork of the Lanesboro Fish Hatchery. Stork described brown and rainbow trout as “good sport fish, readily available, economical to raise, and fun to catch. They are quite tolerant of the somewhat turbid and warmer water in southeastern Minnesota,” he added.
This spring 28,100 rainbow trout yearlings, 27,600 rainbow fingerlings and 391,750 brown trout fingerlings will be released in Houston, Fillmore, Winona, Goodhue, Wabasha, and Olmsted counties. Beaver, Winnebago, and Crooked Creeks receive 1,300, 1,050, and 500 rainbow trout each year respectively.
Brook trout continue to be stocked in specific, hospitable streams including Eitzen Creek. “With the conservation reserve program we’ve increased our concentration of cold clear water,” noted Stork. “Once they (brook trout) start coming back they are going to start getting more popular,” he predicted.
Trout populations strong
Overall, trout populations have tripled since 1970 levels thanks to stocking efforts and overall habitat improvement. Fisheries managers hope one day area waters attain a self sustaining population. Stork see the loss of natural lands as the biggest threat to healthy trout populations, and as a result he fears stocking will always be necessary.
“While its been very true that we’ve gained several miles of cold clear water through the conservation reserve program it now appears we are going backwards, because some conservation reserve has been taken out and put back into production,” Stork said. “We’re going to start seeing a negative trend again so the stocking is always going to have to be there.”
On a similar note Snook responded he believes the biggest threat to local streams is farmers “still plowing into setbacks. It’s not a good idea.” He explained their office has approached county governments requesting them to enforce current regulations regarding setbacks from streams but commented they are usually unresponsive. He fears if regulations are not enforced locally, a legislative mandate could one day put control into state authorities.
“A lot of us would like to see local control. I’d rather my county do it. I don’t want someone from St Paul taking over,” he responded. “Either St Paul makes the decisions or we start helping ourselves.”
Fisheries managers are always look to create more trout stream easements to protect riparian habitat and allow anglers access. Currently 720 miles of streams are enlisted in the program, up from 680 miles in 2004. An easement is a legal contract with landowners that in exchange for a one time payment allows public fishing and DNR management activities along the enrolled section of stream. They typically encompass 66 feet of land and water on either side of the centerline of the stream.
Easements allow anglers opportunities to fish in places that would otherwise be off limits, but getting to the easement can sometimes be a challenge. “You can’t trespass to get to that easement corridor,” Snook emphasized. He stated the biggest gripe their office encounters from landowners is anglers trespassing on private property. “Most farmers wouldn’t care if you ask them. When you go do it without asking, that’s what angers them.” Posted signs mark easement boundaries. In Minn. all navigable waters are public, but without easements an angler must keep his feet wet to avoid trespassing. Fines of up to $3,000 penalize trespassing.
Rules and Regulations
In addition to confusion of easement boundaries, the list of state and local fishing regulations can easily discourage the novice fisherman.
In southeastern Minnesota, April 1 through April 17 is a catch and release only season with barbless hooks. April 18 through September 14 a possession limit of 5 fish is in place, only one of which may measure more than 16 inches. Sept. 15 through September 30 is once again catch and release using barbless hooks.
Certain streams, as outlined in the 2009 DNR Fishing Regulations booklet available online or where licenses are purchased, host specific slot limits. For example, all trout 12-16 inches in length taken from East Beaver Creek must be immediately released. Many will remember a proposal to turn sections of Winnebago Creek into catch and release only was dismissed in ’04 upon the recommendation from local citizens.
Everyone over the age of 16 needs a fishing license and a trout stamp to fish for trout, a combination costing approximately $27.
Snook encourages people with questions to call their office at 507 467 2442. They can also provide booklets outlining local regulations and easement locations.
Whether a seasoned veteran or a novice angler exploring a new hobby, one need not go any further than nearby valleys to find the prized trout some anglers search for across the continent. That the streams were too crowded or characterized by low populations numbers are no excuses for an empty creel around here, but as the old saying goes, even a bad day of fishing is better than a good day of work.
2005 creel survey of selected trout streams
A survey conducted during the 2005 fishing season reported that 90% of anglers were males.
An estimated 214,307 trout were caught. Brown trout were the most sought after species as 38.9% of anglers indicated. Easy access was the number one reason 30% of anglers fished a particular stream. Favorite stream (28%) and that they live close by (21%) were other top reasons.
Angling using flies was more common in older age groups while younger anglers preferred bait. The highest catch rate was measured in August and April at an average of 2.1 trout/hour. The year round average catch rate was estimated to be 1.1 trout/hour.
The average age of anglers was 40.
Brown trout represented 72.2% of total catch and rainbow trout 26.1%. Mean catch size for brown trout was 9.6 inches, rainbow trout 10.3 inches, and brook trout at 8.2 inches.
May receives the most angling pressure with over 44,500 hours logged by anglers. Release rates of fish caught have increased over the years to approximately 83%, compared to approximately 96% out West.
Most anglers indicated they were satisfied or very satisfied with their angling experience.
The report concluded, “the southeast Minnesota trout resource is primarily used by resident anglers and is not a primary travel destination for non-resident trout anglers.” It went on to affirm that purchasing trout easements is important to provide easy access to streams. The survey indicated exactly what Snook originally suggested, that “relative to other fisheries, the amount of angler-hours estimated on streams in southeast Minnesota is low.”
