Roughin It: Trout fishing in winter weather
Josh Evans, Lance Kraemer
Issue date: 2/8/08 Section: Sports
Ahh, the sounds of a babbling brook, a gentle breeze at your back, the sun intensely beaming through the trees, sounds like summer! Quite the opposite, it's actually the situation a number of Minnesota anglers found themselves in just last weekend.
One of the best-kept secrets to Minnesota anglers is the southeastern portion of the state.
Scattered throughout a corner of the great state of Minnesota, lay over 2,000 miles of river and stream fishing opportunities.
Of those 2,000+ miles, there are around 680 miles of state designated and protected trout streams.
A short 30-minute drive from the Twin Cities will get you to some of these fantastic trout fishing waters.
This area has one of the highest concentrations of landlocked designated trout stream habitat in the nation.
The best part is, who knew? There aren't many people in the country or the Midwest for that matter that are aware of this phenomenal trout fishing.
From Jan 1 to Mar 31, southeastern Minnesota has catch-and-release only regulations for trout fishing. The Department of Natural Resources puts this, as well as a few other regulations in place during the winter season to ensure a quality fishing experience for every angler.
What amazes people most about winter fishing in southeastern Minnesota is that despite negative temperatures throughout the winter, the streams remain open and don't ice over like lakes.
This is due to a couple of factors. First, the source of nearly all of these streams starts from spring's underground.
The water deep underground doesn't freeze, due to the insulation the earth provides.
So when the water surfaces at the headwaters of each of these streams, often steam can be seen because of the temperature difference between the water and the air. In addition, the natural flow of a stream keeps the water from freezing.
The water is continuously moving, so only small portions of the stream tend to develop a thin layer of ice, usually near the banks of the stream.
One of the best-kept secrets to Minnesota anglers is the southeastern portion of the state.
Scattered throughout a corner of the great state of Minnesota, lay over 2,000 miles of river and stream fishing opportunities.
Of those 2,000+ miles, there are around 680 miles of state designated and protected trout streams.
A short 30-minute drive from the Twin Cities will get you to some of these fantastic trout fishing waters.
This area has one of the highest concentrations of landlocked designated trout stream habitat in the nation.
The best part is, who knew? There aren't many people in the country or the Midwest for that matter that are aware of this phenomenal trout fishing.
From Jan 1 to Mar 31, southeastern Minnesota has catch-and-release only regulations for trout fishing. The Department of Natural Resources puts this, as well as a few other regulations in place during the winter season to ensure a quality fishing experience for every angler.
What amazes people most about winter fishing in southeastern Minnesota is that despite negative temperatures throughout the winter, the streams remain open and don't ice over like lakes.
This is due to a couple of factors. First, the source of nearly all of these streams starts from spring's underground.
The water deep underground doesn't freeze, due to the insulation the earth provides.
So when the water surfaces at the headwaters of each of these streams, often steam can be seen because of the temperature difference between the water and the air. In addition, the natural flow of a stream keeps the water from freezing.
The water is continuously moving, so only small portions of the stream tend to develop a thin layer of ice, usually near the banks of the stream.
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