Fly Fishing the Midwest: The Time is Now
Photo by Hansi Johnson.
The Myth around Fly Fishing
The mythology and hype about fly fishing in America have often been focused on several things. First, trout are the premium quarry you fish for. Second, is that good fly fishing is mainly found in the mountainous Western states. You can thank Brad Pitt and the movie A River Runs Through It for that. But what about fly fishing in the Midwest?
There are obviously deeper reasons for these stereotypes, for one thing the trout is a worthy adversary. It can be hard to sneak up on a wiley trout and a trout can also be picky as all get out as to what it eats and when. In other words, it’s a rewarding challenge to catch a trout on the fly.
The adage that trout don’t live in ugly places comes from the western perspective as well. In Western states the trout (whether it be a Rainbow, a Cutthroat, or a Brown) grow large and they are found in the thousands per mile. It’s a target rich environment, plus the sun is usually shining and the skies a sparkly cobalt blue.
What’s not to like? Well maybe the fact that EVERYBODY is fly fishing for the same trout out west……
I have asked people who have moved to Minnesota from Montana, Utah, or Idaho what they miss about their western pasts. More than once I have heard them utter that they miss fly fishing. They say it as if it’s something they cannot do here. It’s like they just hang up the rods and the waders and move on to playing pickle ball and cornhole.
I never know how to respond to that kind of comment.
Photo by Hansi Johnson
The Truth about the Midwest
First, I feel it’s such an ignorant comment to make. It’s like saying there is only one kind of pasta and that’s the only type you will ever eat. Lasagna for days!
Folks who make a comment like that, don’t recognize the fact that Minnesota and the Upper Midwest is literally buried in water. Thousands of lakes and a myriad of rivers with a wide diversity of fish, from the sacred trout, to the diabolical musky. The warm water species like bass (smallmouth and largemouth), northern pike, and muskellunge can grow large and are sprinkled nearly everywhere. They are also voracious. There is nothing more exciting than a popper getting crushed on the surface by a big ol’ bass or the rush of a giant streamer getting inhaled by a 3-foot pike right at the boat.
Usually hot on the heels of this initial thought after a disparaging comment like that is my better judgement. Minnesota (as well as Michigan and Wisconsin) are so blessed with a diversity of species and an embarrassment of riches when it comes to types of water to fish and with so few anglers to compete with that, I don’t want to give up the secret. Why inform somebody who is obviously not passionate enough about the sport, to think outside of the marketing box the fly-fishing industry has slammed them into? More for me, right?
I was talking to a recent Wyoming transplant the other day. He told me that he had gone fishing over the weekend. This guy is fresh to the Midwest Zone so I was curious as to his experience. “Well,” he said, “I got up at 4am to make it to the river by 6am so I could get into the trailer queue and make sure I had a great spot on the river. When I arrived, I was stunned to realize there was nobody there. While I was on the water I saw nobody, and when I ran my shuttle our trucks were the only ones in the lot”
Exactly.
Photo by Hansi Johnson
How You Can Get Started
To truly tap into what is currently an un-tapped mecca of fly-fishing opportunity in the Upper Midwest, you need to do a few things. First, shake off the idea that fly fishing is a cold-water sport. Also, leave the idea that you can only fish for one specific species. With warm water fly fishing you can literally be fishing for dozens of species, sometimes many of them at the same time, with the same fly.
Once you have done that, grab a map of Minnesota or Wisconsin and spread it across the table. Next, watch as your mind effectively melts down over the fly-fishing possibilities. There is almost nowhere in the Upper Midwest where you can’t fish for something within a half an hour of your home. In a lot of cases, its destination worthy as well. This thought includes the major metro areas. Minneapolis and Milwaukee have some of the best fishing you can do in the country. Literally right in the center of those urban environments.
Lastly, become aware of the dangers that threaten to take this paradise down. While the Upper Midwest is swelling with fly fishing opportunities, many of them world class, there are a lot of things that could destroy this amazing fishing epoch we are living in. Mining is threatening many of the better river’s headwaters. State and Federal policies that protect clean water are constantly under attack and our voices are the only thing that can help stop that. In my grandfather’s time, he saw the fisheries in Minnesota go from great to almost nonexistent. Now, we are back to having great fisheries. However, it is conceivable that in my lifetime and my son’s lifetime we could go back to nonexistent. If you would like to learn more about conserving these wonderful places, check out Sportsmen for the Boundary Waters and Trout Unlimited
Oh, and by the way, there is plenty of great trout fishing in the Upper Midwest. It’s in places that are insanely gorgeous, but I will leave it up to you to find it.
Hansi Johnson – Author and Photographer
More Fly Fishing with Modern Carnivore!
Davin Brandt of Minnesota Steelheader – Modern Carnivore Podcast (EP:013)
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