Minnesota bound

[gar]

Hello all. I'm new to the site and love all the great info it has given me so far. I'm originally from Las Vegas and I'm going to be moving to Minnesota in about a month. So I plan on starting this wonderful hobby in the land of 10,000 lakes. I've done extensive research into southeast area and found that it consists of mainly smallmouth on the larger rivers and trout on the smaller ones. I'm considering going with a 6 weight rig to cover my bases. any input or advice you could give me would be greatly appreciated.

[Broadwing]

Hi Gar,
greetings from Minnesota! You'll find that Minnesota is a great way to fish many things on the fly. As far as SE MN goes, some of the creeks are fairly small, and you may find a longer rod to be an impediment to casting. A lot of the guys I know that fish SE are using 3 and 4 weights. If you do want to avail yourself of all the opportunities though, I would tend to agree with you on the 6 weight. If you want to fish bass on the lakes that will typically have a good backbone for windy days.
You can then fish for bluegills, trout, small and large mouth bass, and a pike might even be fun!
What part of the state are you moving to? There's some nice rivers on the North Shore too, and you can't beat the fishing in the BWCA!

[ameyers41]

Hey Gar - Welcome to Minnesota (state bird is the mosquito)! I'm in Minneapolis, and I'd agree with everything Broadwing said. I think it's going to depend on where you're living. I have a 5wt and found it's been a decent starting point for trout streams and panfish. I'd also second going with a shorter rod for those situations. Most of the streams are not that big. If you plan on floating the Mississippi or St. Croix, both good smallmouth rivers, I'd go longer and heavier.

Western Wisconsin has some great streams too (Kinni, Rush, Willow) which are closer to the twin cities than the SE MN streams down by Rochester.

[This message has been edited by ameyers41 (edited 09 March 2006).]

[white43]

Welcome to the land of buzz! Minnesota is a fly fishing mecca with both cold and warmwater offerings. Around here we can fish for smallies, walleye, pike, catfish, carp and other warmwater species on a beautiful river and not see a soul all day long. Perfect for canoe or kayak fishing. So when you settle in, don't just think "north, up north and way up north" or just to the SE or WI for trout. There are many opportunities that folks simply ignore. JGW

[Fly_Line]

Gar - you never said what area you are moving to but I would suggest a 5wt maybee even a 4wt. I had a 6wt for smallees and even though it worked well I now use a 4wt (which on a good day is a little light). That would still work well for trout, panfish. Then as you get thoroughly hooked you can pick up a 7wt for pike and steelhead.
Just to give you an idea the rods I use an a regular basis is:
3wt 7' - great for those small stream trout
4wt 8.5' - my all time favorite for panfish, and smallees
7wt 8.5' - I wish was 9' thats my pike, largemouth, steelhead (that I hve yet to try) rod.

[fly-chucker]

Welcome to Minnesota,

I've fished a little bit of the water around the Rochester area, and from what I've seen a 5 wt would be OK if you are throwing smaller bass flies.

Around the Twin Cities, everyone that I know and fish with is using a 7 wt at the minimum. Most are using an 8 wt for smallie's. I use a 7 wt unless I'm fishing the smaller rivers and creeks then it's my 5.

For fishing the larger rivers such as the Mississippi and St. Croux among others, I would not recommend anything smaller than a 7 wt. The fish in these waters are big (18" is an average size fish), the water flow is large and the fish know how to use the current to their advantage.

Some light rod enthusiasts may disagree with me, such is life.

Kevin

[gar]

I guess I should have mentioned that I'm going to live in Cottage grove. i appreciate the input from all of you. I guess my next question would be. as a beginner fly fisherman should I start with the small rig and go for the trout or go with the larger gear and go for the smallmouth? I should mention that i'm going to live real close to the st. croix.

[flyangler]

Welcome aboard and enjoy your new home in the midwest.

You'll get by just fine with a nine foot six weight for trout, bass and the occasional pike. Once you're head over heels in love with flyfishing, you'll know if you need to go bigger or smaller. Or both.

The thing about the St. Croix or the many nearby lakes is that they're like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get. And if you break your six weight on a 30 pound carp while you're fishing for a 5 pound bass, you'll have quite a story to tell.

[MNFisher]

Welcome aboard - and to Minnesota as well. Cottage Grove will put you in great position to chase whatever you desire - panfish, trout, bass, pike........

To me your 6 weight is like a radial arm saw - it will be versatile and capable of doing many things - but it may not be the best tool for any specific application. flyangler is right - you'll get by just fine for the variety of species mentioned. When desire and finances allow for more equipment, you may want to go smaller for the streams in SE MN and W WI, and a bit bigger for the bass in the Mississippi and St. Crox. You'll find good fishing for all within an hour of your home - minutes for panfish.

Enjoy!

[white43]

Actually you are minutes away from one of the best sections of the Mississippi for a whole lot of great warmwater fishing. "Spring Lake" but due to pollution it's all C & R, but LMB and smallies are great in that section. Just keep from falling out of the boat. Around Hastings there are some good backwater bluegill haunts, and the Little Vermillion above Hastings is a trout stream, and below a very good pike, smallie, walleye and crappie fisheries. In the other direction is the St. Croix, which is very noisy on weekend days. IOW, there is a lot of great fishing opportunities just minutes from CG. JGW