Look at any map of the upper
Midwest and you will see these thin blue lines distributed throughout
the states. All of these little blue lines represent creeks, streams
or small rivers. No matter what you call them they can turn out
to be hidden jewels, full of cooperative fish.
When
it comes to the best time to go fishing, my theory is that anytime
you can go is the best time. However, when it comes to small rivers
I'm not a big fan of spring fishing. The water level is usually
high, the current flow is generally at it's highest and the
water is muddy as well as very cold, not a good combination in my
opinion.
But from late June on, even
into November these gems can produce a lot of fun and fish. For
me, the absolute prime time has to be July and August. The water
level is stable and usually low. This does a number of things
for the angler; it can congregate fish into deeper river holes
and it makes even small rivers easy to read. Best of all the water
is warm enough to wade without chest-waders or hip boots. Wading
a small river in August can produce more fish and fun than most
anglers realize.
Sometimes I think these little
blue gems were designed specifically for the shore bound angler;
as they are generally very easy to fish and you don’t need
a boat or a ton of tackle. You can easily get by with one rod.
A 6-foot medium action spinning rod and a good quality spinning
reel is all you need. The shorter rod works better as casts usually
need to be short and accurate. A quality spinning reel with a
good drag system is a must, as you can tangle with some rather
large fish, even in these small waters. But it doesn't have
to be a top of the line reel, empty your savings account type
of reel. Just a good quality, reliable reel, something like the
Okuma Avenger works just fine.
Tangling with larger fish
is one of the reasons I like to use super-braid line when fishing
small rivers; a second reason is the snags. You're
going to get snagged and with braided line you can usually get your
baits back without the line breaking.
You can use live
bait, but most of the time it isn't necessary
as artificial baits work just as well. You can usually get all the
tackle you need into a small plastic Plano box, small enough to
fit in a pants pocket. For me a jig and curly-tail grub is usually
the first choice followed closely by a jig and Bitsy Bug Crawfish.
You need to have a couple of crank-baits, top-water baits and spinnerbaits
in your tackle pack. Just remember to keep your bait selection on
the small size. Spinnerbaits like the Micro-King or Mini-King are
perfect. Strike King makes some small crankbaits; the new
Crappie Cranks or Bitsy Minnow will work fine. And the same for
top-water baits; keep them small. I know when you look at
this selection of baits they seem so small, but all of these diminutive
baits catch large fish and not just the incidental large fish, but
good numbers of big fish.
I grew up fishing small
creeks or rivers and I'm still surprised
at the shear variety of fish you can catch. I've stood on
the same rock along the Ottertail river in west central Minnesota
casting a small crankbait and caught numbers of the following species:
Northern Pike, Walleye, Crappie, Sunfish, Perch, Smallmouth bass,
Largemouth bass and a Catfish... all in a couple of hours. Had I been soaking night crawlers I'm sure
I could have added a couple of more species to the list. Now not
every outing is like that, but on just about every outing you catch
fish and generally a variety of species.
You can certainly
make fishing these small waters an all day affair, targeting two
or three different rivers in a full day of fun. But for the angler
who only has a couple of hours to get out and fish, these small
waters are the ticket. They are hassle free, no boat to trailer
or launch. No waiting at a busy launch ramp to launch or pull out. No
dealing with live bait, just simple easy fishing. Generally no one
else is around, once in a while a canoe or kayak, but that's
it. You really owe it to yourself; give one of these thin blue lines
a try.
As
always, stay safe and we hope to see you on the water...
Wayne Ek
Wayne Ek is a fishing
guide, tournament angler and writer in Alexandria Minnesota.
You can reach Wayne Ek at Agape Fishing Guides, agapefishingguides.com
