With our Michigan trip behind us and spring just beginning in South East Minnesota Ted and I decided to leave early from work and head down to the gem that is Trout Run. It was windy and there was high cloud cover but the water had cleared quite a it from the runoff and rain of recent days. It was a bit early for caddis and I'd come across sporadic BWOs on the whitewater system a few days before.
With anglers downstream of the "Round Barn" we worked downstream. On only a few minutes I was onto a nice little brownie on a copper john. There was no activity so both of us were nymphing. My energy was very low and I took the chance to retie and change flies regularly, not to mention the chance to take in the sounds of water trickling along a beautiful stream and the return of the birds with the onset of spring. If I'd found new strength for the Michigan trip, I was somewhat struggling with my health on this one, and it was only early in the morning.
Ted was very gracious in giving me the choicest holes but with me taking my time he got to probe plenty of nice water and it wasn't long until he started touching fish. Within an hour there were BWOs coming off and Ted found himself onto some hot action and the head of a nice looking pool. After three or four fish in as many minutes he called me up to have a few drifts. First drift through with my parachute BWO and an eager brownie came up and slammed it but I was too slow on setting the hook. A few drifts later and I was away. I don't think either of us had quite the right size or pattern but it was good enough for some good action. Strangely enough the hatch just ended as quickly as it begun in about twenty to thirty minutes. It was the shortest hatch I've fished, but was nice to encounter in the middle of a clear, sunny day.
In the next hole Ted struck the mother-lode. He switched to a fly I've never seen (and one I'd never have bought or tied on) and immediately began slamming fish. It was a deep lie along a submerged log just below some significant riffles. I don't remember the exact number but somewhere around fourteen fish came to hand and he was kept busy with almost constant brief hookups. He kept mining that sweet spot for a while as I moved upstream. I found a nice, sunny spot and, after probing it briefly with a couple of flies I sat down and rested my eyes as I took in the warmth of the spring sun and the sound of the wind rustling the trees. The smells and sounds reminded me that the constant feeling of cold was over and soon it would be T-shirt weather. It was a great break from dealing with the ordeals of what was going on in my "other" life.
Once Ted exhausted his hole we headed to check out his "dry spot". There had been some changes made by Trout Unlimited that we think destroyed the uniqueness of the spot but there were still some fish there. We both landed fish but they weren't especially memorable. We also checked some other holes but with the wind picking up the fishing was tough. The sun and wind took it's toll on me and was tired that evening but it had been well worth it. The next day my real medical challenges began but that was a great day to get me ready.
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