August 22, 2019:
Welcome Back to the NTC’s The Voice of the Driftless.
Absolutely great fishing conditions ahead! We have had two full weeks without any substantial rain in the Minnesota and Wisconsin Driftless Area. Dry fly fishing may be the best we have had all season!
We now have less than a month left of catch-and-keep trout fishing in SE Minnesota. The big Brown Trout will start moving into their spawning areas, looking for mates and will start to get aggressive with their feeding habits trying to put on weight for the winter.
Fishing season updates and reminders:
At this time of year it is a good idea to review the trout fishing seasons for the rest of the year
Minnesota seasons: https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/fishing/seasons.html
Wisconsin seasons: https://dnr.wi.gov/topic/fishing/seasons/trout.html
Iowa seasons: https://www.iowadnr.gov/Fishing/Trout-Fishing
Illinois seasons: https://www.dnr.illinois.gov/news/Pages/2019-Illinois-Spring-Trout-Fishing-Season-Opens-April-6.aspx
| State | Area | Dates |
| Minnesota | SE Mn Stream Trout
All streams |
4/13/19-9/15/19 Catch and Keep except for special reg streams |
| 9/16/10-10/15/19 Catch and Release all streams | ||
| Cities: Preston, Lanesboro, Chatfield, Rushford and Spring Valley plus Whitewater, Forestville and Beaver Creek State Parks | 10/16/19-4/17/20 | |
| 10/16/19-4/17/20 | ||
| All Steams | 1/1/20-4/17/20 Catch and Release | |
| Streams trout outside SE MN | 4/13/19-9/30-119 | |
| Stream trout in lakes | 5/11/19-10/31/19 | |
| Wisconsin | Designated streams statewide | 1/4/19-5/1/19 Early Catch and Release |
| Statewide | 5/1/19 (5AM)-10/15/19 | |
| Lake Superior | 12/1/18-9/30/19 | |
| Brule River | 4/25/19-9/30/19 | |
| Iowa | Statewide | Continuous |
| Illinois | Designated waters | 4/6/19 |
Transparency Levels
Today the transparency levels are looking great! In Chatfield at Mill Creek the reading was at 75cm! In town here at the South Branch Root River the reading was at 60cm which is up a lot from the 25cm last week! Camp Creek was the best today at a remarkable 95cm! So if you’re able to get out there this weekend it’s looking like a great weekend for fishing!
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