a hidden gem - the Minnesota driftless

Mild temps and clear, normal running streams paired up to create an incredibly enjoyable and productive day on the water yesterday. With more of the same conditions forecasted for the upcoming  week it's a perfect time to experience what the Minnesota Driftless has to offer. We have an amazing trout fishery here that I heard explained once by a gentleman as, "world class but the world just doesn't know about us yet". So, in other words we have a hidden gem here just waiting to be discovered but for those of us who are fortunate enough to not only know about it but are able to fish it, the Minnesota Driftless area trout streams are continuously revealing its secrets. One that was made abundantly clear to me yesterday disproved the misnomer that "one needs big water to find and catch big fish". This is a hot time for terrestrials and I exclusively threw Dave's and Morrish Hoppers as I methodically made my way through some very narrow stretches of water with the width often times being under three feet. I had landed many nice Browns with several being in the 12"-15" range. So, make SE Minnesota your next fly fishing destination, stop by the Driftless Fly Fishing Company fly shop in Preston, MN, get streams recommendations, current hot fly patterns and discover this hidden gem for yourself!

Brian Schumacher

His love of streams, of fishing, seemed so complete and pure and mysterious. He knew something I didn't... I wanted to learn how to find fish, how to tell a good stream from a bad one, how not to frighten trout in the water, what fly to use. I wanted to experience that, too, to love something so utterly you assumed everyone else was as fascinated with it as you.
-- from an essay by Gretchen Legler