Under the cloak of darkness :-)

Tuesday evening myself and a buddy fished an area stream early evening and did witness a rather small Caddis hatch with a few decent Browns taken on Elk Hair Caddis dry flies however, the real goal of the evening was to fish after night fall in the hopes of tying into something of size as the larger, predatory Browns leave their safe hides they haunt during the day for the shallows to feed under the safety and cloak of darkness. It was a pretty ominous feeling casting in the darkness with only a small crescent of moon illuminating the target zones of the stream. The patterns of choice were life size "mouse" flies as well as "Poppers" which are more commonly used by fly anglers while pursuing Bass. The idea behind these patterns is they make a splash when they hit the water, create a wake when stripped and retrieved which simulates a small critter such as a mouse, field vole or frog falling into the water and then swimming aggressively for the safety of the opposing bank. The anticipation was nerve wracking as we blindly casted and stripped just waiting for the water to explode with action .... and that it did. What a rush of adrenaline and excitement when from the darkness rose the sound of thrashing, splashing and the jumping of fish from the water as they were hooked after aggressively slamming our flies! Headlamps were quickly turned on while the trout were safely released to be caught another day ...... or night :-)
If you're looking for something new and interesting to try give night fishing for trout a shot as we enter the "dog days" of summer when fishing is the best early and late. Be sure to stop in at the Driftless Fly Fishing Company fly shop in Preston, MN to get the area's "hot flies" including Poppers and mice for night fishing. The weekend forecast looks good and most small tributary streams are running clear and very fishable ..... good luck and have fun!

Brian Schumacher

Cal catching a few risers on an Elk Hair Caddis while waiting for darkness to come

Cal with a respectable night time Brown