Aaron Avestruz, Author at On The Rise

Rush River 5.10.16

May 10, 2016May 11, 2016Aaron Avestruz

I hit the Rush for a short outing this evening from about 5:00 to 6:30. I ended up with around a dozen fish to hand and many more long distance releases on a Euro Pheasant Tail and Zebra Midge rig, with a pretty even split between each fly. I also had what would have been my first double on for a short time before getting broken off. There were lots of midges out and the birds were going crazy eating them, but only sporadic rising.

Also, I was finally able to test out the new 9′ 5 wt from Limit Creek, and I was very impressed. It’s definitely the ultimate nymphing stick! The extra length is great for mending and high-sticking, and the action and feel of the rod was excellent. Last year the 8′-6″ 5 wt took 7th out of 30 rods in the Yellowstone Angler 5 wt Shootout, and I can only imagine the 9-footer getting even better reviews. If anyone is looking for a great rod at a great price, I’d highly recommend it!

Aric also fished the Lower Kinni from about 7:30 to 9:00 pm. He caught nine fish total, with two around 11″ between a Euro Pheasant Tail, a Pink Squirrel, and a Caddis Larva. He didn’t notice many caddis flying around, but saw quite a few fish rising to midges. Definitely a good night of fishing for both of us.

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Rush River 5.3.16

May 3, 2016May 4, 2016Aaron Avestruz

My friend Eddie Rivard and I originally planned on exploring another area stream, but after realizing we wouldn’t be able to fish it all before dark, opted to hit a stretch on the Rush neither of us had fished. I fished with my trusted Euro Pheasant Tail and Zebra Midge rig, and on my second cast of the day, caught this nice 13″ brown.

Check out those spots!

We slowly made our way upstream and I picked off a couple fish in every run. Eddie was using streamers and caught this little guy on a conehead Muddler Minnow.

We didn’t leave ourselves quite enough time to fish the whole stretch, and only fished about half of it before dark. I ended up with around a dozen browns and one sucker. Eddie caught two browns himself. Not a bad evening!

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Rush River 4.30.16

April 30, 2016April 30, 2016Aaron Avestruz

I was able to take friends Mike, Jason, and Jeff Steers out on the Rush today from about 10-4. They are just getting into fly fishing so I was happy to show them the ropes. Stream conditions had improved since last night, with water levels improving slightly and visibility around 2.5 feet.

Jeff got the day started with this beast of a sucker, easily the biggest I’ve seen caught on the Rush.

The first fish of the day. We were pretty excited to see the rod bend until we realized it was a sucker.

While I was demonstrating how to get a drag-free drift, I was able to catch two browns around 12-13 inches. Here is the bigger of the two.

Jason got on the board with this nice little brookie.

We kept working our way up the stream and picked off a couple fish in every run. Jason found a good seam in which he and Mike hooked into a couple fish. Here is Jason with his best of the day.

Jason helped Mike with the net job on his fish.

It was a team effort, so Jason got in the hero shot.

By the end of the day we had probably 30 fish to hand, with many more missed. Fish were caught on Euro Pheasant Tails, Pink Squirrels, Caddis Larva, Prince Nymphs, Frenchies, Ice Dub Pheasant Tails, Zebra Midges in black and olive, and WD-40s. We had a pretty good BWO hatch around 2:00, and Jason and I threw size 20 BWO dries for a little while, with each of us bringing one brookie to hand while missing a couple more.

Overall a great day on the water and a great opportunity to introduce the guys to fly fishing the Driftless Area!

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Rush River 4.29.16

April 29, 2016April 30, 2016Aaron Avestruz

I decided to check out the Rush this evening after yesterday’s showers, and was greeted with high and stained, but definitely fishable, water. The clarity was about 1.5 feet. I thought it would be a great time to fish streamers, but after getting skunked on the first two or three runs, I opted to go with nymphs. My streamer skills yet again let me down.

With the off-color water, I went with a brown San Juan worm and a size 16 pink squirrel. I soon had a couple small browns and brookies to hand. I moved on to the next run, and on the first cast saw my indicator plunge underwater. The fish stayed deep, but eventually showed himself, and after a few swipes of the net, I finally landed him — a new personal best on the Rush at 18″ (unofficially — I still need to measure the rod).

Hopefully I'll see him again someday. — Hopefully I’ll see him again someday.

I was able to pick off a few more fish on the next couple runs and had another nice one break me off before calling it a day. If anyone catches a fish carrying a San Juan worm and pink squirrel on the Rush, please send pics!

I ended up fishing from about 4:45 to 7:15, with about 5-7 fish to hand, with all but one on the pink squirrel. It was actually my first time using the squirrel this year; it’s good to know I can always fall back to that legendary Driftless fly. A few dinks rose sporadically throughout the evening, and there were caddis, BWOs, and midges in the air. If the water clears up it could make for some excellent dry fly fishing this weekend!

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Lower Kinni 4.20.16

April 21, 2016Aaron Avestruz

I fished the Lower Kinni this afternoon from about 2:00 to 4:00. Once again I began the outing fishing streamers, but noticed a few fish rising to caddis and couldn’t pass up the chance to catch a couple on the surface. I switched to a Bread and Butter Caddis, but was unsuccessful the first couple casts just dead drifting the fly. I got distracted by a few buzzards flying overhead and got a quick bite as the fly swung downstream. After that I began casting across and downstream, and let the fly swing and skitter around. I was quickly rewarded with four small browns to hand.

The trout were going after egg-laying caddis flies bouncing around and not newly emerged flies, so fishing the B&B caddis that sits lower on the surface probably wasn’t my best option. I’ll have to tie up a few different patterns before my next outing.

Eventually the surfacing slowed down and I switched back to my streamer. I got a few bumps and follows but am yet again fishless on streamers.

I talked to a few other guys that seemed to have similar luck — a few on caddis dries before it shut down and then a couple on nymphs. Surface activity was best from about 1:00 to 3:00. Everyone was catching little guys as well, although I saw a couple good fish while stripping streamers.

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Lower Kinni 4.19.16

April 19, 2016April 19, 2016Aaron Avestruz

I fished the Kinni below the house this evening from about 4:00 to 7:00. I was on a mission to get into some fish using streamers, and began the day using a brown and yellow Frick’s Fix. I got to a nice hole where we’ve had success in the past and probably had 25+ follows and swipes (including a couple 16+ inchers) but never got one to commit. I switched streamers seven times and made a bunch of different retrieves to no avail. Talk about frustrating. I’m going to have to bring friend and Streamer Dream Teamer Eddie Rivard to that spot sometime soon to show me how to seal the deal. What do you do when the fish won’t commit to your streamer?

Eventually I relented and and tied on an ice dub pheasant tail and black zebra midge, and caught six browns before calling it a day. All fish were caught in shallow (less than 2 ft.) riffles.

I ran into a nice guy named Mike who was having success swinging wet flies, something I’d never done before. It’s definitely something I’ll have to try. He was even nice enough to give me a fly, a Hendrickson pattern. Thanks Mike!

The water was still clear after last nights rain, and Hendricksons and BWOs were coming off throughout the outing. Fish were rising pretty frequently when I arrived on the stream, but slowed down as it got later.

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Also, we are now accepting custom fly orders. Please feel free to contact us with any inquiries and watch for photos on the page as we build inventory.

Rush River 4.13.16

April 13, 2016April 14, 2016Aaron Avestruz

I was back on the Rush this evening from about 4:00-6:30. The fishing was pretty slow, with about 12-15 fish to hand, but all under 10″. The clear skies definitely didn’t help. I had more success in shaded areas. I started out with a size 16 Euro pheasant tail and size 20 zebra midge, but after the first two runs switched to a size 16 ice dub pheasant tail and size 18 WD-40. The majority of the fish took the midge and WD-40.

This WD-40 was responsible for most of the fish to hand.

Tons of midges and a couple BWOs were in the air, but there were only sporadic rises throughout the evening. Water was low and crystal clear.

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Also, we are now accepting custom fly orders. Please feel free to contact us with any inquiries and watch for photos on the page as we build inventory.

Pierce County 4.10.16

April 10, 2016Aaron Avestruz

We fished the same stretch as last weekend from about 1:00 to 5:30. We ended up catching about 25 fish between the two of us, and missed a bunch more. Many were between 11 and 13 inches. All fish but one were caught on a Euro pheasant tail and zebra midge rig, with about an even split between the two flies. The other fish was caught on a Frick’s Fix that Aric stripped through a riffle. We drifted the Fix a few more times throughout the day and had a few follows as well as a few that got away, but that was the only fish to hand on the streamer.

The water was very clear and fish were rising sporadically throughout the afternoon. BWO’s, midges, and a couple caddis were in the air.

This 13.5-incher was the biggest on the day, although we missed a few that might have beaten it.. — This 13.5-incher of mine was the biggest on the day, although we lost a few that might have beaten it.

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Also, we are now accepting custom fly orders. Please feel free to contact us with any inquiries and watch for photos on the page as we build inventory.

SE Minnesota 4.4.16

April 5, 2016April 8, 2016Aaron Avestruz

Yesterday, Jim Wernimont of Limit Creek Fishing Rod Company invited me down to Southeast Minnesota to join him fishing one of his favorite creeks. Jim got after it with his Limit Creek LCS510 Spinning Rod while I tossed streamers with my Driftless Dream 8′-6″ 5 wt. Last year I caught a 19.5-inch brown with him, and I hoped to join the 20″ club this time around.

Jim got the day started this a 21″ beast. Notice the Rapala he was using — a big lure for big trout!

We kept working our way upstream, as Jim picked off a few trout between 11-15 inches (not picture-worthy for someone with some half-dozen trout over 20″ already this spring) and I was unsuccessful with only a few follows and one decent 14-15 incher that got off.

Eventually we made it to a long, fast run. Jim had me go about 40 yards upstream while he fished the lower end. I tried many different presentations, and finally just decided to swing the streamer through the run. As the fly swung downstream of me, I looked up and saw Jim reel in another decent trout. Just as I congratulated him, I felt a strong tug on my line directly downstream of me. It was on. After about a five minute fight, with the fish taking multiple runs, I finally had him in the net.

I couldn't believe how big the fish was. — I couldn’t believe how big this thing was.

We eventually measured him at 20 1/8 inches. A new personal best for me and my first over 20″!

We continued upstream as Jim caught an 18-incher and lost another around 20″ when it tangled itself in some grass. In the next run, I pulled out two more fish around 11-12 inches.

image1(2) — All of the fish were very light colored.

image2(1)

All three of my fish were caught on a brown and yellow Frick’s Fix. I lost it to a snag later in the day. I’ll definitely be tying up a few more!

image3(1)

We made our way further upstream into some beautiful water. Jim capped off the outing with yet another 20-inch fish.

What a day! Thanks again to Jim for inviting me!

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Pierce County 4.3.16

April 3, 2016April 8, 2016Aaron Avestruz

Aric and I again explored a new stretch of water in Pierce County from about 11:30 to 5:30. I let Aric fish the first couple runs, and he started us off with this nice 12″ brown.

Soon we began pulling a few browns out of every riffle, fishing with a size 16 Euro pheasant tail and size 18 black zebra midge. Aric caught this dark-colored brown in a riffle just a foot deep.

Many of the fish we caught were about this size, between 11-13 inches.

We ended up with around 40 fish to hand between the two of us, the biggest being about a 14.5-15″ brown I caught, but slipped out of my hands before we were able to get a good picture. Fish were also taking the size 16 scud and size 18 WD-40 we threw as well. We saw BWOs and midges in the air, as well as the occasional stonefly, but very few rises throughout the afternoon. Rocks were covered in cased caddis, baetis nymphs, midges, and a few stoneflies.

Aric had a nice brown break him off in one of the last riffles of the day. We will be back.

Today was also a filming day. Check back soon for a new video!

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