Most Minnesotans are unaware of perhaps the most exciting fishing our state has to offer.  Each fall, pink salmon move in from Lake Superior to spawn in tributary streams along the North Shore. Sometimes pink salmon can be found in such great numbers that you’ll think you’ve suddenly been transported to Alaska or some far off fishing paradise. Read More of the Story…

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Don’t you just love it when a fish you’re fighting jumps clear out of the water. It invariably brings ooohs and aaahs from anyone within sight.  It’s sort of a climax to all that fishing stands for.

However, in the middle of a jump is when many fish make their real bid for freedom and throw the hook disdainfully back at the hapless fisherman.

What should you do when a fish jumps? In the excitement of the moment it seems there’s not much anyone can do but let the fish jump and pray the hook stays stuck.  However, many a fish has been lost in mid-leap that could have been caught had the angler been prepared.

What you do depends largely upon whether you hung the fish on a weighted lure, such as a plug or an unweighted one, such as a fly or baited hook. A keeper bass with a 5/8 ounce spoon rattling around its jaw will come out shaking its head violently, thrashing the lure from side to side.  The weight of the lure often provides enough leverage for the fish to toss it away, especially if the hook is not firmly embedded. So when you find yourself hooked to an acrobat, lean back on the rod when it erupts from the water; tighten up on the line and try to tip the fish over, thus preventing him from tossing the lure around and flinging it free.

A fly or baited hook, on the other hand, has little weight and there is little danger in the fish throwing it free. The danger lies in the possibility that the fish may hit a taught line with its tail or fall on it and either break the line or tear the hook free. Therefore, when a fly-hung fish leaps from the water, lower your rod tip quickly, lean forward and throw as much slack into the line as possible. That way the line is slack if the fish falls on it. After the fish is back in the water, lift the rod tip with a sweeping motion to pick up the slack again.

Should you try to prevent a fish from jumping in order to increase your chances of landing it? I don’t think so. In fact, as I mentioned earlier, most people love to see a good old, water spraying, gill flaring fish jump. First of all, it is pretty, and secondly, jumping tires a fish quickly. Finally, if I am going to lose a fish, I’d like to go down in style-right in the middle of its jump!

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As I waded out into the Whitewater River I remembered how long it had been since I had fly fished for brown trout. As a fish and wildlife student at the U of M I had fished browns quite regularly, but having moved back home to the land of the walleye my fly gear had been put on hold.

This last weekend my family decided to hold our annual camp out at Whitewater State Park near Winona. This area is perhaps Minnesota’s best known trout fishing area, so I tossed my trout gear in the back of the truck. Read More of the Story…

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