Opening Day on the Willow River – Wisconsin Regular Season

Date: May 5^th 

Weather: Upper 50’s, overcast

Stream: Clear

Hatch: A few mayflies

Water Temp: Cold

Beer: Lake Superior Mesabi Red

            Few days of the year are more exciting than the May 5^th trout opener. By this time spring is in full swing: the forest is awash in the new growth’s lime-green foliage, insects are hatching, trout are active and the semester is about finished. It’s my favorite time of the year. After all, how else could I force myself out of bed at 5:00 am on Saturday? For this year’s opener I headed out to the Willow River with my uncle Bob and my dad.

Bob, the master angler

            The Willow is a wonderful, underrated river. It’s very narrow so it’s not conducive to fly fishing but rather spinners and worms so that’s how we fished. I hadn’t been here since mid-March and the water was so much higher thanks to an abundance of spring rain. Our first stop on the river was a great start. My dad and Bob each caught a beautiful rainbow, we kept one. I forgot my creel so I had to throw it in my backpack; I hope everyone in class doesn’t notice any strange smells. After a few more casts we moved on to the next spot. That’s the beauty of trout fishing, if you’re not catching anything just move on to the next spot, it’s way better than being trapped in a boat.

First brown

I forgot the creel

            Later down the river, we hit up a sweet spot with a downed willow tree hanging over a pool. There are always some trout down deep but you have to have enough sinkers to beat the current. No luck there but Bob did catch a nice bass that put up a great fight. Around the next spot, I hooked my first brown in deep run; a beautiful 13 incher just above the slot than ended up in my backpack. Further up, I hooked another brown in a deep pool but it was a shade under 12 inches so I had to let it go.

Another trout in the net

            We worked our way around the river catching some more fish. I caught another beautiful brown at the same run I caught my first trout of 2012. Further upstream, as I was taking a break looking for morels I heard some yells from the river. By the time I ran over to investigate, my dad had hooked a massive brown but lost it. It’s always one of the biggest disappoints in fishing to hook a trophy but only see it spit the hook in front of your eyes. Next time on the Willow, I am going to hit up that spot.

Our haul from the river

            One of the best parts about trout fishing is finishing up and having a beer. We had been out all morning a beer break sounded great. As we were talking and drinking, my uncle Bob suggested I throw a spinner in some riffles just underneath the parking lot bridge. I had always skipped this spot when I fished the Willow but gave it a try. My first cast hooked a rainbow, followed by another and another, all the time Bob and my dad were watching above on the bridge. None of the rainbows were keepers but I couldn’t believe I had been skipping this spot all these years. It was a wonderful close to a great start to the season.