Monsoon June

Date: June 25^th  

Weather: 72 degrees, clear

Stream: High with slight stain

Hatch: Minimal

Beer: Spotted Cow

            The weather this last week and half has been unbelievable. Duluth is still under water and islands on the St. Croix are totally submerged. Overnight the Kinnickinnic rose almost two feet. Then, on top of that I was flung over the handles of my bike so I’ve been off the river a while.

Sandhill Crane footprint

            I figured the Kinnickinnic would be running clear by now and the silt would be out. However, I was wrong. It was clearish in the shallower runs but the pools were still cloudy. But I already drove that far so I had to make the most of it. Casting was a little difficult with my banged up wrist but I made due. Due to the river’s stain I casted streamers. Some old-timer told me a crayfish streamer after a big rain makes the trout go crazy but I had no luck. So I set my rod down and drank a beer.

            Rises were happening though they were very sporadic. It was mostly small trout and they were eating some sort of emerger. I tied a light cahill on to see what I could do. In one spot I saw a huge trout take a gulp of water so I cast my fly right over its hole and it immediately took my fly. It put up a great fight and I had to be careful not to break my line because I was using 6X tippet. It measured 13 inches on my rod rule, a great trout. On day like that, I’ll take quality over quantity. I hooked another smaller trout and that was it for fishing.

            On a side note, I am in a beer identity crisis right now. Ever since Summit Brewing stopped producing their summer Hefe Weizen I haven’t been able to find a quality backup beer to the Dancing Man. Spotted Cow is alright but plain. To make it worse, Summit brewed a first class beer this March as a limited brew, the Dunkel Weizen, but stopped producing it and released an uninspiring summer ale styled Kolsch and West Coast IPA. There is just too much plain old beer on the market and none of it really stands out. When will our small brewers stop trying to compete with each other to make the best boring brown ale, IPA or summer ale and try something unique and exciting like a real Kolsch or Stout?