I walked into last weekend thinking it would be pretty routine. I walked out of it astounded. We packed in the good times.
Saturday morning, I met a new friend to explore our local "urban" carp waters. I walked an old family fiberglass rod down to the Zumbro, and we spent a few hours casting at carp. I grew up in Rochester, Mn, and we always referred to this river as the "Scum-bro." I still wouldn't drink the water, but, man, it was a gorgeous morning and we saw some BIG carp. No takes, but I did manage a nice smallmouth. There are, reportedly, some great stretches of the Zumbro where you can land anything from walley, northern, smallmouth and panfish.
After a few hours fishing, I walked home and met Sara and David for a trip to our local Transportation Fair. It was basically every type of utility and municipality vehicle you can think of, a 2-year old's dream come true.
David was so excited that nap time went out the window. I thought I could get him to nap in the car, so I packed a bag (Thirty-one - Thanks Sara) full of diapers, clementines, peanut butter crackers and other snacks, a tenkara rod, some water and flies, and we headed down to Preston, Mn to visit the National Trout Center.
Turns out it was "Trout Days" in Preston, their annual town festival. This meant antique cars, pigs and ponys to pet, tours at the historical society, and some yummy food. I had David in the back carrier most of the time until we walked down to a park to fish a little on the Root River and play at the park. No fish, lots of fun at the park.
When we finally got home around 5pm, I had a phone call from my brother. He was taking his 4-year old camping for the first time at Whitewater State Park. David had a long day in the sun, so he stayed home with mommy, but I drove over to the park for burgers, evening fishing and roasted marshmallows. My nephew has a blast. We found teh perfect spot to let him practice fly fishing for the first time.
The tenkara rod was a nice set up for him, and as the sun went down, the fish were getting bold, taking flies off the surface readily.
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| Whitewater is about 30 minutes from Rochester down County 9. |
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| Collin wet-wading to rising fish. They were taking size 20 beatis. |
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| Collin and Colton at the training hole. |
We got Colton to fight in a couple nice fish are this hole. The swallows were abundant above our heads. You can see their holes in the sandstone along the river.
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| Tenkara cast |
I got home at about 1030pm and realized how big a day we all had. I had fished three rivers (Zumbro, Root and the Whitewater), spent time with my family exploring a new town (Preston) and the transportation fair. And enjoyed time with my brother and nephew. The joys of being back at home in the Driftless Area :)
