My round-up started with the float. I met the crew at Eagle Cliff Campground.
A bunch of us loaded the boats onto a few cars and headed to Lanesboro to put-in. We had originally planned on floating the North Branch Root River however ended up on the South Branch. The water was stained but at normal levels.
We stopped on a few islands along the way and caught a few good fish. My boat was of course leaking but my saving grace was that I was the only one in it.
We stopped at the confluence to find that the North Branch was running clear. Sight fishing was viable.
I ran out of crawlers and headed back to camp to fish Hogsucker Beach. The fishing was slow however I managed to get a Silver, a Shorthead, and a White.
I spent the evening talking shop with the boys around Rich’s campfire. Andy cooked some burgers from the local meat market. They were good, I ate two.
I woke up at 10.00am Saturday. The derby was set to start at Noon. I didn’t bother to fish rather I sat around and drank coffee and chatted with Corey, Andy and Brian.
The early risers found a bunch of Morels in the trees near camp.
I drew to fish on beach A for the derby. I chose the same spot I caught a few suckers at the night before. I caught one fish in two hours.
The leaders of the derby were fishing #10 hooks, I only had #4 hooks.
I made a dent in my crawler stocks. The bite was light and the fish were really good at stealing my worm.
After the derby I went to my spot above Eagle Cliff and found that the river had cleared enough to see Silvers and Whites stacked up in the under cuts. I caught a dozen fish before heading back to Winona for dinner.
http://sershenbros.net/OutdoorPursuits/?page_id=110/]My photo album can be viewed by clicking here.