9-01-03 - Time to catch fish for the folks back home who keep sayin' "Bring back some trout for me".

Another stocker bow on the Waterloo as my warmup this morning!

My second Bald Eagle spotted in Iowa this year.

IT IS OOONN! L fights a beast from high above the pool!

NICE! Another trout for L!

After landing L's fish and shooting the picture, I opted for a different quarry. Shot this from probably 150 yards; got a bit closer but my rustling in the bushes spooked this fantastic raptor!

Rumors of fish back in the temperature sensitive streams led me to check out Patterson Creek.

Another shot of Patterson. Most of the stream is rather flat.

I did find one hole that was home to a couple large and skittish browns.

Awesome; this wild brown jumped at least 6 times.

Followed up with this chunky bruiser, a stocker brown.

Another WILD Brown.

And another stocker. Can you start to see the obvious differences now???

Look at this monster stocker! I almost thought I wouldn't land this one...biggest trout on this trip!

Another gorgeous stocker. I stopped taking pictures of the wild ones...I was very low on memory.

Another Raptor, this time a Red-Tail, from about 100 yards out. 8X optical zoom + 4X digital. I think it'd shoot better if the camera was steadied by a tripod...and to think I have one in my trunk at all times!

9-01-03 - Sayin' goodbye to some new friends and then finding a hidden GEM!

Waters Fished: Waterloo, Patterson Creek, and MP's Secret Creek.
Fish Caught: 2/12 on Waterloo, 10/21 on my secret creek
Outing Date: 9-01-03
Weather: Clear
Air Temp: 50's at night, highs in the lower 70's, a decent breeze by mid-afternoon.
Water Temp: N/A
Water Level: All Seemed Normal
Water Color: All pretty clear
Fish Species: Brown Trout, Rainbow Trout
Pattern Fished: Tucker Nymph
Pattern Color: gray & gold
Fishing Quality: FAN-FRIGGIN-TASTIC!

Another early morning with MS2 and L! Bart had left last night, finishing up his trip by fishing the fly only section while we targeted the stockers. This morning, time for more stockers! We headed out around 6:30 am, as MS2 and L only had until 9:00 am before heading home.

I managed two in the misty morning, and by about 8:00 other folks started showing up so we decided to move. The double-secret spot was filled, so we ended up far upstream at a hole ASM, Brennon and I had found the week before. Not exactly an easy hole..high banks and no cover make the fishing just a bit more challenging.

While we were fishing, I noticed my second bald eagle out in the distance. I was content to let L try her look with MS2 on the pool so I started snapping shots. I was just about to hike upstream when L hooked up!

Talk about fun..the 'bow got stuck in the weeds; we almost had to break it off. Somehow, between the three of us, we got the fish free and landed! Talk about a team effort! Well, after that I continued to stalk my newest prey with a camera!

I probably got about 1/2 of the distance closed when I got to a good spot to shoot more pictures...through the branches of a tree. After a dozen or so, I wanted to get to a more open spot and try again. But the flipside was that the shoreline trees were masking my approach..somewhat. All it ended up taking to send my quarry to wing was a bit more rustling along the bank and he decided he was outta there!

I came back and tried my luck again at the hole, but the fish just weren't that interested! Besides, it was after 9:00 am; MS2 and L were running late! So we said our goodbyes and parted ways.

At this point I headed back and did some cleaning up at the FAT Trailer and grabbed some absolutely inexpensive, and delicious, breakfast at the Sportsman's Motel in Dorchester. Eggs, Bacon, Toast, all for like $2.50. Eating at the Sportsman's Motel is one of the best deals you'll find in town!

After I finished up, I had to decide what to do...I could drive home and get an early start on the reports (yeah, right). I could start heading back and hit some WI streams along the way (better idea). Or, the best idea, I could stick around in Iowa for a bit longer!

I ended up staying around, mainly because I had overheard some interesting news about the temperature sensitive streams....they were already stocked? Well, it sounded like Silver Creek was full of holdover rainbows as those being caught had a lot of color. COOL. Patterson was also supposed to be holding fish.

Since I had already fished Silver, I decided I'd hit the Patterson. I figured since it kinda shares a namesake (Patterson, Pedersen) it might be nice to me. Well, the first thing I can tell you is that I found the stream long before I found the access points. The stream was running surprisingly clear and cold...I would've thought that a temperature sensitive stream would have been warmer!

Right off the bat I must say I didn't notice any fish, so I figured I was in for a hike. I headed upstream first, traversing cattle land to get to a noteably deep hole. Tons of fish were holding here, but it turns out that they were all creek chubs. I had one substantial hit that might have been a trout, but really nothing for sure.

I walked upstream quite a ways from the hole, but didn't see ANY trout. The water ran flat through the sun for a long time...not the kind of water I like to fish. I didn't come here to waste my time, so I turned around and headed back.

Well, I got back to the car and then noticed downstream access, so I gave it a shot. Again, most of the stream was flats running through the fields, but i came upon a nice little pool that was lined by a rock wall plunging into the water. Underneath, and undercut in the rock just looked so fishy!

Most of the fish in this pool were suckers, but I distinctly saw 1 rainbow (the blue ghost look gives it away). However, it spooked within my first cast and went running for cover, not to be seen the rest of the day. There were a few other bolder trout in the hole, namely 2 browns. The largest was extremely aggressive towards the suckers..periodically coming out from the undercut to chase away some intruders. I got one look from him, but after that he simply ignored the Tucker Nymph. Other options such as a Griffith's didn't succeed in getting any attention either!

RAT's. Patterson wasn't performing up to snuff, yet. A long drive along the creek showed some additional entrance points, but by this time I was done fishing Patterson. At least I had another stream under my belt.

Well, where next? It was just after high-noon, I still had my aforementioned choices. Perhaps start heading HOME and hit the streams around 76? Bloody Run maybe? Or a quick jog down to Sny Magill?

As it turned out, I looked on the map for a while and found a stream that I hadn't hit that was on my wishlist (there are a lot). And I'll tell you now, the steam WILL NOT be named. It took over an hour of driving to get there, find the access spot, and start fishing. If you recognize it from the picture I've included, good for you..KEEP THE NAME to yourself. It's a honey and you know it!

So let me start by saying this wasn't my original take on the stream when I first saw it. FN TINY! But, being Labor Day, this one probably wasn't getting much, if any pressure. At first it didn't even look like there was any access...rather it looked like nothing but private land with "no-tresspassing" signs was all that I'd find.

It took four passes before I found the public access point. It was well worth it. After walking for a while, I found what we all would refer to as "a HONEY HOLE". Now, most of you who've been troutfishing are familiar with the sight of a pool full of fish that, upon closer examination, are suckers. When I came to this pool that's what I thought I was seeing. Turns out I was wrong...they were ALL trout. HUNDREDS of them.

Apparently this pool is fished a lot be folks who know it's there because the bank was worn down to the point of begin a dirt path like you see on Trout Run. A few test casts (this was a technically challenging hole) and I was ready to start fishing....WHACK on my Tucker Nymph! A trout rocketed out of the water. SWEET! 5 MORE JUMPS! INSANE. I brought it to net to find a stunning wild brown around 9-10"! Awesome!

The next few casts got me a good tug, this one was running deep. At first I was thinking rainbow, but when I got it to shore I had a great chunky stocker brown! COOL! A few more casts, another leaping battle, and another stunning wild brown! This can't be happening?!?!

It kept on going like this for 2 hours...wild fish...stocker fish...wild fish...stocker fish. After 2 hours I was 10/21! Along in there I landed a HUGE stocker, a measurement showed about 15"!

I was truly hard pressed to decide what to do..I could've stayed right in this spot all day. Resting the pool for a bit every hour or so would have been all I needed to do to keep the bite going....and make it to a 30 fish day. After some serious consideration, I decided to stop at 10 on this stream. I knew that if I went for the 30 and didn't get it, I'd be frustrated. I also knew that this time on this pool would be the perfect memory to take with me and tide me over until next year when I again return to Iowa.

So if you know where "MP's Secret Stream" is, then you know how fantastic it can be. If you find it with persistence and dilligence and my report helps at all in that department, good for you! If anyone fishes this stream, I highly encourage Catch and Release on the wild browns. Keep all the stockers you want, that's what they're there for. But let the wild ones go! These wild fish are one of the main reasons this stream was so productive and fun!

I left Iowa around 4:00 pm...wondering what I'd do next time I came back? I hadn't been planning on returning until the late spring of 2004...but after a day like this, the tug of the 365 Open Trout season on the fantastic Iowa Streams will probably get me back there by late November!

See you soon Iowa! And, just around the corner, Canada!

  MP