There’s No Place Like Home in the Minnesota Driftless

Trip Report by Dave Noll

On March 2nd, 2023 I headed out to what I consider my home stream. It’s about a 3/4 of a mile walk in and because of all the snow we’ve had I hadn’t fished it this year. After a couple of hundred yards the last footprints disappeared and I was headed into territory that hadn’t been fished for quite awhile.

I got to the end of the public access and set up my Riverworks ZX4-PRO with approximately 405 cm of 2.0 level line and a size 16 purple perdigon. After a few practice casts (into a fairly stiff breeze) I got to my first run which feeds into a nice hole. Let me tell you, the fish were open for business!

As I landed my 7th brown I was laughing out loud and decided to head further upstream. I picked up browns wherever they were supposed to be. At one point I saw some movement ahead of me which turned out to be a raccoon looking for lunch. After a few minutes he bedded down on the far side of the stream.

I came to a shallow pool which has a large rock, where I almost always catch a fish right behind it. This time was no exception and I landed my first brook trout of the year.

By the time I quit fishing I had hooked 29 fish and landed 26 of them. As I was landing my last fish a thought popped into my head: “Is this what it feels like to be Rob Worthing?” 

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Dave Noll lives in the Minnesota Driftless Area and in 2010 decided to take up fly fishing. After reading an article in Backpacking Light, he purchased a Hane, and in early 2012 contacted Chris Stewart about rods to purchase for fishing in retirement. Dave has now fished in 10 states plus Spain and Patagonia and usually gets out over 100 times a year.

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