What’s Up with Fall/Winter Trout Seasons?

-Evan Griggs, Owner Fishing For All

If you’re a newer angler, and are confused by the trout fishing seasons/regulations coming up- don’t worry, we all are. I’ll break it down for you!

There are different types of “Seasons” where we can target stream trout (brook, brown, and rainbows.) There is a “General Harvest Season,” and a, “Catch and Release Season.” Most of MN falls under only the general harvest season rules. There is a geologically significant area in the SE corner of the state called the Driftless Region. This region also includes western Wisconsin, NE Iowa, and a little bit of NW Illinois. The driftless region in Minnesota has hundreds of trout streams due to its geology, which would be a great article topic for another time. This area in MN catch and release seasons on the front and back end of the general harvest season, and some year-round fishing options. Each state obviously has their own rules, regulations, and seasons. (I need a dang law degree to decipher all this stuff!)

*In the MN regulations, they have different season close dates based on where in the state you are. They have specific regulations for Dakota, Dodge, Goodhue, Fillmore, Houston, Mower, Olmsted, Wabasha, Winona counties in SE MN. When the regulations/seasons say, “SE Minnesota,” they apply to the streams in these counties.

• MN General Harvest Stream Trout Season (outside of SE MN): 4/12/25-9/30/25, 2025
• SE MN General Harvest Stream Trout Season: 4/11/25-9/14/25, 2025 
• WI General Harvest Stream Trout Season: 1st Saturday in May-10/15/25

During the general harvest season, you are allowed to use live bait, lures, and/or flies to catch trout AND keep trout if you want, per the regulations. Sometimes there are special regulations on individual streams or stream sections you’re fishing on, which dictate what you can fish with and/or the size/number of trout you can keep (if any) during the harvest season. You cannot target trout on waters outside of the opening day in spring and closing day in fall, unless there is a Catch and release season in place. 

• SE MN Catch and Release Only Season: 1/1/25-4/11/25 & 9/15/25-10/15/25  
• WI Catch and Release Season: 1st Saturday in January to 1st Saturday in May 

During the catch and release season, you must release all the trout you catch. In WI, live bait cannot be used during the catch and release season, and you can fish almost all inland trout streams. In MN, only the streams in SE MN are open to fishing during the catch and release season.

The seasons close down in the fall for a couple reasons: 
1) To protect the wild brook and brown trout during their fall spawn, and the early stages of baby trout development in late fall/early winter.
2) It’s hunting season, and they don’t want trout anglers getting blasted by hunters.

To allow for more angling opportunities, the MN DNR allows catch and release trout fish year-round in certain state parks and in-town sections! This is because hunting isn’t allowed in the state parks or in-town areas, and most of these stream sections are hatchery-supported (stocked with rainbows) to allow for more angling pressure. These catch and release areas are in: Whitewater State Park, Forestville-Mystery Cave State Park, & Beaver Creek Valley State Park, and the in-town areas of Lanesboro, Preston, Rushford, Chatfield, and Spring Valley, MN.    

If you want to trout fish at any time of the year with little worry about regulations, head to Minnesota’s Mexico- NE Iowa! They have a year round fishing season and some great fisheries (most are hatchery supported.) Their water access laws are a little wack-a-doodle compared to MN and WI, so be sure to find public land or easements before hopping in the water.  

Trout fishing in the fall here is absolutely awesome! We can use big flies for big, aggressive fish that are getting ready to spawn. If you see spawning trout (usually paired up and twirling around, and/or sitting over some cleaned off gravel below rapids. That cleared off gravel is their nest, and we call it a “redd”) it is advisable to leave them alone. To be sure of the regulations and seasons of whichever state you’re fishing in (and to find good fishing spots,) check out the state DNR’s website, and/or download an app like TroutRoutes or onWater Fish. We will run guided day trips until the weather gets too cold/the spawn really kicks in. And as always, don’t hesitate to reach out with questions! 

Bragging Board

Check out what Fishing For All clients have been catching!

Minnesota Fishing Report

Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN Lakes

• Water temps are beginning to drop, clarity on most lakes are still green but clearing with the lack of rain.
• Bass and bluegills are moving towards deeper cover or holding deeper in lily pads/weed mats. 
• Finesse baits have been best like wacky worm rigs or neutrally buoyant streamer patterns. Top water has been effective early and late in the day in low light periods,  

Minnesota/Wisconsin Driftless Trout Streams

• Water is back to low and clear on most streams. Temps are good, especially in small tributary streams!
• Trico mayflies in the early morning, hoppers or attractor-type terrestrial patterns the rest of the day. Sporadic caddis and midge hatches mid day.   
• Long leaders with thin tippet required for nymphing or tiny dry flies this time of year!
• Use a shorter leader or thicker tippet with hoppers to get a better “smack” on the landing to trigger the bite. 
• Never a bad idea to run a hopper dropper rig this time of the year! 
• Mousing and streamers at low light periods has been very productive!   

Mississippi & St. Croix River

• The Miss is dropping steadily and is very clear, lots and lots of weed mats. The weeds will start breaking off the bottom and floating down in big clumps as the temps continue to drop. 
• Croix is low (but not as low as before!) and clear, same thing going on with the weeds. 
• On the Miss- fish off the first shelf to submerged structure with crayfish and minnow presentations. Top water in the afternoons, especially around weed mats. 
• On the Croix- Fish off the 2nd or 3rd shelf (which is basically mid river) to submerged structure or fish in slow water along the edge of weed mats. Top water and crayfish have produced really well. 
• As temps decrease more, fish will move to deeper water and begin to eat more minnows and baitfish.
• Big muskie and pike time is just around the corner!    

“Homie Water”

By Contributing Author, Bob Luck- FFA Client, Author, & TCTU Board Member 

I am a trout fishing snob.  I am so obsessed with trout fishing in the Driftless Area that I wrote a book about it.  But my wife is a committed city dweller, so I live in Minneapolis.  Sometimes life gets in the way of driving an hour or more to fish for trout, and I have a guilty conscience about my carbon footprint.  I decided to get over myself this spring and try fly fishing the Mississippi.  I went out a few times, and got skunked.  Time to seek professional help.  
 

I contacted Evan and he set me up with one of his guides, Rick Phetsavong.  Along with guiding, Rick coaches Olympic-caliber weightlifters, and it showed through on our pre-trip call:

“What are your goals, Bob?”

“What do you want to accomplish?”

“How can I help you get there?”

And about 20 other questions that I’ve forgotten.
 

Having established that I wanted to 1) Find some good places to fish near my home, 2) Learn the best techniques to catch them and 3) Hopefully catch some fish, especially a carp, we arranged to meet at 8:30 am on August 18th at Boom Island Park, about 7 minutes by bicycle from my home in the North Loop.  It was the last rainy day in a string that had left the Mississippi high and off-color with visibility of 1-2 feet.  Not exactly a limpid trout stream, but the fish didn’t seem to care.  While Rick was warming me up with some practice casts at the water taxi dock, a tiny smallmouth with big ambitions smacked my fly.  Time to hit the river. We walked over to the Plymouth Avenue bridge, and Rick had me throw a Murdich Minnow against the riprap on the opposite bank.  He coached me to keep the rod tip low and do a steady strip retrieve.  It worked.  I pulled in four or five nice smallmouth bass.  

We tried a few other spots on Boom Island but nothing was happening, so at 10:30 we headed over to the Stone Arch Bridge, which Rick told me was the most popular fishing spot on the Minneapolis stretch of the Mississippi.  We had it all to ourselves that morning, though, and we tried out the run below the dam spillway.  Rick had me (carefully!) wade upstream casting a popper, and I as I reached the top of the run, a big smallie erupted on it…and missed!  Or at least that’s the story I’m sticking with.  Didn’t have anything to do with my hook setting.  As a consolation prize I picked up a nice drum dead drifting a nymph through a current seam on the opposite bank.  Just like a trout!  Rick got a nice photo, one of many that he took during the day,

After adding the “back alley brookie” to my species list, we decided it was time to try for a carp.  The sun had come out, making visibility a little better, and we waded onto the flat that extends out to the Stone Arch Bridge.  

I threw streamers, and got one decent smallmouth, while Rick started scouting for bubble columns, flushes and mud puffs indicating feeding carp.  He soon found a bunch on the West side of the flat where there are two channels separated by a bar.  We waded into position, and I tried to drag and drop flies to them.  I was struggling with that tactic—it gets incrementally harder as the cast gets longer and I couldn’t skate the fly over the water like Rick.  With practice I got a little better and had 2, maybe 3 light takes, but couldn’t get the hook set to seal the deal.  After about three hours, I was exhausted and couldn’t focus any more.
 

Rick had the fix for that.  He took me over to his place in the Longfellow neighborhood where he fixed me a lunch of New York Strip and Caprese Salad while I took a power nap in his massage chair.  At about 2:30 pm we went to Mill Ruins Park, after a stop at Code Blu for a coffee. When we got to the river, we chatted with some youth who were fishing suckers under bobbers—we saw them get at least one really nice smallie and a catfish—and then I hauled out my secret weapon—a 20 foot Tenkara rod that can handle tippet sizes up to 2x.  We briefly spotted a Buffalo (aka the Permit of the Prairie), and a carp cruising in the backwater, but they were gone before I could get my fly to them.  In the process, though, we realized that I had no problem doing a drag-and-drop with the mongo rod, so we headed back to the Stone Arch to resume the hunt for the Golden Bonefish.  Alas, the carp had stopped feeding, so we gave up at around 6 and headed over to Rick’s place for a Brandy Old-fashioned and a post-game recap

The next morning, Rick picked me up at 9 and we went to Mill Ruins Park.  Objective:  The Golden Bone. It was hot, humid and sunny, and visibility was much better.  Not much going was going on in the backwater, so I started fishing the main channel with a little crayfish that Rick had tied for my Tenkara rod.  I had a nice strike at around 10 and we were sure we had caught my carp, but it turned out to be a big smallmouth.  The action slowed down, so we went to the Stone Arch Bridge.  I was getting the cast/drag/drop done, but no carp were feeding!  We walked upstream to an inlet where fish were “clouping” in the duckweed and slop, but I couldn’t punch the fly through the garbage, so we gave up and went back to Mill Ruins, with a quick stop at Dunn Bros en route.  There were tons of bubble lines and visible carp in the main channel and no other anglers!  I dropped the fly against the wall and let it drift out, while trying to keep the line tight so I could see the strike.  Which happened almost immediately!  A drum!  We experimented with lengthening the tippet and changing the fly to a worm, and then two worms which worked best.  Worked best on smallmouth, that is.  Every time I got a hookup, we were sure that it was a carp, but each time it was a smallie—usually a pretty big one. Plus one big bluegill. We both had afternoon commitments, so we called it quits at 1:30.

My experience proved the obvious: it is smart to hire a guide when fishing new water—even when it is in your backyard. Especially when the guide is also a topnotch chef, photographer, bartender and coach.   Although I still have some unfinished business with those carp, I know what to do and where to go, so it is only a matter of time.  I am not going to stop trout fishing, and my home water is still the Kinnickinnic, but my homie water is definitely the Mississippi.  Kudos to Rick and to Fishing For All for getting me started!

[Editor’s note:] BIG NEWS! Bob Luck just published his first book, Woolly Buggers Don’t Count! Support your local anglers and authors- order a copy today!

Does the Moon Matter?

-Evan Griggs, Owner Fishing For All

Fall in the northwoods is unequivocally the best time to target muskies and big pike! The crisp air and cool water temps trigger these apex predators to put on the feed bags before the great freeze. These elusive beasts are renowned for being difficult to catch, but- if you dedicate enough time, pain, and frustration- you could find yourself battling a 40″+ behemoth on the other end of your rod. There is one flaw that these dragons of the depths have however- they are creatures of habit and are usually very punctual. What keeps track of their time table? Most salty dragon slayers say, “The Moon.”

The moon is widely known to control the tides of the ocean, acting as a great celestial magnet. Tides are a leading factor of fish behavior and activity in the ocean. As the moon pushes and pulls on the ocean waters, the flowing currents congregate nutrients and bait between the shallows and depths, allowing predatory fish to move into feeding areas. But does the moon have that much effect on small, freshwater systems and fish activity? The book is still out! It seems that weather, water levels/quality, atmospheric pressure, and air/water temperatures play a larger part on our small systems. BUT in the case of our apex predators like pike and musky, the moon does appear to have more sway over their behavior than with our mesopredators like bass, etc.

Large caliber fish are creatures of habit, whether its a big brown trout or a musky, they don’t tend to move from their preferred spots much, and they tend to be most active at very specific times, especially in accordance to the moon cycle. To find out what days are good or bad based on the moon, find yourself a solunar calendar online or on the app store. The best times all around are full and new moons, and the couple days before or after each event. In addition, the moon rise, zenith, and moon set are also key time periods each day when the fish can be more active. So even if you can’t make it out on a full moon, you still have a few good bite windows each day.

It also depends on how superstitious you want to be. Do you believe bananas are bad luck in a boat and/or do you have a lucky fishing hat? If yes, then following moon phases might be for you! (Personally, I’ve caught more muskies while targeting bass than I have targeting muskies.)   

At the end of the day, fishing done right is like plugging into the natural world. Nature moves through many various systems and cycles, and the more time you dedicate to learning those patterns and how fish react, the more successful you’ll become. So does the moon matter? Yes, in my opinion, it does for our apex fish. But not any more than knowing the spots where these predators are, how different conditions affect those spots and your lure choice, and the time tables of those individual fish. For instance, some fish are active most on the moon rise, others at the moon set, and spending lots of time on the water will clue you in on their time tables. Pike and musky fishing is way more like big game hunting than it is a casual form of fishing, so you have to approach these fish like a hunter vs. a casual angler.           

Now pop open those planners, here’s the prime dates for catching muskies and big pike (according to the moon phase) this fall. If you want to hunt for big fish with us, book your 8hr float trip somewhere around these dates below!
September: Full moon (Harvest Moon) Sept 7, New Moon: Sept 21
October: Full Moon (Hunters Moon) Oct 7, New Moon: Oct 21
November: Full Moon (Beaver Moon) Nov 5, New Moon: Nov 20    

Upcoming Classes & Events

Back by popular demand, we will be returning to the gym at Two Rivers High School in Mendota Heights for our Indoor Fly Casting Lessons! Don’t let your casting arm get rusty over winter, we can help you polish up your skills, whether you’re a beginner or advanced caster. Bring your own fly rod, a small number of loaner rods will be available. Kids must be accompanied by an adult. $50/angler/session.

Sessions: 7:30-9pm @ Two Rivers High School, Mendota Heights MN 
November 21
December 19
January 9, 30
February 20, 27
March 6

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