Moving Waters In A Fisherman's Canoe

Since this is my first NAFC guest blog, let me first introduce myself.

My name is Bill Plantan and I have a passion for fishing the moving waters of the upper Midwest. I also design and build canoes specifically for anglers, especially river fishermen.

I first launched a canoe on the Zumbro River Labor Day weekend in 1985 and I was hooked! The peacefulness and beauty on rivers draws me almost as much as the smallmouth, muskie, trout and northern fishing ...

On January 1st of 1990 I started keeping a fishing journal that I still maintain today. Every single day on the water is recorded for 21 years. I can pick up a journal from 1993, read it, and remember what that day was like. My youngest son Sam is 21 and every single fishing trip we have taken together is recorded ... priceless. Sam now guides with me in the summers as does one of my other sons, Adam. We live on the Zumbro River a few miles north of Rochester, MN.

It was during these initial years on the water that I quickly discovered river canoe fishing can be a challenge if you don't have the right craft. There just didn't seem to be a canoe that fit the bill, and in April of 1997 I started River Ridge Custom Canoes. Even if we had only made one of them just for me it would have been worth it!  

Bill In One Of His River Ridge Custom Canoes

Over the years, NAFC has been kind enough to review our products. We earned one of the highest scores possible from the 3 customers that were lucky enough to get a free canoe through NAFC's Field Test Program.

 

In 2000 we formed a new chapter of the "Smallmouth Bass Alliance" here in SE Minnesota, and I was fortunate enough to head that up for five years. During that time we worked hand-in-hand with the MN DNR and established smallmouth catch & release-only regulations for a 16 mile stretch of the Zumbro River. The dramatic numbers and size of the fish swimming there now is incredible. I guide on it and a few of my other favorite rivers from May until November.

 

I am also a board member of the Zumbro Watershed Partnership, which includes everyone from passionate anglers to eco-minded farmers who care deeply about our watershed. Our mantra is and will always be "cleaner water, slower flow."   

 

The Zumbro

 

A Midwest Gem: Minnesota's Zumbro River

Today I want to talk about the Zumbro River. It's one of the few rivers in our country that flows north. Our watershed comprises all or parts of seven counties in the "driftless" region of southeast Minnesota. It's called the 'driftless' region due to the region's unique geology; in a nutshell, the glaciers never reached here and there are no natural lakes, only 

streams and rivers.

 

There are three branches and numerous feeder streams that eventually

converge to form the main branch of the Zumbro River. At that point, the river makes bends to the east and ends at the confluence with the Mississippi River near Kellogg, MN.  

 

As I mentioned above, the species that swim in it are varied and many. Some of the creeks are cold and support great naturally reproducing brown trout populations, and the muskies in some sections can easily grow over 50 inches.

 

The great fishing really begins below the power dam on Lake Zumbro. From there on down to Theilman there are six places you can launch a canoe, roughly 32 miles of very fishable water.

 

Below Theilman the river slows and widens and the obstructions make navigating a canoe there next to impossible. The first 16 miles below the dam is designated a smallmouth catch & release area.

 

We had a devastating flood in September of 2010. The river rose 30 feet and wiped out a number of small towns. But many people helped in the cleanup and the communities are coming back stronger than ever. And the fish are still there!

 

It will be an interesting start to the 2012 fishing season as the "green bridge" down from the power dam is currently being replaced. Having great weather will hasten the progress, but it still won't be completed until sometime around July 1st.

 

This plays havoc on fishing because you won't be able to fish through that area until the bridge is completed. Personally, I am fine with that because it will give fish in that section a break from fishing pressure. While I will certainly miss fishing that section for a short time it only strengthens my reserve to fish it a lot when it's opened.  

 

The "Green Bridge" Is Currently Being Dismantled, Closing Fishing In This Stretch Of The Zumbro River Until July 2012

If I were a betting man, I'd wager we'd launched the canoe at the green bridge at least 600 times.

 

Guess that'd make us old friends. 

 

And sometimes it's sad letting old friends go ...

 

But it's memory will live on. If you want to see some picture galleries of fish caught there and in some of the other rivers in our area, please visit our canoe website at www.riverridgecustomcanoes.com.

We also have some videos you can view to get a feel for river canoe fishing.

 

My next blog will be on open water winter trout fishing in our area. It is all catch & release

for browns and rainbows, and the perfect break from winter's grip. There's nothing quite like wading in 38-degree water when the temps are in the single digits! 

 

Hope you all have a very blessed and Merry Christmas.

 

Regards,

Bill Plantan