Pool 4 (Red Wing) Water Temp: 35 Level: 3.8 Flow:@19,300cfs

Conditions are pretty close to normal on the river with extreme clarity and warming temps.  The level is still about 1 foot over normal but closer than we have been for months.

We have been on the water quite a bit in the last week.  The bite has been on the tough side in general but as you can see below we have had a stretch or two with good results.  This is pretty normal for this time of year as very clear cold water can be challenging at times during daylight hours.  A little bit of run off will help take the sharp clarity out of the water and kick our bite into gear.  It looks like that could happen in the not too distant future as temps are predicted to be above normal starting Saturday. 

One other thing to touch on was the huge success our "Kids Clinic" was again this year.  130 Kids showed up for the annual event put on by the New Prague Sportsman's Club.  What a great group of people that put a lot of time and effort into this great event to ensure our youth in the area are exposed  to fishing and the outdoors.  Billy Bartusek takes the lead on this event but many locals with great knowledge and just true outdoorsmen are involved.  

Each youngster that comes through the door gets a tackle bag full of items donated by various folks.  There is a presentation by the local CO to educate the kids on various items such a species ID, regulations and safety.  After the presentation we give away many items on the general raffle followed by casting contests for each age group, lure making demos, a fish cleaning table and many other instructional/learning/demos.

As you might know Limit Creek Rods are one of my sponsors.  Jim Wernimont is the owner of the company and I must say is always VERY generous with his donations to this event.  This year Jim donated SIX rods for us to give away at our discretion and as you might expect are always a big hit with the winners.  We gave away one to each of the casting contest winners and three more on the general raffle.  Thanks Jim for your generosity!

There are a few pictures at the end of a few of the volunteers, some of the winners and just a shot of the whole crowd during the slide presentation.

Chuck Van Eeckhoff is the gent in the first couple pics followed by Leif Knecht, Kevin Albertson (Nice Smallmouth 19.5 inches), yours truly and Denver.  

We should be set up to have a report about every 10 days now that we have February in the rear view mirror.