Guiding Service


Fly fishing for trout on Southeast Minnesota's Root and Whitewater river systems. I have over 40 years experience fly fishing and over 25 years guiding both beginning and advanced fly fishermen.

Both the Root and Whitewater rivers flow through SE Minnesota's driftless area. We fish for brook, brown or rainbow trout and have a fantastic variety of streams and rivers to choose from in those systems. The typical day depends on your skill level and goals. If you are a beginner, we can review your casting, discuss the set-up and how to approach the river. If you are more advanced, the day is yours and depending on the season, we will discuss what hatches to look for and plan accordingly. If you have your own rod & reel you are free to bring them along or I can supply the equipment using Sage Rods & Reels spooled with Rio Fly Line. My primary goal is for you to enjoy your day and time on the water.

If you are visiting the Twin Cities or the Rochester area, I have Simms Waders and Boots available for rental for an additional $50.00 per day. I am using new model Headwaters Gortex waders and Vapor Boots. E-mail me at Bob7336@gmail.com or call 952-797-2600.



Sunday, March 16, 2014

Hoh River Steelhead Trip



This spring I decided to take a trip to the Olympic Peninsula and scout around the Forks, WA area (Steelhead Capital of the World) and see if I could swing up a steelhead.  After checking out many of the local rivers, I was impressed with the accessibility and the many runs on the Hoh River.  Although this is not ground breaking news to anyone, coming from the Midwest it validated everything that I read and researched and was struck by the beauty of the river.

The weather held up during my trip which afforded me 4 days of relentless casting using my Sage Method 7126-4 and my Sage 4210 reel.  The equipment is fantastic and drew rave reviews from several of the local anglers that I shared the river with and cannot be blamed for my "work-in-progress" Skagit casting skills.

As many people know this river is not a numbers game but my hopes for a 20 pounder (or over 15 pounds) keep me entertained.  On the third day I was fishing a run with an older gentleman when a slight tick at the end of my line turned into 10 minutes of silver fury as the fish at the end of my line literally owned me. I have hooked at lot of large fish (including steelhead) but this was complete different and borderline out of control.  When the fish came unbuttoned and I sank to my knees, the older gentleman came up at noted "Yep!, that was your 20 pounder!"

So, successful trip? Yes!  Will I be back? Yes!

Sunday, November 3, 2013

Klickitat River, WA October 2013



My first trip to the Klickitat River in SW Washington October 29th - Nov 2nd.  Fished two days without a guide swinging with my new Sage Method 7 wgt. 12'6" spey rod.  Landed a total of 4 fish although still struggling with my casting.  Fished another 2 days with Jason Osborn from Portland's Northwest Fly Fishing Outfitters.   Jason did a great job guiding both myself, Jim Hale one day and Bob Younghans the next.  We primarily fished with one-handed rods from the boat drifting beads and as you can guess the success ratio was considerably higher than with the spey rod.  Great river, great access, enough fish to keep me happy, I will be back.

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

I was one of three featured guides in the May edition of the Southwest Metro Magazine.

Check out the link:

http://southwestmetromag.com/article/fishing/waconia-chaska-fishing-guides?page=0,1

Sunday, August 21, 2011

Jim Hale with a smallie on the Upper St. Croix. (Notice the spinning rod.)

Jim's motto is:  I like fishing, but I LOVE catching!!!  Wading the Upper St. Croix with a fly rod can be difficult.  When it's windy or the fish are not hitting on the surface, a spinning rod can be the ticket.

Saturday, July 23, 2011

Smallmouth Bass Fishing

I had a chance to do some Smallmouth Bass fishing on the Upper St. Croix.  I love to jump in around the canoe landings and simply wade around.

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Joel Bonstrom's first fly rod trout.

Took Markus Benson and Joel Bonstrom trout fishing on the Rush River on Sunday.  Joel caught his first trout on a fly rod.