A festival that’s fit to be tied
Fly fishing feted in River Falls
On a chilly midwinter’s day, you’ll often find Brian Smolinski tying flies of all shapes, sizes and colors at his shop in River Falls.
Unless he’s in his insulated gear and out on the Kinnickinnic, Rush or Trimbelle rivers, doing his best to land a trout.
“Yes, we fish in the winter, unless it’s too cold, of course. After all, the trout season in Wisconsin opens the first Saturday in January and runs to Oct. 15,” said Smolinski, who owns Lund’s Fly Shop in River Falls and started the town’s popular fly fishing festival four years ago. “So going out to a stream in winter truly is weatherdependent.”
The festival on March 3 will include fly-fishing movies and fly-tying demonstrations for anglers who fish in every season. Money raised at the event goes toward Kinnickinnic River Land Trust conservation efforts. Last year’s gathering netted $18,000, he said.
Smolinski grew up in the Twin Cities, where he fished with traditional gear as a kid. He moved to River Falls to attend the town’s University of Wisconsin campus and took up what is often considered the gentlemen’s style of fishing about 15 years ago. Izaak Walton, the 17th-century English author of “The Compleat Angler,” referred to the sport as the “the contemplative man’s recreation.”
“Certainly, fly fishing in the winter is a bit challenging, especially when it gets below freezing and your line and rod begin to freeze up,” said Smolinski, who started casting flies during the summer in the Kinnickinnic River, which flows through River Falls and joins the St. Croix River about 10 miles downstream. Anglers fish with flies for walleye, muskie, bass and other non-trout species in the St. Croix, he said.
Some even use flies to catch carp, which are usually considered a rough fish. But Smolinski said these creatures are fun to catch because they grow large, often put up quite a fight and battle like their saltwater kin.
Pierce County, where River Falls is located, also has smaller creeks where trout thrive, he said. And there are dozens more streams in the Driftless Area near the Mississippi River along the Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois borders that are prized among fly fishermen and women.
Because most of the high-quality trout streams near River Falls are spring fed, he said, they usually don’t freeze unless temperatures fall below zero degrees.
“On a nice day in the 30s, you might see some other fly fishermen out there, but not like in the summer. Once it falls to the teens, the numbers drop, though.
“And if it’s in the single digits, it’s awfully tough because your line and the guides on your rod will freeze up. Then if you catch a fish, you have to get your hands wet to release it. So it can get uncomfortable pretty fast.”
The sport in winter can also be trickier than during warm weather because rocks along the bank often become slippery with ice. In addition, cold weather makes fish sluggish and less likely to strike.
Smolinski said he enjoys fly fishing in all seasons.
“I really like everything about it. It’s a way to experience outdoors and connect with nature that’s simple. You not only enjoy the fishing aspect, but the stream, the meadows and the woodlands around you. I know that sounds a bit cheesy, but it’s true.”
Smolinski said he has been tying his own flies for about a decade. And contrary to popular opinion, he said it’s not as difficult as it can appear.
“Of course, there are certain patterns that are more complicated than others, but I’ve seen people learn how to tie a fly one evening and the next day go out and catch a fish on the fly they tied the night before,” he said.
“There all kinds of techniques and skill levels to tying, and that’s the appeal for a lot of people. You can begin simply and keep learning new techniques and tricks.”
He said an easy starter fly might be a beadhead nymph, a weighted underwater fly that mimics the larval stage of a fly, or the pink squirrel nymph, which is made of just a few materials. Smolinski said he uses everything from synthetic fibers to hair to feathers. While trout flies are generally smaller, he’s crafted flies more than 10 inches long that he’s used to catch muskies. Some flies he’s seen made by others for larger fish are as long as 20 inches.
And while the flies he makes imitate the natural colors of insects or bait fish to catch a predator, others are sparkly and bright to attract fish and entice them to strike.
“It seems like everyone has their own preference for creating flies,” he said. “That’s another thing that makes this a cool sport.”
More information: The River Falls Fly Fishing Festival will be held March 3, with fly-tying demos and a social gathering at 5 p.m., movies at 7 and 9 p.m., and raffles and auctions at 8:30 p.m. The festival is at University Center Ballroom, 500 Wild Rose Ave., River Falls. Admission is $15.
Call (715) 425-2415 or see rfflyfishingfestival.com.
For lodging and dining information, as well as other things to see and do around River Falls, see rfchamber.com.
Getting there: River Falls is 310 miles northwest of Milwaukee via I-94 and Highway 65.