I arrived about 1 p.m. Jim had given me directions to East Beaver Creek.
There
had been recent rain,
and the dirt road I followed was nearly washed out at several points.
I drove all the way
in and parked in this little lot the DNR provided - the car is pointed
toward the way out.
Notice the puddles? I was nervous about being able to drive
out later because it
was threatening to rain again. After I took this picture I drove my car
back past the worst part of the road, parked, and walked back to the stream.
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Here is the part of the stream I am looking for - this derelict bridge. I
am guessing it is an old railroad bridge. The Milwaukee Road came through
this part of Minnesota on its way to La Crosse Wisconsin. I got up on the
bridge on the right side and crossed over - only one half of the bridge
is intact. There is some sort of mowed path running on each side of
the bridge, I suppose a hiking trail. The water is pretty clear in spite
of the recent rain - if you enlarge the photo you can see the stream
bottom in the foreground.
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This is the kind of ground cover I have to go through. The hip boots help
protect from potentially itchy weeds, but I have a short sleeve shirt on
and my elbows are exposed. It is very hot and the back of my shirt
quickly becomes soaked. My fear is stumbling over large bare tree branches
on the ground that I cannot see. I run into them often as I plunge
along.
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I haven't found very good water to fish in. The high weeds that choke
the bank would make it difficult to cast anyway. The thick cover
does allow me to surprise
the local creatures living along this lush stream. I have flushed
a muskrat, several deer, and a fawn.
I flushed the fawn right here, which crossed the stream ahead of me as I
approached.
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Here is a close up of some sort of berry - gooseberries I suspect.
I like this new
camera - it
has handled the light under the tree canopy well, and handles close
ups.
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This stream does not have many good pools or ripples to fish for
trout in. I decided to get
away from
the stream and take an easier walk along the tree line and try my luck
upstream another 100 yards or so. Most of the length of a trout stream in this part
of Minnesota is lined with trees. Most often farmers' fields butt up
to the stream. In many cases the State has purchased and easement so
trout fishermen have access to fish. Here along the East Beaver the
farm fields seem to have been left unworked to return to the wild.
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Look at the mud flats that make up the bottom of the stream. This zone of the
stream is holds no fish - they may swim upstream or downstream through it
but never stop.
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The rain has held off and here some sunshine filtering through the
tree canopy produces myriad levels of light. Once again I left the vicinity
of the stream to take an easier path out along the treeline. Suddenly, I heard
the familiar 'cuk cuk cuk' of a rooster pheasant. I got out my camera
and armed with that instead of a gun I try and get a
picture of him as he flushes.
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He's there - can you see him?
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The small area he is in blown up. His wings are at their most
downward point. The rooster looks brown, doesn't he? Sometimes when I
am hunting I end up letting roosters go because I can't be sure they aren't
a brown hen. I won't shoot at a pheasant that I have any doubt about being
a rooster. It is usually not a problem, though. This one flushed quite close
to me and his brilliant red/dark orange color was easy to spot.
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