By Tony Kennedy

Star Tribune

Steady and sometimes pounding rains in June made the vast majority of southeast Minnesota trout streams unfishable at times for anyone packing a fly rod, but the state’s fisheries supervisor in Lanesboro said Tuesday conditions have improved.

“Streams have cleared up throughout the southeast,” said Ron Benjamin of the Department of Natural Resources (DNR). “Thankfully there’s no permanent damage to any of the region’s rivers.”

He said virtually all cold-water streams were at zero visibility 10 days or so ago. But a dry period over the long July 4th weekend helped clear things up.

“The good news is we’ve got loads of trout,” Benjamin said.

Vaughn Snook, assistant fisheries supervisor in Lanesboro, said Fillmore County was hit the hardest this spring and summer. Some spots received 5 to 7 inches of rainfall starting about 1 p.m. June 27 and moving into the next day.

Snook said Winona County is “in the middle somewhere” in terms of getting hit by rain, while streams in Houston County were the first to recover.

Areas around Chatfield and Spring Valley were swamped by the early summer rains. Trout Run Creek, Little Jordan Creek, Mill Creek and Lost Creek have taken a beating, Snook said.

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