The Mississippi River is dropping slowly after touching flood stage in some areas 10 days ago. It's expected to fall 4 feet at Wabasha by the middle of next week.
Department of Natural Resources conservation officers and sporting good shops report fishing is improving as the river drops. Lake Pepin appears to be one of the best bets for getting fish.
One suggestion is to troll Pepin this weekend using bright crankbaits in colors such as fire tiger or chartreuse.
Trout streams, however, are normal to low and most are clear, according to the DNR.
Turkey harvest
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Turkey hunters were on the road to a possible record harvest early in spring, but things slowly tapered off and the 2012 harvest will be the third-highest on record.
The DNR reports 11,324 birds registered this year, up from 10,060 last year but down from the record 13,468 of 2010. Second highest was 12,392 in 2009.
License sales this year really dropped off to 42,563. Last year, it was 45,923 and in the record year of 2010 had 52,169. In 2009, 40,750 hunters bought licenses.
The DNR's Steve Merchant said he suspects license sales were down because of last year's poor spring for reproduction.
Trout fishing classes
An all-day flyfishing class will begin at 10 a.m. June 23 at the National Trout Center in Preston. You'll have a chance to go out later on with experts from the Federation of Fly Fishers. You can also learn fly tying and how to catch fish once you get the fly onto the water.
A class on spin fishing for trout will be from 10 a.m. to noon June 30 at the center. Jeff Broberg, president of the Minnesota Trout Association, will offer his insights into using spinners and stick baits to catch trout.
