Almost twenty five years ago now, I purchased my first mountain bike. It was a Giant and I bought it from a dealer that worked out of his garage. Where I lived, out in southwestern Minnesota, in a town of three hundred or so, it was almost a necessity. Road bikes would work but something that allowed me to ride on gravel without falling was a better choice. I road that bike seventeen miles to work each day, summer and winter. The first year there were only four days I didn’t ride. That included days below zero and winds that moved you sideways. On the way to work it was dark so I pasted my wind suit with reflectorized tape, added a red strobe light to the back of the seat and a front headlight. After a month, I added a helmet too. I don’t remember the ride ever being fun, but there was a moment, with about three miles to go, when the endorphins kicked in, that I was at least optimistic about my day.
The bike itself was bulletproof and handled my abuse easily. I learned tricks to avoid angry farm dogs and day drunk old men swerving over the center line. I got in amazing physical shape, and I began seeing the advantages of the bike for other things. In 1989 I wrote the first article in a national magazine about using a mountain bike to fish.
See, it was about that time that the Root River Trail opened up, and all those spots I bushwhacked to along the Root River were suddenly accessible via trail. Anyone could get back to those hard to reach spots.
That’s when it occurred to me. Duct tape a fly rod case to the cross tube, put hip boots and flies in a backpack and hit the trail. That’s what I did. I fished spots it would have taken a long time to walk to and was there, instead, in minutes. Here’s how it worked. I would peddle along until I heard the tell-tale sound of fast water, I’d toss my bike in the weeds, put on my hip boots and go down to the river. Later, when the crowds got bigger I would lock my bike to a tree.
Flash forward to today. There are bike trails everywhere including my home here in Faribault. Almost all trails follow old rail right of ways and almost all abandoned rail lines follow rivers. That’s lucky for a mountain biking fisherman. I can hop on my bike on the east side of Faribault, up on the hill, peddle once, and be at the Faribault Municipal trail in a thirty seconds. From there I can access huge portions of the Straight River in town and catch walleyes, smallmouth bass, carp, white bass and panfish.
I can also join the bike trail west toward Mankato and east toward Dundas. Here the trail is broken up a bit, but a quick look at a DNR map will allow the angler to sort it out.
The Dundas part of the trail adds catfish to the afore mentioned group of desirable fish species. If the right of way for the trail includes the river bank it provides legal access to the stream.
Mankato also has a municipal trail/walk I fish it in mid-summer for big catfish. I needed to carry along more equipment for these catfish trips and that led me to buy one of those baby carrier bike carts. I hooked it up to my bike and it allowed me to haul more tackle. Perfect for a summer night sitting on a river bank. Flood control measures in Mankato have lead to adding rock levees to the river bank. The little rock outcroppings are great spots to fish behind, and moonlight over the river is very lovely. It’s a short ride back to the parking lot and an easy trip home.
Bike and walking trails were never designed with fishing in mind, but the additional value to anglers can be huge. I’m always amazed at how few river fisherman access them for easy and carefree outings. There are a few caveats. Be sure it is legal to access the stream from the trail. Crossing private land to get to the river is trespassing. Most trails share many points of access via right of way with the rivers involved. Some, like Mankato and Faribault municipal trails, are ninety percent city owned.
The weather this spring is bound to break and with gamefish seasons opening for most gamefish soon, a bike fishing trip might just be what’s needed to get away from the crowds. Get some zip ties for the rod, a backpack for tackle, and hit the trail for a fishing adventure.
Larry Gavin is the author of five volumes of poetry and hundreds of articles on outdoor subjects. He lives in Faribault
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