Newburg Creek is truly a gem of a stream. Most trout-fishing people would have overlooked it, if not for the 2015 project the Hiawatha Chapter and MN Trout Unlimited did, using an Outdoor Heritage grant. This was an extremely wooded little stream choked full of downed wood, with raw dirt banks up to 6’ tall. With the stream varying in width from 2’ to 10’ (averaging 3-4’) and with many reaches having less than 6” water depths, it was not a stream that attracted many people to try and fish it. But it does have one thing very unique: brook trout. Yes, this little stream, about a mile long from its spring to its mouth on Wisel Creek, has brook trout, and half of it has fishing easement.

According to Paul Krolak, Hiawatha TU Habitat Coordinator, the design objectives for the project were to remove the high, easily eroded banks, reconnect the stream with its flood plain, reduce the channel width, and increase habitat density. Bank heights and bank slopes were carefully designed with sediment transport and flood flow in mind. The design team also elected to forgo overhead cover constructs, like lunkers or skyhooks, as their failure rate is pretty high in high-gradient flashy streams, and because they might favor brown over brook trout. Instead, ‘toe wood’ – a layered log, root wad and branch complex – was installed in a number of spots to provide cover habitat for fish and other aquatic life, and to protect the bank from high flood currents. Even in 3’-wide Newburg, the structure was dug four or more feet below the water’s surface, and the wood extends 10 or more feet back into the bank. Like all streams in our area, sometimes a big storm parks over the valley and as much as 8” of rain may fall in a day or so. Newburg has weathered several such storms since the completion of the project. The toe wood complexes have come through without any damage. And the fish love them. We know because fishing success does not lie.

Located in Fillmore County and roughly 15 miles south of the town of Rushford, this trout stream has truly metamorphosed into a stream worth exploring. The habitat project has really improved this trout stream. But watch out and do not overdo it. This stream has no special regulations. Due to its small size, it could easily be over-fished if we don’t practice catch and release.

Cedar Valley Rd. runs north from the little village of Newburg and is parallel to the stream. 156th St, just off of Cedar Valley Road, crosses the stream upstream from its mouth on Wisel Creek. DNR maps show that the fishing easements start at the mouth and run upstream about halfway up its total length. The section above the bridge on the stream is the most easily accessed. The landowner, Jon Duhachek usually has a small path parallel with, but set away from, the stream. His place is known for the tall wild-flowers growing in the meadow during the summer. The native prairie plantings ensure that even in the middle of summer, this stream is pleasantly fishable. The next property upstream is a pasture. There is a fence separating the two with a crossing stile. This pasture is another easily fished property in all seasons. Upstream of the pasture is the end of the easement. There are some places to fish upstream, but that requires getting access permission.