Mostly sunny, with a high near 75. Calm wind becoming west 5 to 7 mph in the afternoon.
Every once in a while we get the perfect summer weather. This week is it! With highs barely getting into the high 70s, and night times hovering around 60… Perfection for late July!
The vast majority of our creeks are back to being crystal clear to slightly stained and the temporary bump in flows and temperature drop due to the rain on Saturday has the fish in a great mood.
The rhythm remains the same. Tricos in the early morning, then terrestrials with thin bodied bugs below all day long. A few fish rising to klinkhammers in the evenings as well.
It is still a good idea to use your thermometer. There are still some larger streams running in the do not fish zone (68 degrees and above).

The storms last night dumped up to a couple of inches of rain on the area. It was not concentrated in one specific area but spread out pretty spotty throughout the area. Things are dropping and clearing very quickly and a lot of the rain was soaked up by the thirsty ground. Many creeks are muddy (but most will drop and clear to a fishable level by later this afternoon) however, there are a few smaller creeks and headwaters that are already mildly stained and approaching slightly stained. The key today is to spend a bit more time searching, especially the smaller bodies of water as they will clear out the quickest.

Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly after 5pm. Some of the storms could produce heavy rainfall. Increasing clouds, with a high near 88. Heat index values as high as 96. Southwest wind 5 to 10 mph becoming south in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 18 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New rainfall amounts between three quarters and one inch possible.

Tricos in the am. Terrestrials and hopper dropper all day long.

A quick note on the weather. Today will be hot and humid as the clouds gather up moisture for the rain tonight. It is not forecasted to rain a ton as of now, but it could come all at once.
This is our very normal summer pattern now. Heat and humidity builds up, it falls out as rain quickly, then things cool down and fish extremely well.

Looking ahead, next week the forecast will be right around and below 80 degrees every day with some night time temps getting down into the high 50s! This is a week to focus on trout fishing in the Driftless, especially if the rain falls and bumps water levels up a bit! Time to call in sick….

Partly sunny, with a high near 85. Southwest wind 5 to 10 mph.
Despite some warmer weather, so far we have been spared from a massive heat wave and the water temperatures have started in the low 60s except on the larger creeks. Early morning fishing has been fantastic lately, not just due to tricos, but there have been clouds each morning keeping the sun from shining down on both anglers and fish. This has given us an extra couple of hours on the water before things slow down.
Remember to use your thermometer, temps above 65 start to slow things down, and over 68 can be lethal to fish!
Tricos in the mornings, then fishing a beetle, or ant near grassy banks and overhanging vegetation will get fish to eat on the surface. The standby hopper or foam indicator fly with a bead head below will always get fish in the summertime too!
In the evening we are seeing trout rise to cahill-ish bugs (white to cream colored mayflies) as well as a few midges and egg laying caddis. It is much later in the evenings from about 6-10.
Mousing and larger streamers at night after the sun goes down has been good.

Sunny, with a high near 84. Light and variable wind becoming west 5 to 10 mph in the morning. Winds could gust as high as 21 mph.
Creeks are clear and a bit low. Despite warmer air temperature the past couple of days, the cloud cover has kept creek temps down!
Today will be a pretty normal sunny day. That means fish early (watch for tricos first thing), fish late and avoid the mid day sun. Upper and middle sections of our spring creeks are still flowing with good temperatures. Larger creeks and lower sections are getting warm. The good news is that we get some cloud cover, potential rain and a great cool down coming later this weekend!
After the tricos in the morning, switching to terrestrials on the surface and fishing foam with a dropper can be extremely effective. Cast close to the bank or underneath overhanging vegetation and hold on! We are seeing very aggressive terrestrial eats lately.
Streamers and mice at dusk and into the night have been a lot of fun the past few days too!

Partly sunny, with a high near 83. Breezy, with a west wind 11 to 16 mph, with gusts as high as 29 mph.
The temperatures have actually kept quite stable due to recent cloud cover. Creeks are clear to slightly stained and flowing in the low 60s. The lower sections of larger creeks are the only ones that are warm enough to not fish. Keep using your thermometer to find the best conditions (60-65 degrees).
The rest of the week looks good for fishing, especially in the mornings and late evenings.
Fish are eating trico spinners in the mornings on many of our creeks, then switching over to eating terrestrials on the surface. Watching trout cruise out from beneath cover to crush a beetle or sip an ant is one of the best things this time of year! You can fish a hopper with a dropper all day long from here to the end of season really.
Focus on fishing the shin to thigh deep water below the riffles and as close to undercut banks or overhanging vegetation as possible. Finding shady areas will also help you locate happy fish.
We have had quite a few reports that mousing and streamer fishing from dusk and into the night has been very productive too!

Mostly sunny, with a high near 87. Breezy, with a south wind 7 to 17 mph, with gusts as high as 28 mph.
Despite the hotter temperatures, fishing and water temperatures have remained really good for the summertime! So far most creeks are holding temperatures in the low 60s. The exception is the lower section of waters and the larger creeks. Please keep using your thermometer and make sure you are not fishing anything over 68 degrees!
The menu is very simple right now. Tricos in the mornings, then switching to a terrestrial with a dropper. Fish are dashing out of cover to eat beetles and smaller hoppers right now!
Fish early and late, and take a break mid day. Finding shady sections of creek is also key to the best fishing in the summertime.

Sunny, with a high near 88. Calm wind becoming west 5 to 8 mph in the morning.
It’s a hot couple of days, followed by a normal summer week. Creeks are clear to slightly stained with temps in the low to mid 60s. Summertime means thermometer time. Make sure you are constantly checking stream temperatures. Anything over 65 will start to slow fishing down, and over 68 can be lethal for trout. Luckily we have quite a few feeder creeks and spring heads that keep temperatures down on some of our creeks!
Tricos are showing up in the mornings on many area creeks, the rest of the day fishing a hopper or beetle with a dropper below (they are crushing terrestrials lately!) will work all day long.
The sun and heat are the limiting factors, so fish early, fish late, take a break mid day and find as much shaded water as you can. Shade not only gives the fish a break from heat and sun, but it also usually has terrestrials dropping from it throughout the day!

Patchy fog before 9am. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a high near 81. East wind 3 to 7 mph.
Creeks are crystal clear to a medium stain depending on where the rains hit heaviest yesterday. Some areas saw 2 inches or more (near fennimore some spots got 4 plus inches!!) and some only saw a quarter of an inch. The heaviest rain fell pretty much along highway 14 from La Crosse to Viroqua.
In the cloudy water, fishing scuds and worm patterns is excellent. In the clear water, fish are picking up on hoppers (even larger ones now) with droppers below.
Mornings without fog, we have been seeing tricos early, and in the later evening egg laying caddis and midges are getting fish to rise.
Summertime is excellent for mousing and we have had some customers catching really big brown trout at night!