CategoriesFishing Report

March 29th Fishing Report

Sunny, with a high near 66. Breezy, with a south wind 11 to 16 mph increasing to 20 to 25 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 43 mph.
Creeks are clear and flowing with temperatures in the high 40s.
The wind today will make things very difficult. Focus on fishing near bluff faces, or in the woods. The wind is blowing from the south, so if you have a north/south flowing creek at least the wind will be at your back. It is amazing how helpful the wind can be with a long roll cast!
If all else fails, don’t hesitate to swing leeches or soft hackles down and across below the riffles. There is less casting involved and if you aren’t perfectly accurate it doesn’t matter!

CategoriesFishing Report

March 27th Fishing Report

Showers, mainly before 5pm. Patchy fog before 10am. High near 50. East wind 5 to 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.
Gentle rain forecasted all day today, it shouldn’t make the waters muddy up in most cases. Expect clear to slightly stained water. A bit of rain and color on the creeks is not a bad thing anymore as there is no snow to super cool the water running into the creeks.
So far the rain is the perfect light drizzle and it has earthworms moving around. It is an excellent time to embrace the dark side and fish a worm pattern on the creeks!
We’re still seeing midges hatch, but they are losing some intensity. While there are still olives around the major hatch just hasn’t shown up consistently yet. It could pop at any time.
Fishing a spring stonefly (training wheel/ hippie stomper) with a bead head below has been excellent. Subsurface we’ve been having quite a bit of luck with caddis larvae and scuds alongside the thin bodied bugs.

CategoriesFishing Report

March 26th Fishing Report

Partly sunny, with a high near 51. Calm wind becoming west around 6 mph in the afternoon.
Creeks are clear and flowing about normal. Water temperatures are hovering in the mid 40s to 50.
Everything in the Driftless is in a pleasant idle right now. Creeks are all in good shape and fishing has been decent. We haven’t had any crazy major hatches, although midges, olives, and spring stones are around it just feels like things are waiting to explode. This switch from winter to spring could happen any day as the rocks are covered with BWO nymphs and caddis larvae just waiting to hatch.
We’re still doing very well fishing a hippie stomper or training wheel with a bead head below while waiting for rising fish in the afternoons. With the spotty cloud cover we have had the past few days fish have been more willing to eat and less spooky than on the cloudless days.
Nymphing has been great lately with fish eating mostly the smaller, thin bodied bugs, but also including some scuds and thicker patterns (including caddis larvae) starting to catch on with the fish.

CategoriesFishing Report

March 25th Fishing Report

Cloudy, with a high near 50. Northeast wind 3 to 8 mph.
Creeks are clear with temperatures in the mid 40s.
Somewhat stable weather through the next few days. The clouds and drizzle have put the trout in far better moods than the sunny days!
Midges, olives, spring stoneflies and even a caddis or two have been spotted flying around.
Fishing a foam fly (training wheel or hippie stomper) with a thin bodied bead head below (spanish bullet or perdigon) early has been very effective util fish start rising. Once they are feeding on the surface, fishing a user friendly, or a purple klinkhammer will catch fish! Don’t be afraid to move the user friendly or a CDC and Elk style fly. Fish are definitely picking up on movement the past few days!

CategoriesFishing Report

March 24th Fishing Report

Rain, mainly before 2pm. Patchy fog before 1pm. High near 52. Breezy, with a south wind 10 to 17 mph becoming west in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 25 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.
Last night’s rain was not horrible with a bit less than half an inch falling in total. Expect a mix of clear creeks with a few stained up due to the rain. The stain will not last long at all.
WIth the cloudy sky and potential cloudy water, focus subsurface on scuds and leech patterns (as well as squirmy wormies!) as fish will be active on these larger profile bugs. As things start to clear up, switching back to your thin bodied match the hatch patterns is a good idea.
We’re still seeing midge hatches daily, and a few more olives hatching every day. While we aren’t super excited about the olives yet, the major hatch could come any day. We are also seeing quite a few spring stoneflies out there.
Fishing a leech or larger and heavy nymph pattern in the morning is a good way to start. Switching to a foam fly with a dropper in the later morning, then to a dry fly in the later afternoon if you find rising fish!

Please remember that after the crowds of last year, and the continued traffic on the creeks while the pandemic hands on, stream etiquette is even more important than ever!
The general rule of courtesy is: If you see a car at an access point, drive to the next one. There is no need for multiple cars at access points, we have enough water to spread out on.

Do not ‘high hole’ another angler. Fishing upstream is what we do in the Driftless. Never walk upstream of another angler and start fishing (unless you check in with that angler and get permission first),

When you park, do not block gates, driveways, or field access roads with your vehicle.

Finally do not trespass on private property! Make sure you are 100% positive you are on public property if you are on the bank. The various apps and map books are not 100% accurate! Make sure you do your homework, check in with the landowner, or just keep your feet wet whenever possible. The Driftless is a great place due to landowners allowing anglers to fish or selling their land to conservation easements. If anglers do not follow the rules, the excellent system we have here will vanish.

CategoriesFishing Report

March 23rd Fishing Report

So far today (up to 3:30) there has only been drizzle or light rain in the area. It hasn’t been enough yet to muddy anything up. We will keep you posted tomorrow morning as to stream clarity. It is not supposed to rain heavily tonight.

Clarity is still good overall, and fishing was solid today. The cloud cover made fishing scuds and other larger bodied nymphs much better as the fish were less spooky. Expect more of the same the next few cloudy days!

Midges, spring stoneflies, and a few olives are hatching.

CategoriesFishing Report

March 22nd Fishing Report

A 10 percent chance of rain after 5pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 59. Light and variable wind becoming west 5 to 7 mph.
We’re watching the weather closely. The clouds and rain will be great for fishing overall. But, if we get too much rain things will get muddied up pretty quickly since there is no real vegetation to soak it up quite yet.
Creeks are clear and flowing a bit low. Water temperatures are in the low to mid 40s.
Hatch wise we are still seeing midges, and have started to see more olives in the later afternoon/evening along with our spring stoneflies.
Subsurface fishing has remained very solid on thin bodied subsurface bugs, but fish have started to eat scuds and caddis larvae as well the past couple of days.
Now that the sun is behind some clouds, expect streamer and leech fishing to pick up too!

CategoriesFishing Report

March 20th Fishing Report

Mostly clear, with a low around 38. South wind 10 to 14 mph, with gusts as high as 23 mph.
Today and Sunday are sunny and windy. Adding to the crystal clear creeks this means fish are fussy. Approach with stealth, and consider sizing down a bit on your bugs mid day.
Midges are around, and a few more olives show up each day. Fish are rising in the afternoons. We have also started to see some spring stoneflies (which is why foam flies are working!).
Subsurface is best on small, thin bodied bugs. When the clouds roll in, then switch to a scud or purple drink.

CategoriesFishing Report

March 19th Fishing Report

Sunny, with a high near 55. Calm wind becoming southeast 5 to 7 mph in the morning.

Creeks are clear and flowing a touch on the low side. Water temperatures in the low to mid 40s.

Fishing has been good as the snow is (once again) off the banks and we do not have to worry about a major cooling of the creeks or muddy of the water due to snowmelt.

We are still seeing midges hatching almost daily. It might take a little leg work to find the pods of happy fish, but they are out there around mid day! We have also spotted some BWOs and some spring stoneflies too.

Subsurface fishing has been good on pretty much anything. From the match the hatch thin bodied bugs to the thicker bodied patterns like scuds…. As long as you get a good drift, fish are eating!

Guides have been fishing foam dries with great success. A size 12 hippie (check out the new irresistible style hippie stomper!) with a bead head below has been deadly, especially when you twitch the hippie.

The weekend looks good (some wind coming in on Sunday) with very pleasant spring temperatures. Just be aware that the water is VERY clear right now, and with the sunny skies, fish are quite skittish.

CategoriesFishing Report

March 18th Fishing Report

Sunny, with a high near 48. Breezy, with a northeast wind 18 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 36 mph.
Creeks are clear and flowing a touch low. Water temperatures are in the low 40s.
Fish are eating on the surface from mid morning to afternoon on midges, smaller foam flies, and klinkhammers.
Subsurface they are happily munching on pretty much anything! We are in the middle of our midge hatch, BWOs are coming very soon, and we have even seen quite a bit of interest in caddis larvae lately.
Leeches and streamers are effective as always, but the crystal clear water makes it difficult to fish anything but the broken water without spooking fish.
Snow is trickling into the creeks in the later afternoon slowing fishing down. You can get a solid 3/4 day in right now though starting at about 9 am.

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