Fishing Report

Patchy fog before 9am. Otherwise, sunny, with a high near 80. Calm wind becoming southwest around 6 mph in the afternoon.
Creeks are clear to stained with good summertime water temps! Larger creeks and those below flood control dams will be the most cloudy but continue to clear out rapidly (think squirmy wormy, leeches and streamers).
It’s terrestrial time in the Driftless. Ants, beetles, and small grasshopers are starting to get fish excited. We’re still fishing a dry/dropper set up with a visible foam indicator fly (hippie, training wheel with food or purple drank below). Hatches are sparse, but fish are rising to midges and some micro summer olives as well as a few random, large mayflies and egg laying caddis. When in doubt, toss an ant at rising fish!

A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Cloudy, with a high near 74. Northeast wind 3 to 7 mph. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Anywhere between half and inch and 2+ fell last night through the area. These rains are essential in the summer to cool things down and get the humdity out of the air. However with the intensity last night there will be some murky water this morning. Creeks will drop and clear quickly and there is fishable water out there right now, it just might take some valley hopping to find it.
On the murky water, fish a black leech or wooly bugger or a worm pattern.
On the clearer water, fish a scud or purple drank.
As things drop and clear up, going back to a hopper with a dropper will catch you fish.

Sunny, with a high near 82. Light southeast wind becoming south 5 to 9 mph in the morning.
This is the summer weather you wait for! Perfect conditions for some July trout fishing in the Driftless. Recent cooler temperatures and rains have water temperatures right where they need to be for happy fish!
There is quite a mix of bugs out there, mostly small to tiny (no tricos yet…..) with fish rising in the mornings and evenings. Try fishing a midge pattern or greased lightning to get risers to eat, or throw an ant in front of them.
Through the day the go-to rig is still a hopper/dropper. Training wheels, beetles, hippie stompers etc being used as edible indicators with food or purple drink below.
Mousing is picking up again too with the cooler nights bringing some nice fish out to play!

Sunny, with a high near 79. Calm wind becoming north around 5 mph in the afternoon.
Creeks are clear to stained with temperatures having dropped from last week’s heat wave. Only the larger creeks and those below flood control dams are still flowing with a medium stain which will continue to clear out over the weekend.
Hatches are sparse, midges and tiny olives popping off in the evening and you can catch a few spinner falls in the morning. Tricos have not shown up in numbers yet.
The terrestrial bite is on! It’s the time of year to tie on a beetle or hopper (or hippie stomper!) with a bead head below and have some fun. Cast close to the banks and shady areas.

Partly sunny, then gradually becoming sunny, with a high near 80. Northwest wind 5 to 14 mph.
Anywhere between 3/4 to 2 inches plus of rain fell last night area wide. Despite this amount, there is water to fish as of this morning (clear to slightly stained). Expect more to clear up by the afternoon, and the weekend should be just fine. The larger creeks and those below flood control dams will take a while longer to lose their murkiness.
The good news is that we are free of the oppressive heat! The rains dropped temperatures, both air and water, setting this weekend up to be an incredibly pleasant weekend for anglers and trout.
Fish will rise when the sun is off the water. Early and late are key to finding rising fish. They will eat rusty spinners and parachutes in the morning, then ants and parachutes in the evening. Through the day fishing a terrestrial with a bead head tied below is your best bet. The hippie stomper with a brush hog, food, or purple drank below is the go to rig in the summertime.
On murkier waters, leeches and worm patterns will be effective.

Update: Locally heavy rains have dumped up to an inch and a half in certain valleys today. The big storm is coming and should hit us around 3 or 4. Might muddy things up for tomorrow until the evening, but Saturday is still looking quite good with cool weather and cold rains in the system.

Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly after 2pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 85. Light and variable wind becoming southeast 5 to 8 mph in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.
We WANT the rains to come! If the rains do not hit it will be a slow recovery to summer normal after a week of brutally hot weather and higher than normal water temperatures. If the rain does come, it will cool things down right away and get us back on track immediately. Temperatures dip the next few days and the cold rain could supercharge trout feeding.
Creeks are low and clear with temperatures in the low 60s to mid 60s. Please use a thermometer through the summer. Anything over 65 will be poor fishing and much warmer can be harmful to trout.
Hatches are sparse. We have not seen tricos early in the mornings yet, and in the evening fish are rising to craneflies and a few random mayflies (parachute adams hatch). Rising trout can be caught using ants.
A foam attractor or terrestrial with a bead head below is key all day long. Hippie stompers and training wheels with purple drank or food down below is the go to rig this time of season.

Mostly sunny, with a high near 89. Heat index values as high as 97. Light southeast wind becoming south 5 to 10 mph in the morning.
It’s hateful hot out today. Tomorrow looks like we will get a storm or two and some relief from the heat heading into the weekend. This string of hot weather has not been trout friendly, sending water temperatures into uncomfortable range for our finned friends. The time to fish is very early in the morning and, if you are lucky, catching a storm in the evening that will cool the air and put some cold rain into the creeks.
On days like today however, it is potentially dangerous to be outside! Stay cool and be careful.

A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly between 3pm and 5pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 87. Calm wind becoming west around 5 mph in the morning.
Creeks are low and clear with temperatures in the 60s. Please use a thermometer! With this warmer weather we will have temperatures getting warm on some creeks. Anything over 65 is poor fishing and much beyond that and it can be harmful to trout.
Your best success will be early and late when the sun is off the water. Find shade and you will find fish!
Hatches are very sparse. There are some rusty spinners first thing in the morning, then fishing a hopper/dropper through the day (if you’re ambitious enough to fish in 90 degree weather!). The evening will have rising fish that will eat ants, generic parachutes and caddis twitched on the surface.
The rains that fell last night were brief only giving us about a tenth of an inch, but anything helps right now to cool things down just a bit!

We’re looking at a week of hot weather ahead. Please make sure to use your thermometer, anything at 65 degrees will be poor fishing, and much warmer than that can be harmful to trout.

Fish early, fish late and avoid the mid day heat!

Sunny, with a high near 88. Calm wind becoming southeast around 6 mph in the morning.
Creeks are clear and a touch low. Water temperatures are starting to climb this week as a long spell of hot weather is over us and will remain for a few more days.
The key to warm weather fishing is temperature. Much like humans, trout do not like hot, sunny weather. They are far more comfortable in the shade, and when things are cooler. Fish early, fish late, and use your thermometer. Anything over 65 degrees will be poor fishing and much higher than that can be lethal to fish!
Hatches are sparse, fish are rising to a few spinners in the mornings then shut down mid day. A few fish will still eat on the surface to craneflies and some generic parachutes in the evenings.
Terrestrials are key right now! They start fishing once the ground dries out and continue through the day. Fishing a hippie stomper or hopper with a dropper is THE summer rig through the day.
Mousing is picking up in the evenings and throwing large streamers at night is also starting to catch some big fish.