Mostly cloudy, with a high near 32. Southwest wind 10 to 14 mph, with gusts as high as 23 mph.
Creeks are low and clear with temperatures in the mid 30s.
This week we get a pretty good mix of mild winter weather and sun. This looks like a good week to fish! Watch for midge hatches mid day.
There is not a lot of snow streamside so walking is not as bad as it usually is this time of year.
Cloudy, with a high near 27. Northwest wind 3 to 5 mph.
Creeks are low and clear. Water temperatures are in the mid 30s.
While this isn’t terrible winter fishing weather, it probably isn’t worth a long drive at this point. If you are here or just need to get outside, you will run into a few fish and maybe even a midge hatch mid day!
Leeches have been the best bugs lately. Fish them either dead drift into the pools, or slowly strip them in the deep parts of the creeks.
Small, dark midge patterns are working too both rolled along the bottom and on the surface when fish are rising.
Todd Durian, a great friend of our area who worked passionately for many years to protect and expand the ecology and fishery of the Driftless passed away recently. The Milwaukee leech was named in his honor years ago. This season and forevermore, we will know that whenever we tie on one of those flies he will be looking over us and the area he loved so much. Rest in peace Todd.
Areas of fog after 3pm. Otherwise, cloudy, with a high near 30. Light and variable wind.
Nothing major has changed. It is still winter fishing. Make sure you focus on the middle part of the day for the best results (10-2). Slowly rolling heavier nymphs on the bottom below the riffles is key. You can also find success slowly swimming leeches through the deeper, slow moving pools.
Creeks are low and clear with temperatures in the mid 30s.
Areas of freezing fog before noon, then areas of freezing fog after 5pm. Cloudy, with a high near 31. East wind 5 to 8 mph.
Creeks are low and clear (normal for winter). The temperatures are quite pleasant for January and the fishing has been good for winter. You are still best served fishing mid day when water temperatures tick up. Once any snowmelt hits the creeks (usually around 2 pm) the fishing shuts down.
We have seen midges hatching daily, but the rises have been sporadic. You really have to find the pods of happy fish to have success on the surface.
Subsurface fishing is best on thin bodied bugs and leeches fished slowly in the deeper pools and runs.
Mostly sunny, with a high near 32. Calm wind
Cold, but sunny. Perfect early season conditions to catch fish and possibly a midge hatch!
Remember to fish rising water temperatures. As the sun warms the water up, the bugs get active and the fish follow soon after. Once the snowmelt hits the creeks things shut down pretty quickly. Your best window is between 10-2.
Creeks are low and crystal clear. Fish aren’t as spooky as they tend to feed heavily in the middle part of the day this time of year, but still approach with as much stealth as possible.
Midges are showing up daily, not in major numbers, but we have seen sporadic rising fish every day so far. Subsurface fishing is best on heavy, thin bodied bugs. Up top, the user friendly in BWO is always fantastic as an overall midge dry.
Patchy fog between 8am and 2pm. Otherwise, cloudy, with a high near 27. Light and variable wind.
Please note, we are still in a pandemic! Wear your mask when around other humans, or just keep away from them (fly fishing is easy to social distance while doing)!
Creeks are low and clear with temperatures in the mid 30s. The key in the winter is to fish rising water temperatures. This means fishing is usually better mid day and on creeks that are more wide open and can warm up from the sun through the day. There are some creeks that are frozen in places (the West Fork being one of them) but the wide open meadow creeks are in good shape.
The only real aquatic insects around in the winter are midges and winter stoneflies. To ‘match the hatch’ use smaller thin bodied patterns in a dark color rolled along the bottom. Mid day, there is a chance of fish rising to midges. Using a single bodied midge adult is the trick here.
PLEASE RESPECT LANDOWNERS! We had an influx of anglers country wide last year, and unfortunately many of them were not following any kind of rules or etiquette. There is no reason to tresspass for a trout. If you have not made 100 certain that a piece of property is public, and you can not check in with the landowner, please fish elsewhere.
Patchy fog before 2pm. Otherwise, cloudy, with a high near 26. Northeast wind 3 to 7 mph.
Tomrrow is forecasted to be 29 and cloudy, Sunday 30 and mostly sunny. While not ideal, these conditions are better than most early catch and release season openers!
Creeks are low and very clear. The clouds tomorrow will actually help with hiding the angler from the fish a bit!
The key to wintertime fishing is to make sure you are fishing rising water temperatures. Peak temperatures are usually from 10-2.
The only real insect activity is midges and winter stoneflies this time of year. That means small, thin and dark patterns are going to ‘match the hatch’. Tie a zebra midge or perdigon behind a scud and hang on!
Leeches can also be very effective this time of year if you fish them very slowly (twitch them, don’t strip them)
Snow, mainly after 1pm. High near 24. Southeast wind 7 to 14 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. Total daytime snow accumulation of 1 to 3 inches possible.
Creeks are very low and crystal clear. We are getting some much needed snow today and through the evening. Up to 9 inches total possible today!
Season opens Saturday January 2nd. We will keep updating on the conditions, but as of now fish are podded in deeper pools and pushing into the riffles to feed (we did see risers yesterday as we scouted creeks) mid day.
Scattered flurries after 4pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 25. West wind 6 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 18 mph
Our area finally got some snow yesterday! We were dry for a month plus but with an inch or two of water locked up in snow we can breathe easier for the coming season.
Creeks are crystal clear and very low. Winter temperatures are in effect meaning water is in the mid 30s. When season opens, you want to make sure you are fishing rising water temperatures (roughly from 10-2) on sunny days. Most of your fishing will be on small, thin, dark bodied nymphs. There is always a slight chance of a midge hatch in the middle part of the day too.
We’re booking trips for the 2021 season starting today! Call the shop or shoot us an e-mail and we can get you on the calendar for the upcoming season.
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