Fishing Report

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Post By driftlessstg

February 27th Fishing Report

Partly sunny, with a high near 25. Northwest wind 5 to 13 mph.
Today is one of those days that fishing will be a ton of fun, but it is borderline. At 25 and sunny the stream beds will warm up enough to get bugs and fish moving and probably trigger a hatch (if the sun stays out). However, it is still very chilly and if the clouds move in it can shut things down quickly. So, if you are in the area, or just need to get outside, go fish! If you are planning on driving a bit, it might be better to wait until the weekend when the temperatures are in the 30s.

CategoriesFishing Report
Post By driftlessstg

February 26th Fishing Report

A chance of snow, mainly before 2pm, then a chance of flurries after 3pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 28. North wind 9 to 13 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50%. Total daytime snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.
Chilly, but sunny this morning. Things will be fishable, it will just be cold and the window of fishing will be narrow mid day. If you are in the area and want to fish, or need to get outside go fishing! Otherwise it might not be worth the drive until the weekend when it gets into the 30s again.
Nymphs in the morning, especially thin bodied tight competition style bugs in black, then fishing midge dries if possible during the mid day hatch, then leeches and streamers in the later afternoon.

CategoriesFishing Report
Post By driftlessstg

February 25th Fishing Report

Cloudy, with a high near 37. Northeast wind 13 to 15 mph.
No snow, no cold, no worries!
Fishing has been fantastic the past few days with fish eating on the surface mid day, pounding nymphs early on, and switching to leeches in the afternoon and sometimes into the evening.
Midges and winter stoneflies are hatching at the warmest part of the day, typically around lunch time. They are still fussy and you have to get a darn near perfect drift, but they will eat.
Otherwise, drifting thin bodied and heavy nymphs subsurface is key. Focus on the spots below riffles as fish are in the runs feeding on hatching bugs until tomorrow when things cool down.

CategoriesFishing Report
Post By driftlessstg

February 24th Fishing Report

Mostly cloudy, with a high near 39. Northeast wind 6 to 9 mph.
Last day of nice weather, then it goes back to the mid 20s. Still fishable, but not very comfortable to be outside in especially after 40 plus degrees!

CategoriesFishing Report
Post By driftlessstg

February 22nd Fishing Report

Sunny, with a high near 40. Southwest wind around 9 mph.

Creeks are low and clear, normal winter flows. Fish are super spooky, so approach as stealthily as possible.
Nymph in the morning with spanish bullets, perdigons, and zebra midges fished slowly and deeply below the riffles. As water warms up look for rising fish eating midges and winter stoneflies.
After the hatch, fish a leech or smaller streamer and hold on!
Once the water temperature begins to drop, fishing will shut down rapidly. The peak hours of fishing are between 10 and 2.

CategoriesFishing Report
Post By driftlessstg

February 21st Fishing Report

Sunny, with a high near 34. Breezy, with a southwest wind 8 to 13 mph increasing to 15 to 20 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 31 mph.
Tomorrow and Sunday are supposed to hit 40 degrees and be sunny!
This is one of those winter windows that everything aligns and conditions will be excellent for fishing, and a cure for cabin fever.
Creeks are winter low and clear with water temperatures in the mid to high 30s. Very normal for winter. With the sun and warmer weather, the peak water temps should hit above 40, that is THE winter trigger for feeding fish! Just make sure you are fishing while the water temperature is rising, if snowmelt hits, and when the sun goes down, things shut down quickly. Remember your thermometer!
Hatches happen mid day at the warmest part of the day. We have seen daily hatches of midges and emergences of winter stoneflies lately. Even yesterday our guides have clients catching fish on dries.
Subsurface fishing is best on small, thin bodied bugs like spanish bullets and zebra midges. Roll them along the bottom below riffles.
With the warmer weather, some fish will start to chase streamers and leeches again too!

CategoriesFishing Report
Post By driftlessstg

February 20th Fishing Report

Sunny, with a high near 14. Wind chill values as low as -6. West wind 3 to 6 mph.
Thanks to the sun, even in this super chilly weather we are seeing fish activity and even hatches. We do not recommend fishing in this weather, however as it is cold!
The weekend is looking excellent with warm weather and sunny conditions pretty much every day. That means you can sneak out a bit earlier as the sun will warm the stream bed up a bit. Early as in 9 instead of 10 or 11. Just keep a thermometer handy, once snow melt starts to drop the water temperature, things will shut down quickly.
Expect your small, dark, heavy bugs to be key all weekend with a chance at some dry fly activity mid day on midges and winter stones. The dry flies are identical! As long as it is thin bodied and size 16-20 you have both bugs covered!

CategoriesFishing Report
Post By driftlessstg

February 19th Fishing Report

Partly sunny, with a high near 13. Wind chill values as low as -8. Northwest wind 5 to 10 mph
Forget about today and tomorrow. It’s just plain cold out, but the weekend looks to be perfect! Warm enough to be out and about comfortably fishing, and cold enough at night to lock up any melting that may happen. The hatches lately have been really solid too, and we expect the midges and stoneflies to continue with the optimal weather over the weekend.

CategoriesFishing Report
Post By driftlessstg

February 18th Fishing Report

Mostly sunny, with a high near 25. Breezy, with a northwest wind 13 to 16 mph.
The banks were crawling with midges and winter stones the past couple of days, and will be again today!
Unfortunately the weather turns chilly again tomorrow and will not warm up again until the weekend.
Expect more hatches Friday-Sunday though!

CategoriesFishing Report
Post By driftlessstg

February 17th Fishing Report

Snow, mainly after 4pm. High near 34. Southeast wind 5 to 9 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. Total daytime snow accumulation of less than one inch possible. 2-4 inches possible tonight.
The rest of the week is forecasted to have highs in the teens. Friday we see 31, Saturday 38 Sunday 39. Looks like a good weekend and a crummy week for fishing!

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